Review
If you’ve walked Great Eastern Street towards Old Street, you’ll know the building that houses Aethos: a brutalist concrete slab encased by dark steel beams, their ends jutting out beneath each staggered balcony, making the whole thing look brash, undone, and yes, very Shoreditch. Formerly a Nobu hotel, this arresting piece of east London architecture is now home to Aethos London Shoreditch, a self-assured boutique stay that fully understands its neighbourhood and clientele.
As is requisite for any lifestyle boutique hotel worth its salt in this corner of town, the hotel doubles as a members’ club; a ‘no pretence’ space where east London creatives can safely gather for a monthly fee marginally lower than that of Shoreditch House. But even if you’re not a member of this exclusive coterie, the chatty, breezy team here will make you feel like you are, which is quite nice. There’s a cool, laid-back confidence to the place, from the warm-toned lobby where the co-working set tap idly on their laptops to the minimalist, Japandi-style rooms and suites. And, of course, Japanese izakaya and bar Mitsu, one of the hottest tables in town. They know what they’re doing here, and they’re doing it very well indeed.
Long, moody corridors belie 164 light-filled rooms and suites, where industrial features – grey concrete ceilings with globular lights dangling from exposed cords, chunky chains hanging redundantly on balconies – are softened up by creamy fabrics, blonde wood flooring, well-placed greenery and colourful splashes of abstract art. A balcony suite allows you a front-row seat to the goings-on of Great Eastern Street; while the immense 80-square-metre panorama suite is the biggest in the building, an after-party pad waiting to happen, with a full-spec kitchen, dining area, lounge, two balconies and a free-standing bedside tub to recover in.
What’s most impressive here is the attention to detail, quality and functionality. Everything is right where you need it to be, down to a well-placed tissue box and slippers by your bed, fleece-lined dressing gowns, light switches that are intuitive and easy to understand (somehow a real rarity in luxury hotels), a powerful Dyson hairdryer and even more powerful Yamaha speaker. I was delighted by the mini bar selection, full of fun gourmet snacks and curated kits: hangover cures and toiletries, phone charging sets, and – ahem – ‘pure pleasure packs’ for couples. Beds are ridiculously, dreamily comfortable, allowing the kind of sleep that will have you feeling reborn, even after a late night in the neighbourhood.
Mitsu is accessed via a tiered outdoor dining area and Japanese garden, from where you’ll follow the smoky smell of the robata grill to find yourself in a capacious, vampy restaurant, full of comfy private booths and complete with a bookable karaoke room. The kitchen here is built around the Japanese concept of mottainai, meaning ‘no waste’; dishes like the Toro Takuan roll are created with aged tuna belly, giving it a concentrated umami flavour and melt-in-your-mouth texture. Sharing plates are the name of the game at Mitsu: stack up on snacks and sandos, all sorts of sashimi, nigiri and temaki, skewers of tender charcoal-smoked meat; and bookend the whole thing with Tokubetsu Junmai sake, shochu and whiskey highballs, or a matcha cocktail for the non-drinkers.
You’re smackbang in the thick of Shoreditch here. On the surface, it might seem like the one-time scruffy hipster hotbed now leans more hen-and-stag-do territory, but Shoreditch remains one of London’s most magnetic neighbourhoods thanks to its frankly dizzying abundance of great stuff to do, eat, and drink. Dine at gorgeous garden restaurant Rochelle Canteen, don your best fit for a day thrifting in Brick Lane, see a show at Rich Mix, and end with a seasonal cocktail at Waltz.
Address: 10-50 Willow St, London, EC2A 4BH
Price: Rooms from £250
Closest transport: Split Airport is a 1-hour drive
Book now: Via Booking.com
Discover Time Out original video