Where to stay in London: spotlight on Southwark and Bankside
Put this good value south-of-the-Thames spot on your map
Once upon a time, I used to work in Southwark. I would get off the train at Waterloo and walk down to the large magazine company I worked for. There was a lot of building going on back then, and we were very excited when one new area opened up, with lots of restaurants. Twenty years later, the magazines have gone and I’m back, in what is now an area full of gleaming new builds and hotels.
Southwark and Bankside, for anyone visiting London, is an area just south of the Thames, between Waterloo and London Bridge. There’s a tube station, on the Jubilee Line, which will whiz you direct to tourist destinations like Westminster and Bond Street, as well as transport hubs London Bridge and Waterloo. But it’s also easily walkable into the West End, along Southbank and across Blackfriars Bridge, Waterloo Bridge, or my favourite, Golden Jubilee Bridges.
As prices of hotels continue to boom in central London, what has happened, is little pockets like this have become viable alternatives to anyone looking for a decent, but not too pricey hotel, still within easy reach of the West End.
So along Blackfriars Rd, you’ll find a Novotel, Ibis, Hoxton and Bankside Autograph Hotel. On Southwark St is a Hilton, Holiday Inn and Citizen M Hotel. At the top of Blackfriars Rd, you meet Southbank, with Sea Containers hotel right on the water’s edge. I booked into the Novotel London Blackfriars, with my kids, as I was looking for a good budget option for families. This Novotel is fairly new and comes with a small, but pleasant, pool and lively restaurant.
The accommodation, which cost me £239 for a family room, for one adult and two children, plus breakfast, was great. The room was stylish, bed comfortable, it was clean and the pull-out single sofa better than others we have had. The bathroom was also clean and chic. It had a walk-in shower, with the ubiquitous pump products, but I can’t complain at all.
Breakfast was fast, efficient and tasty, with all the usual offerings of pastries, fruit and cooked breakfast. Service was way better than when we stayed at The Dixon (at double the price), apart from when one server first attempted to take away my daughter’s chair, then whisked away the plate of croissants I was still eating, so fast, she spilled them all on the table. Little excessive.
However, I would heartily recommend this hotel for a good-value place to stay, as we had a great time and I think it gives a lot for its price point. If you join the Accor Limitless member programme, you also get 10% off.
I also rate it over staying further out, in somewhere like Tower Bridge, as it’s much easier to walk everywhere and I always recommend any visitor to London walk as much as you can, as you take in so much more. For those who like a ramble, The Thames Path (five minutes away) runs all the way from Hampton Court (and much further – it actually starts in the Cotswolds) to Woolwich and you can enjoy some great sight-seeing on foot whether you go east or west from here. You can also catch a Thames Clipper from nearby Bankside Pier.
One word of caution, however, do keep your wits about you. Around Southwark tube is a known area for people snatching mobiles and when you exit the tube station, do make sure your bags are secure.
Travel List
Where to stay: I stayed at the four-star Novotel London Blackfriars. Rooms from around £200 upwards. Accor Limitless members get a 10% discount.
What to see: The Tate Modern and Shakespeare’s Globe are very close, as is Southbank, the National Theatre and the London Eye.
Where to eat: Southbank has lots of restaurants all around the region and The Cut, a street near the tube, is full of well-priced eateries. The Oxo Tower restaurant is nice for a treat with a view.