Detailed Review
The Zetter Hotel rooms have all been individually designed to offer style, comfort and personality without the price tag. At the Zetter we focus on the basics: a great bed, a superb shower and cutting edge in–room entertainment. We also offer state–of–the–art meetings facilities for the business guest.
The Zetter Restaurant offers seasonal, clean–flavoured, modern Mediterranean food – always made with the highest quality ingredients and always delivered at sensible prices. Open seven days a week for breakfast, lunch & dinner; all day bar snacks; weekend brunches and private parties
Press Quotes
"Heaven will be a letdown after visiting this Victorian warehouse." The New York Times 07
“A destination in its own right.” The Sunday Times 06
"For sophisticates or city slickers, The Zetter, in trendy Clerkenwell, offers a paean to all things designy." The Independent 05
"Very sleek, very Clerkenwell." Guardian 05
Independent Reviews
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"A sharp city-slicker boutique hotel in Clerkenwell, a short stroll from St Paul's and the British Museum."
The Zetter
By Kevin Kalhoefer
Opened in March 2004, The Zetter Hotel is the collaborative project of Michael Benyan and Mark Sainsbury and the result of their efforts to create a thoroughly contemporary hotel. The Zetter has an air of youthfulness hard to come by in older and larger chain hotels. As a privately owned hotel, the hotel strays away from traditional hotel designs and philosophies, opting instead for a hipper and fashionable design and service that’s professional yet casual and informal. The Zetter’s architecture is a deftly-executed balance between traditional Victorian — the building was originally a 19th century Victorian warehouse — and a pastiche of modern design (note the symbols used to distinguish the men’s and women’s washrooms and the restaurant cards that echo mtv’s ads). The hotel’s location in the heart of Clerkenwell means less tourists and more business and local clientele. Yet that doesn’t mean there is nothing to offer the tourist market; for sightseeing and local attractions, St. Paul’s Cathedral, The British Museum, and the Barbican Arts Center are all within walking distance. There is not much to choose from in terms of shopping around the area, but the Farringdon Tube station is about a five-minute walk away. And weekend rates are some of the best in London for this quality of hotel. As for the building itself, the floor plan of The Zetter makes excellent use of natural daylight. There is scarcely a dark area in the hotel’s 5 stories and 59 bedrooms during the daytime. The use of daylight gives the hotel an added warmth and vibrancy. Similarly, the hotel’s chicly designed reception rooms are frequently teeming with people — many of them creatives — and you can buy reasonably priced drinks from the reception area. Professionalism without the formality and “no fuss or frills” are the Zetter’s mantras and the casual atmosphere in the hotel’s meeting rooms and the young staff make for a relaxing experience. Adjacent to the reception room is The Zetter’s modern Italian restaurant. Food is available throughout the day, unlike other hotels. The rooms are moderately sized and sparsely decorated with understated wallpaper art (the room I saw had painting of a group of flamingos about 2ft. x 5ft. and that’s it). However, guests can engross themselves in the latest in entertainment technology. Guests can sample from an extensive musical library of 4000 tracks and make use of the room’s DVD/CD player. The rooms feature flat screen televisions equipped with satellite channels and movies on demand that also allow guests to check their e-mails and surf the net via broadband. The top floor is designated for the hotel’s seven rooftop studios, which are spacier and provide views across downtown London. The rooms also come with a generously stacked mini-bar, 24-hour room service, and walk-in showers. For guests who want a hotel that is affordable, comes with all the latest in design and service and possesses an air of youthfulness — this is the first venture into the hotel industry for owners Michael Benyan and Mark Sainsbury — the Zetter is a good choice.
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