Rookery Hotel, London, United Kingdom
Rookery Hotel 3 Stars
A quirky, creaky, wholly stylish Clerkenwell bolthole for city high-fliers and rock stars alike.
The Press Say
"A quirky period home-from-home."The Telegraph 07
"Each of the 33 rooms is named after an inhabitant who lived there when the first census of the area was taken in 1832." The New York Times 05
Hotel Overview
Review of Rookery Hotel, by Fiona Duncan
Just a glance through the windows of The Rookery's three adjoining, faithfully restored 18th-century townhouses into the warmly lit drawing room beyond and it's clear: this is not to the usual bland box of a business hotel, but a quirky period home-from-home.
In Dickensian times this part of Clerkenwell was known, for its thieves, vagabonds and prostitutes, as the Rookery-though nowadays it's more hip and edgy than edged out.
The facilities
The Rookery is quirky, creaky, admirably unfussy and cosy. You can curl up by the fire with a drink from the honesty bar, or in warm weather sit in the sliver of garden, wittily enlivened by a mural of cows being herded and portraits of the boutique hotel's proprietors (who also own the equally excellent and quirky Hazlitt's in Soho). There's no restaurant, but who'd stay in anyway, when happening Clerkenwell beckons?
The rooms
In the Rookery's 33 rooms we found charm and integrity in the owners' love of all things Georgian and Victorian. There were wooden panelling, heavy four-posters and oil paintings; there are also minibars, flat-screen TVs, wireless internet and air-conditioning.
Bathrooms are complete with roll-top bath, brass shower and matching heated brass towel rails.
Copyright 2007 The Hotel Guru
Facilities
Hotel Policies
Rooms
33Come for...
- A serious dose of quirk
- Beds fit for a heroine in a Dracula novel
- The stunning Rook's Nest suite
Not Suitable for...
- Anyone who values a spa, gym or restaurant over claw footed baths and paintings of cows
Children
Babysitters and extra cots can be arranged
Eating in
No restaurant, but breakfasts include home-made croissants and there are canapes at drinks time. Room service runs around the clock.
Reviews
Review of The Rookery, by Angela Moore
The Rookery stands in what was once one of the seediest areas of the city, certainly not the place you'd expect to find a small, luxury boutique hotel. Located just outside the old legal boundaries of the City of London, it was home to all manner of crooks and ladies of the night. Thankfully those days are far gone and instead a steady flow of businessmen and discreet weekenders flow into the district.
Originally three little Georgian buildings, when the Rookery's owners took the site over it was a derelict shell. Between them they painstakingly rebuilt, restored, converted and furnished it from their own collections of art and antiques. The result is a delightful boutique hotel, highly individual but never twee.
The facilities
Two of the three public rooms at the Rookery, the wood-panelled library and drawing room, are often in use for small meetings. However, there is a small private conservatory-lounge at the back of the boutique hotel, with rugs on the flagstones and plump tapestry armchairs in front of the fireplace. There are serious oils of breed bulls on the walls (Smithfield, once London's main meat market, is just down the road).
Outside, there's even a little gravelled garden planted with herbs and pots of geraniums. A frieze of rustic peasants in smocks leading cows to market is painted on one wall. Apparently the peasants are sly portraits of the owners. Past reception, the atmosphere is relaxed, informal and pleasantly free from interference. The Rookery has no restaurant, but can provide simple room serviceand breakfast is brought to your room.
The rooms
Naturally in such a funny old collection of buildings, each of the 33 rooms is different. The best at the Rookery is the room at the very top, the Rook's Nest, a decadent and witty two-level suite with wonderful rooftop views of London from the Old Bailey to St Paul's. Downstairs at this boutique hotel are deluxe doubles that are spacious but feel rather subterranean. A small top-floor room, Mary Lane's, is notable for a lovely garret feel, with its wood-beamed ceiling. On one corridor wall, there's a trompe l'oeil painting of a young milkmaid, clothes in disarray, peeking naughtily around a half-open door.
All rooms at this boutique hotel have fine carved or decorated beds and a few elegant period pieces. Bathrooms, too, are individual - you might get a claw-footed roll-top bath, a bath-shower combination with a beaten brass surround or a walk-in shower.
Review of The Rookery, by Isabel Clift
Even The Rookery's entrance feels special. Hidden down a side-street, The Rookery is announced by a discreet sign and a doorway with a push-bell. Inside, splendid period design makes this one of London's best kept secrets; it pushes the boundaries of B&B-style accommodation.
The conservatory lounge is a cosy gathering point, with high windows overlooking the side garden. A stone fireplace surrounded by snuggly sofas and an honesty bar are welcoming touches. Snacks and light meals can to be eaten here or the garden (if you don't fancy in-room dining) - order from a menu of hearty classics like sausage and mash.
The thirty three rooms are resplendent with character. Names are taken from an 18th-century census of the area; namesakes are brought to life by oil painting portraits on the walls. Modern technology like iPod docks and LCD TVs are sensitively integrated, and Blu-ray players (in Junior and Superior suites) are hidden in bespoke cabinets. Beds are the most dramatic you've ever slept in, with ceiling-scraping gothic headboards.
All rooms have their own witty touches. Turquoise-walled Edward Cave is named after the founder of a popular 18th-century gentleman's periodical and has a fabulous bathroom. Its pull-chain toilet in a raised, wood-panelled alcove brings to mind a confessional booth.
The split-level Rook's Nest suite is the zenith of the hotel's design vision. Its downstairs room incorporates an Edwardian bathing machineand an antique bed with cherubic black and gold statues at each post. Upstairs, sofas, bookcases and a dining table create a spacious living area under a cedar-beamed spire ceiling. Rooms are connected by a hexagonal viewing hatch that's opened and closed by remote control - perfect for practising your Bond villain impersonation.
Review of Rookery Hotel, by The TI Review Team
By TI Reviewer Olivia De Santos:
The Rookery is not the easiest place to find. Walking down a quiet side-street in Clerkenwell, busy travellers may not notice the discreet sculptured cow's head protruding from the wall of an 18th-century townhouse, or stop to peer through the heavily elegant curtains into the renovated Georgian lounge. But peer and be nosy you must, or risk overlooking one of the most charming boutique hotels this city has to offer.
Not that it was all luxury furnishings and gentrified bohemia of course; The Rookery pays homage to the area's colourful history, once London's underbelly and populated by thieves, prostitutes and all manner of troublesome cads. The current owners, also responsible for Hazlitt's in Soho, have meticulously restored these houses, and named each of the 33 bedrooms after a past local.
The facilities
There's something so English about a place that puts afternoon tea at its heart. In summer, it's served out in the small garden area, whilst colder months see a move into the cosy library. As a quirky aside, paintings of cows abound. A lack of a restaurant is never going to be a problem in this part of London; it has one of the largest populations of gastropubs in the city, as well as a scattering of smart restaurants and easy links to Soho and the East.
The rooms
Each of The Rookery's 33 bedrooms are individually decorated with original Victorian and Georgian pieces, bees-waxed four posters, Aveda toiletries and iPod docking stations. The collection of antique bathtubs (not always housed in the bathrooms!) is another draw, from claw-footed tubs to a Victorian bathing machine.
The Rook's Nest is the hotel's crowning glory, a split-level suite that comes complete with huge bed, a mirrored headboard and life-sized statues. It enjoys amazing views, from the sombre dome of St. Paul's Cathedral and beyond.