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Bermondsey Square Hotel Gets a Roasting For its Restaurant

Where: Bermondsey Square, Tower Bridge Road, London, United Kingdom, SE1 3UN

Poor old Bermondsey Square Hotel. Things were looking so great for it before it launched, but it simply doesn’t seem to have lived up to expectations. We didn’t think much of it when we went round in May. Neither did the Observer, which published a particularly scathing review.

And now Time Out has joined the sorry chorus with its review of the hotel’s restaurant, Alfie’s. First up, the decor: “the only thing swinging about it is a hanging ball chair,” they say. “The rest of it is very slick, in a hotel restaurant sort of way.” Ouch!

As for the food – the “determinedly British” menu (ham and eggs, coronation prawns) gets a mixed reception, but the “definitely British” service earns a big thumbs down. The verdict? “Average food, average service, a sarky chef and a £70 bill”.

Hmm. Wonder how long it’s going to last?

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The Bermondsey Square Hotel Is A Bit of A Damp Squib

Where: Bermondsey Square, Tower Bridge Road, London, United Kingdom, SE1 3UN

The Bermondsey Square Hotel is hoping that the fact that they’ve been banned from carrying out their room service pillow fights will not put you off staying there. But is there still enough to make you want to go? We had high hopes for the property but, having had a proper look around now, we’re not sure we’d be shacking up in a hurry.

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Authorities Ban Pillow Fights at the Bermondsey Square

Where: Bermondsey Square, Tower Bridge Road, London, United Kingdom, SE1 3UN

Remember when we were all excited about the launch of the Bermondsey Square Hotel because it was promising pillow fights on its room service menu? Well stop getting excited, because the Nanny State of Great Britain has put a stop to that.

According to the hotel, they had one practice fight between consenting adults when the hotel was launched two weeks back, but then promptly got a call from Health & Safety telling them that they would have to stop the service. There were insurance issues too, apparently — to be sure, if some of those feathers had escaped the pillows, things could have gotten messy.

Of course, this could all be an elaborate PR stunt by the hotel; we say this because this photo which they just "happened to take" of the first-and-last fight looks a little staged (in fact, the room doesn't even look like one of the hotel rooms, which you can see here). But then again, we totally believe that H&S would put a stop to anything that looks like fun.

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Order a Pillow Fight Via Room Service at the Bermondsey Square

Where: Bermondsey Square, Tower Bridge Road, London, United Kingdom, SE1 3UN

While the Ace is struggling with the whole opening on time thing, across the pond, the Bermondsey Square Hotel is about to open its doors right on schedule.

The first boutique bed-down in southeast London's trendy Bermondsey hood, the hotel is causing quite a stir among the media. But not because of the in-room iMacs, wet rooms or the rooftop suites complete with hot tubs peeking out at the Gherkin on the other side of the river. Oh no.

What's getting the Brits hot under the collar is the room service menu. Sex toys? No. Importable guests? Certainly not. No, for a mere £10, you can order a pillow fight via room service. And it's totally genuine: place your order and two members of the staff will come up, dressed in PJ's, bearing pillows. You choose one to fight, and one to referee. Kinky. We think.

Publicity stunt? Of course. But a fun one? Definitely. According to the hotel, several would-be guests have already rung up asking about the service. Let's just hope guests don't start demanding any weird "extras."

Opening rates from £89.

Tags: Hotel Openings / London Hotels / Bespoke Hotels / Bermondsey Hotels / → All Tags

A Hotel For London's Funky Bermondsey Hood? Yes Please

Where: Bermondsey Square, Tower Bridge Road, London, United Kingdom, SE1 3UN

So there we were, thinking the rockstar Sanctum Soho was the hotel we should most look forward to opening this spring. But then we found out about the Bermondsey Square Hotel, which is on course to open on April 14.

OK so south-of-the-river Bermondsey’s not exactly a central location, and it definitely isn’t on the tourist bus routes. In fact, in the past, Bermondsey wasn’t the most pleasant of areas. But it’s been tarting itself up over the past few years, and has now become a pretty trendy part of London.Time Out recently called Bermondsey Street the “funkiest newcomer” of London’s streets.

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