Mr A and I had arranged to have dinner in London with some friends on a Friday evening in early March 2022, but when I went to book my train tickets to London I found I would have had to leave my friends by 9pm to get our last train home.  So it seemed more sensible to book a hotel in London for the night.  Because it’s bucket list time for me I decided I would like to stay at the Shangri-La Hotel in The Shard, Western Europe’s tallest building. I booked a Premier Shard Room King through American Express Fine Hotels & Resorts for £875 B&B, which was cheaper than booking directly with the hotel, and included some extra benefits, like a $100 F&B credit and late check out. This is a high price for a 5 star hotel in London, but, as I said, it was a bucket list treat!

The Shard houses several restaurants which are not part of the Shangri-La, but they have different entrances off the street, which is just a couple of hundred metres from London Bridge railway station, where we arrived from Brighton.  Outside the Shangri-La entrance are uniformed doormen, and once inside I looked for the hotel reception before I learned it was on the 35th floor!  A nonstop lift took us up to that level, where I found the reception desk made up like an Alpine ski lodge, as were the lifts, which I thought was weird.  Are we not in London?!

At reception I was told we had been given an upgrade to a Deluxe City View Room, which was a welcome benefit from my Amex booking, but tbh I couldn’t detect the difference between it and my original Premier room booking.  It turned out my $100 F&B credit could only be used in Ting restaurant or on room service; I’d hoped to use it in the bar with my dining friends.  Ting is a euro/pan-asian all day dining room where we took breakfast the next morning, as well as lunch before check-out.

When we got to our room on the 44th floor, 4410, we noticed that all of the room doors on the corridor had scuffs, which I presumed were made by guests kicking the doors open.  As a former hotelier this sort of careless damage by guests saddens me. But it also detracts from the hotel’s image, so I think it should cover the affected areas with some sort of protective covering.

Our room was great; around 500 sq feet in area with floor to ceiling windows everywhere. In the bedroom we had a superking bed with very soft cotton sheets and duvet, a writing desk and chair and one comfy lounge chair by the windows. Binoculars were supplied to help with the city viewing. A large TV was wall-mounted opposite the bed and a mini bar and a coffee machine sat below it. I couldn’t find a price list for the minibar, but after checking with reception, I discovered it was not free.

Adjoining the bedroom was a walk-in wardrobe and dressing area, hidden behind a mirrored sliding door.

Next to that was the bathroom which featured a free-standing bath tub with incredible views, as well as under floor heating. There was also a Japanese style electric toilet, a spacious (2mx1.5m) shower cubicle, just one wash basin and L’Occitaine toiletries.  All of the hard surfaces were marble.

On the afternoon of our arrival the weather was dull and wet, so the views from our room were not at their best.  But the next day was brighter and quite impressive.

We had a good night’s sleep in our super-comfy bed and went down to breakfast in Ting restaurant.

A substantial breakfast buffet was available, including several Asian options, as well as an a la carte menu. But I discovered that my rate inclusive breakfast only covered the buffet and I had to pay a small (£8) surcharge to have Eggs Benedict from a la carte.

The Benedict was perfect; a fresh English muffin, runny poached eggs, cooked ham and a good chive-sprinkled Hollandaise. 10/10

After breakfast we went down to street level to wander around the very close-by Borough Market, which is a Foodies’ heaven.  I picked up some produce I can’t get at home and then we walked back to the hotel to pack and prepare for light lunch in Ting, to make use of my F&B credit.

Now Ting doesn’t really serve lunch on a Saturday – it’s all about Afternoon Tea for guests and non residents at weekends, but guests can be given a “light lunch” menu, which is what we chose. This shorter menu doesn’t reflect the quality or breadth of Ting’s dinner menu, but I chose a very tasty hot dog, while Mr A went for an Asian Laksa. And we both had a glass of Veuve Clicquot.

After lunch we freshened up in our room before our leisurely 3pm check out, and made our way to London Bridge station.  We took with us, in a take-away box, a Yuzu and lemon drizzle cake which had been left in our room during evening turn-down, along with the traditional chocolate next to the pillow.

We had a pleasant but far too short a stay at Shangri-La at the Shard.  We didn’t get to see their 50th floor spa and pool, and we didn’t get to sample the ‘proper’ menu at Ting, or the other good restaurants below the hotel.  What I experienced of the customer service was pretty good, efficient and anticipatory, often with an east asian feel.  Other hotels I’ve stayed at in London recently give off a much more British vibe.  They’ve also been a good deal less expensive than the Shangri-La.  The view is monetised.  7.5/10