The Rookery

My other half and I stayed at The Rookery in London recently and had a great time. The staff are absolutely lovely, the rooms are comfortable and uniquely furnished, and the location is pretty good too.

When we checked in there was a mix-up with our allocated room, due to a computer system fault, but the reception staff sorted it out quickly and upgraded us to a slightly bigger room than booked.

It was on the first floor on the Cowcross Street side of the hotel and although my other half (a light sleeper) was woken by people leaving Fabric nightclub around the corner, I was oblivious to any noise.

The furnishings are unique in each room - sympathetic to the history and age of the building, and very comfortable. The Aveda toiletries in the bathrooms smell gorgeous.

I was in two minds about leaving a review as this place is a hidden gem, and I wanted to be able to book it again without it getting full up due to popularity! But in fairness to the hotel and it's staff, they thoroughly deserve the recommendation.

Like some other reviewers here, I've wanted to stay at the Rookery for a long time. It was everything I'd hoped it would be: characterful, relaxed, discreet. You feel a bit special just for staying there.

The hotel itself is easily missed: it consists of several early houses in St Peter's lane. The bedrooms are not numbered, but are named after individuals from the historical records of Clerkenwell who had some connection with the houses that now make up the hotel. Their biographies are in a book in the bedroom, and a fairly disreputable lot someof them were :-)

The reception area is small and comfortable and oozes charm. The common areas include a small courtyard garden and a sitting room in a conservatory. All are furnished very comfortably and with a nod to the Georgian and Victorian periods.

Be warned that the area can be noisy when the pubs close and when the nightclubs chuck out at about 5 a.m. I commented on the noise when passing through reception the morning after and they practically insisted on moving me to another room which was perfect, just by the garden. Both rooms were excellent but the second was really memorable: reclaimed gothic arches, shutters, a stairway down to a basement bathroom with a huge roll-top bath.

Breakfast, ordered the night before, is served to you in your room at a specified time. There is a small and very well-provided honesty bar in the sitting room. I highly recommend an after-dinner scotch in the garden :-)

The Rookery is expensive, charming, seductive and worth every every penny. So much of my life is spent in seriously average hotels - this visit served as a reminder of what hotel-keeping can be at its very best.