Small but perfectly formed, offering more exposed brick work, arty vibes and palm covered surfaces than you can shake a stick at; once you've checked into the quirky Artist Residence you literally don't want to leave. And we barely did.
From the moment we approached I knew I was going to love it, a cute 23 bedroom townhouse hotel with a tiny neon sign, monochrome check steps leading you up and a heart shaped glass door panel once inside - it was obviously going to be a yes from me. Upon arrival we were greeted by a lovely lady at reception and more photo op's than I knew where to point my camera. We had booked a 'tiny sea view' room and me being me had specified it had to have exposed brick LOLZ but alas there was a mix up and had been put in a room without. The lovely staff soon rectified this though and upgraded us to a 'medium sea view' complete with the necessary exposed brick I absolutely insisted on with no problem at all. Dead canny (nice). I'd also like to note a few important things here: firstly in the rooms they have CARAMEL BISCUITS to have with your cuppa (! - best retro biscs EVERRR), Roberts radios are a bedside standard, the keyring's for the door keys are by The Cambridge Satchel Company (which I very much enjoyed) and in our room waiting on the bed was a note wishing me a Happy Birthday alongside a tiny box of choccies too! Attention to detail/ retro cuteness factor absolutely on point let me tell you.
So after checking in and basically not wanting to leave ever, I had a dreamy bubble bath complete with prosec on tap (thanks Ell) and dreamy complementary Bramley products to use at my leisure. And leisurely I did. Some of the bigger rooms at the Artist Residence have stand alone bath tubs which is a definite must have for my next stay (yes, I was being a stalker on their website for about nine hours prior to booking *emoji eyes*) and yes, I'm already wondering when I can go back...
In the basement there is a dead cosy secret bar behind a bookcase (obsessed!) that serves the most amazing cocktails and employs the canniest (nicest) bar staff - we intended on popping down to The Curious Mr. Hanbury for a quick cocktail but safe to say once tucked inside this tiny hidden gem we were firmly settled for the night and basically spent the entire time drinking cocktails and beers, and chatting away to the lovely Amber behind the bar like we had been pals for years.
Slightly hazy on my birthday morn we nipped down to grab some (complimentary) breakie before (sadly) checking out of the lovely, and oh so conveniently located, Artist Residence we called home for approx. twenty-four hours. I definitely picked an ideal spot for my Birthday stay and in the words of Arnie - I'll be back... (/also MUST try the other locations in London and Cornwall too!!)
Rachael
x