To me hotel is a big part of a trip. Travel is always a vacation to me, so a hotel should be cosy, stylish and nice. A big plus is if it’s also sustainable. And it looks like I’ve found almost all of that in a Qbic hotel in London.
Qbic Hotel – Where Design meets Sustainability
Qbic location
Qbic hotel is located in the east part of London, in a hipster Shoreditch. A neighbourhood is famous for its street art and many cool cafés and restaurants. The hotel itself is very close to Aldgate East station, so it’s very easy to commute anywhere in London with a tube. Some 15 minutes walk away from it is a Tower Gateway station where you can catch more tubes and a DLR trains (which was very useful to me, because I’ve stayed in Qbic hotel during my visit to WTM London).
Qbic design
One of the reasons I wanted to stay in Qbic hotel was its focus on design. And it was so visible from a second I walked through its doors. Its lobby was a little gallery with all the different modern design and art pieces exhibited. It gave it a great creative urban feel. I could see that someone thought very well of interior design and decoration when creating the hotel.
Qbic hotel rooms
You can also feel that focus on a design in its rooms as well. One of the first things I’ve noticed when entered my room was a large pop-art wallpaper above the bed. It gave a room more of an urban youthful sense.
I stayed in a Cosy Room (standard double) and it had a nice bedroom area with a large double bed, TV, open clothes hanger, desk and a chair. And a spacious bathroom with a rain shower, too.
Some of the lamps and furniture were made by a Dutch designer Sander Bokkinga. His signature on all of them is a green pipe he’s using as a part of a decoration.
Qbic green hotel
But, after that first impression of a hotel with a great focus on a design, I felt that taking care of the environment was something very important for the hotel creators.
They wanted to make it as green as possible. And they’ve done it through collaborations with local sustainable brands or by reducing chemicals used in a hotel or wasting the water.
# – Qbic bed mattress
I have to say here, that bed in a Qbic hotel was really one of the most comfortable I’ve slept in. It was really hard to get out of bed in the morning. And, according to the Qbic hotel the reason is their handmade and organic mattress. They were made by the local British company ‘Naturalmat’. And they are making them from recycled denim, organic lambswool and coconut fibre. They are so proud of them that you can read the whole section on their website about these mattresses. And even order one custom-made for yourself, as well.
# – Qbic cleaning
Qbic hotel is also encouraging its guests to reuse their towels and to skip room cleaning if they don’t need it. You can simply hang a teddy bear on the door and inform the staff that way they don’t have to clean your room. And Qbic will treat you with a drink in their bar as a reward!
# – Qbic bathroom
I could probably feel the focus on sustainability mostly in a hotel’s bathroom. A large part of a spacious bathroom was dedicated to the rain shower. They’re using a special technology of mixing the water with the air. And in this way reducing wasting too much of the water. And to be honest, I didn’t felt I was missing some of the water while I was taking a shower.
The things I especially loved there was shower gel and shampoo. They are using cosmetics from the brand called ‘Stop-the-water-while-using-me‘. A brand which doesn’t use any artificial ingredients, colours and preservatives, animal testing or non-biodegradable elements. But, still, the products were great and smelled gorgeous!
I’ve actually ordered some online after I’ve come back home because I’ve felt in love with them so much. You can find them here!
Qbic food
Restaurant area in a Qbic hotel was no disappointment either. Once again it had that urban feel with a focus on a modern and unique design. Since I was on a business trip to London, I would come back to the hotel very late and was just too tired to go somewhere out on dinner. So I happened to have dinner a few times in a hotel. And I wasn’t disappointed at all! Food was lovely, the prices were decent and the atmosphere was very cosy.
Breakfast was one of the best hotel breakfasts I’ve ever had. Especially because of its wide range of healthy food. Cereals, a lot of different kind of fruit, seeds and a porridge. It was a perfect boost of energy I needed so much in the morning.
Qbic neighbourhood
The only thing I didn’t like about the Qbic hotel was its surrounding. Although I love Shoreditch neighbourhood, the area around the hotel wasn’t that nice. Streets were quite dirty and I was approached a few times by a bit aggressive homeless or drunk people. In a morning many homeless people were sleeping on a street and it didn’t gave me a feeling of a safe area.
However, the metro station is just a few steps away and the streets are busy, so I didn’t felt that unsafe. But, still, it’s something to have in mind when booking the hotel (especially if you’ll be travelling alone as I did).
*I was a guest of Qbic Hotel and received it as a complimentary stay. However, as always all opinions are my own.
** This blog post contain some affiliate links.