Shangri-La At The Shard Hotel

I can't quite believe it's taken me over three months to finally get around to writing up about my experience of spending a night up in the clouds at Shangri-La at The Shard. Where has that time gone!?


This year, and last year, my husband and I kicked off the new year in style by deciding to spend the first day of the year in London and, more importantly, by checking into one of the cities most iconic hotels.

Over the past few years I have found myself enjoying New Years Eve less and less and what used to be a good excuse for a night out has now become another excuse to stay at home snuggled up under a blanket! These days I much prefer the idea of starting off a New Year in the right way on New Years Day, opposed to the more popular choice of New Years Eve.

I think this was one of the best decisions we ever made because starting a new year off in such a great and memorable way (on New Years Day) was so much more enjoyable than waking up, feeling hungover and wishing the day away.  

We're not really the kind of people to ever go back to somewhere more than once. We like to experience new places and hotels so it never makes sense to us to repeat stay anywhere. The only exception to this rule has been Shangri-La at the Shard and it's really not difficult to see why.  

When we checked into Shangri-La this time around I knew that I wanted a room that had one of the freestanding bath tubs I had seen in photos on their website. So, with this in mind, I made a request and to my surprise the receptionist was very accommodating in making sure I got a bathroom with some extra special 'wow factor'. When we were shown to our room I was not disappointed.... 

It's hard to put into words just how amazing this bathroom was to experience first hand. I don't think I have ever stayed anywhere with such an impressive bathroom and there is no denying that the majority of the 'wow factor' came from that view. I could never tire of that glorious view.

When you're there it just doesn't feel real. I found myself continually wandering back into the bathroom just to appreciate the view and our surroundings. It was a view that was always changing and getting more beautiful from the reflections of sunshine on all of the skyscraper windows, to the dusty haze of sunset and then the grand finale of the city which comes alive with beautiful twinkly lights at night. Bathing in that tub at night was a real highlight of our entire stay. 

I nearly forgot to mention the super technically advanced toilet too. It's a toilet that not only warms the seat for you but also one which, if it should take your fancy, washes and dries your private area! I never knew what real luxury was until I discovered the joy of a heated toilet seat. It's really not something you could ever miss from your life until of course you try one for yourself.  

Both times we have stayed at this hotel we have really enjoyed taking a walk along the South Bank and eating out at one of our favourites like Yo Sushi or Wagammas. This hotel really is in the perfect location for exploring one of my favourite sides of London and with Borough Market and the Tate Modern a stones throw away there's plenty to explore on foot. 

Whilst waiting for our room to become ready we decided to spend an hour at one of Shangri-La's restaurants and I really wasn't expecting to find anything vegan friendly on the menu but to our surprise there was a couple of options. They were both pretty tasty but for the price I would suggest venturing outside of the hotel to get something more value for money. It was however a great place to sit back and enjoy the view. 

If you do ever stay at this hotel i'd really recommend making a visit to the Sky Pool on one of the upper levels. It's not a huge pool but it's a lovely area to relax and, again, enjoy the view. There's something about the view which becomes even more magical when enjoyed from the pool and it's a great spot for taking photos. 

It's a pricey hotel and the service you receive certainly reflects the money you're spending there. For us it's saved as a treat for a special occasion and its by no means somewhere we'd check into for week long holiday. We live too close to London to ever even warrant that! But if you are looking to stay somewhere to remember or impress then it has to be here. No where else even compares! 

You can also watch my vlog from the time we stayed at this hotel and enjoy a room tour!