Two converted 1970s blocks, neither with a pool, neither for light sleepers. The Standard, London suits Eurostar arrivals and late nights at King's Cross, with a red lift up the outside; Sea Containers London suits couples on a South Bank theatre weekend, with Lyaness downstairs and its own cinema.
The design oneA 1970s Camden council block turned design hotel, with a red lift up the outside to a tenth floor facing St Pancras.
££From about £250 a night
Choose The Standard, London if
The catch
The Standard King Interior has no windows at all, and it is the first room on the hotel's own list.
The all-rounderA 1970s office block on the Thames Path turned into a ship-themed hotel with a Gordon Ramsay dining room, Lyaness and its own cinema.
££From about £279 a night
Choose Sea Containers London if
The catch
Standard, Superior, Superior Double Double, Superior Patio, Studio and the One Bedroom Suite are all filed as city view. Only the Riverview categories and the Thames Apartment face the water.
| Best for | The Standard, London | Sea Containers London |
|---|---|---|
| Best design hotels in London | On the list | On the list |
| Best spa hotels in London | Not on the list | On the list |
| Best value hotels in London | On the list | Not on the list |
| Best central hotels in London | On the list | On the list |
| Best hotels with a view in London | On the list | On the list |
| Best hotels for food and drink in London | On the list | On the list |
The Standard, LondonSea Containers London
The Standard, London
Sea Containers London
The verdict
Two converted 1970s blocks, neither with a pool, neither for light sleepers. The Standard, London suits Eurostar arrivals and late nights at King's Cross, with a red lift up the outside; Sea Containers London suits couples on a South Bank theatre weekend, with Lyaness downstairs and its own cinema.
Questions people ask
Two converted 1970s blocks, neither with a pool, neither for light sleepers. The Standard, London suits Eurostar arrivals and late nights at King's Cross, with a red lift up the outside; Sea Containers London suits couples on a South Bank theatre weekend, with Lyaness downstairs and its own cinema.
The Standard earns its place on the building, the lift and the tenth floor, and on a King's Cross address you can walk off a train into. Pay up to the Premium King View and accept that the quiet parts of a hotel are not what this one is for. Design is the whole argument here, and so is the address: a saved Brutalist block two minutes from Eurostar, with the restaurants and the bars stacked at the top of it. It is loud, it is photographed, and it has no spa or pool at all.
There is no pool. There is no beach; the nearest is a drive away.
This is the choice for dinner, drinks and a film under one roof if you accept that there is no pool and pay up for the river side. Book the Riverview Deluxe and the building does the rest. A large, design-led city hotel that also owns a Gordon Ramsay dining room, a 3 PIN cocktail bar and a working cinema, on the South Bank stretch of the Thames Path. The trade is that there is no pool and the cheapest rooms look the wrong way.
There is no pool. There is no beach; the nearest is a drive away.