Qbic Hotel, London’s most revolutionary hotel experience

From the minute you walk through the door you sense it’s something special. With a check-in desk mounted on a bike, and colourful milk crates doubling as light installations, it’s colourful, quirky and very, very trendy. Staff are decked out in Qbic t-shirts and sweatshirts, dressed down with jeans and trainers, adding to the young, hip vibe. That said, the service is attentive and friendly, and check in quick, efficient and painless. If there’s room available, they’ll even ask you on what side of the hotel you’d like to stay.

The rooms follow the quirky, colourful design seen in the lobby and come in three categories; Smart, Cosy and Fun. Smart Rooms are your entry level category and lack a window, whilst Cosy are of a similar size with a window, and fun are larger with a separate pull out sofa to accommodate more people should you need it. However, is it the Qbi, a pod which combines the bed and bathroom, which makes these rooms so interesting. The Qbi is a single unit, which contains a mounted television, bed, hairdryer, lamp and bathroom. Whilst this might seem difficult to visualise, in reality, due to some clever design, it works very well. Behind the bed you’ll find a sliding door, which reveals the bathroom, attached to the space behind the headboard. This means that within the room is just the one main unit, with supporting furniture and soft furnishings also present. By doing this, Qbic are able to take over buildings such as old office blocks, and transform them into hotels that are modern, trendy and functional. Within the room you’ll also find plenty of simple touches that go towards making the room really work for you. Beside the best on either side you’ll find a plug, a must for charging smartphones in the evening, (making the most of the free Wi-Fi) without having to hang off to bed to reach them. This is also where you’ll find all the light switches, the hairdryer and space to store a glass of water and the remote alongside your phone. The bathroom is spacious, and the shower had plenty of oomph. The only thing I would say is that if you’re travelling with a friend, or new love, using the loo is relatively audible due to the pod design. All the products in the bathroom are chemical free, are there are little notes to remind you to keep it green, as well as the offering of a free drink should you choose not to have your room made up with fresh bedding each day.