Last updated: October 09, 2024
If you love rocking out to your favourite music as much as you love fancy hotels, then the newly refurbed Cumberland Hotel in London’s vibrant Marble Arch area of the city is where you need to stay.
When planning your trip to London, there’s literally hundreds of hotels to choose from, but if music is your vibe, you’re going to love The Cumberland Hotel which is themed, stylish and fun all at the same time. Formerly the Hard Rock Hotel, some of the biggest musicians in the world have stayed at this hotel which makes it feel all the more special.
We’d definitely recommend living it up like the VIP you are and booking a suite which comes with VIP benefits of ‘Back Stage’ access. This means super-fast check in behind the main lobby’s check in desk, free soft drinks and alcohol from 5pm as well as breakfast and afternoon snacks. There’s even an electric guitar if you fancy playing!
Spacious king-sized suites come with your own lounge area so you can really spread out, a brilliant separate walk-in wardrobe room with tonnes of space for all your fancy things and a Marshall amp so you can blast your tunes or crank up the volume with some vinyl. We loved our retro record player and had the sounds of Jimi Hendrix playing out while we got ready for dinner.
The bathroom is big and beautiful with a good sized rainfall shower and an ample sized bath if you fancy chilling in the tub. There’s also Hypnos beds for an uber comfy sleep, complimentary mini-bar, super fast wifi, Nespresso coffee machine and luxury toiletries to boot.
Written on the mirror is a list of the heights of famous pop and rock kings and queens – who knew Ariana Grande was under 5ft?! These little quirks are really nice and set The Cumberland apart from more serious, corporate hotels! We even had a top of the range electric guitar in the room in case we fancied going full on rock star and while we didn’t use the TV, there is one should you need it.
Down into the Back Stage VIP area for post 5pm pre-drinner drinks, we were surprised at the selection of snacks and bites and all the premium pours of wines and spirits. While we could’ve stayed in here all night with its comfy sofas and chilled vibes, we headed out into the SOUND Café for two for one cocktails, while being entertained by the live music. There’s actually live acts on every single night of the week, really setting it apart from other hotels and making it very easy to just stay in the hotel as opposed to venturing out and exploring London if you fancy resting your feet after a hectic tourist day. With sport on the TV screens, and plenty of seating for food and drinks, we settled in with a big plate of cheesy nachos and indulged in several cocktails.
The food menu has a good choice of widely appealing dishes and we decided to share fajitas which were plentiful and extremely tasty! After eating, we wandered round the lobby marvelling at the various pieces of art work and the actual black London cab (which actually has a photo booth inside). The ‘Objects of music’ exhibition is a really incredible music inspired installation in red white and blue – paying homage to the union flag and the London music scene, and housed in pretty special display cabinets.
After more drinks, a great night’s sleep and a hearty breakfast (the buffet has everything you can think of), we left all of our luggage at concierge and stretched our legs on Oxford Street before a stroll in London’s beautiful Hyde Park which is just a few minutes walk away.
As far as themed hotels go, The Cumberland is pretty special and one you’d quite happily re-visit on your next jaunt to the capital.
Book your stay here and check out more London hotel reviews here.
