Sleeper hit: Park Hyatt London River Thames

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This article is part of FT Globetrotter’s guide to London

A night in Nine Elms is not necessarily on anyone’s bucket list. But if this — on the surface of it — slightly characterless area of London’s south bank was deemed good enough for the new US embassy, which opened in 2018, then it is surely prime territory for Park Hyatt, the Hyatt brand’s most luxurious incarnation and the first in the UK. It is, after all, still in zone 1, and a short stroll to MI6, the HQ of the UK secret services, no less, as well as the snazzy shopping mecca that is the newly opened Battersea Power Station development and, just across the river, Tate Britain.

This glitzy 203-room, 18-floor new high-rise hotel by architecture firm KPF opened quietly in autumn last year and has since become a bit of a sleeper hit for international Hyatt fans who come for its floor-to-ceiling windows, dreamy perspective on the Thames, fantastic 20-metre pool and zippy transport links to central London.

Arriving at Vauxhall underground station on a rainy Friday night, teeming with commuters, I couldn’t quite imagine an upscale bolt-hole on the other side of the busy intersection. But I was moved by the huge foyer of the Park Hyatt, with its super-high ceilings, accentuated by Charlie Whinney’s “Ebb and Flow”, a statement sculpture inspired by the river made from curlicues of wood and bronze running the length of the hallway.

Art looms large throughout, with site-specific commissioned works adding texture to the clean lines and generally neutral colour schemes across the 18 floors.

Restaurants and bar

The Nine Elms Bar and Lounge

The entrance gives way almost immediately on to the Nine Elms Bar, a spacious yet sultry space which by day is a hotspot for coffee meetings, segueing into cocktails in the late afternoon. Most intriguing is the wall behind the bar — a montage of vintage car parts, a nod to fact that the area was once known predominantly for a Rolls-Royce service centre and showroom. I enjoyed a reviving Caribbean Side, a combo of Tanqueray, crème d’abricot, Lillet blanc, prosecco and tonic, while my husband sank an Oriental Garden (Ketel One vodka, Rinquinquin, St-Germain, DOM Benedictine, Peychauds bitter and jasmine tea) — a more fitting precursor to our dinner.

Yú Gé restaurant

Under chef Eng Soon Yeo, this cosy corner restaurant has its own street-side entrance and is popular with the local Chinese community for celebratory or romantic meals à deux. On our visit, it was lively with families feasting on everything from dim sum platters to steamed grouper and sweet and sour pork with pineapple. I couldn’t resist the theatre of a Peking duck, expertly carved tableside here — the glassy burnt sienna skin of the upper slices served with pancakes and all the trimmings, the rest wok’d up into an unctuous stir-fry with spring onion and ginger as a main. A glass of Chinese Chardonnay (Magma Fei Tswei, Ningxia, China 2021) was just the accompaniment. Some of the desserts involving red beans and purple sweet potato seemed a little heavy after this duck feast, so we plumped for a refreshingly delicious mango bliss (mango, coconut and grapefruit).

Nine Elms Kitchen

You often only have to look at a hotel restaurant menu to get a clearer understanding of its clientele, and Nine Elms Kitchen is a case in point. You’ll find everything from lobster rolls to pork belly bao, chicken satay to green papaya salad (“the best I’ve had out of Thailand,” said one guest), togarashi calamari to grilled watermelon with feta. This kind of varied fare can be a bit dispiriting and unfocused but, on our visit, I was rather impressed by the selection of fresh, zingy dishes from all corners of the globe, whizzed out by the energetic team in the central open kitchen and super-friendly waiting staff. A decent buffet breakfast is served here too.

Rooms

My light-flooded 13th-floor room looked down the river to Battersea Bridge and beyond, and from my bed I could watch river traffic pootle up and down, as well as the odd mudlarker venturing on to the river bank at low tide. From the corner of the room, I also caught a game of ping-pong in a neighbouring high-rise apartment block. From my standalone bath next to the window, I was worried I would be spied from the office tower opposite, so decided to wait until nightfall and soak in the dark — which gave me another wonderful perspective of the Thames in the other direction, upstream towards the MI6 building, with Millbank and Westminster beyond, lit up splendidly.

The room itself was calm and bright, with white walls, parquet flooring and the odd colour accent, leaving the view to do the talking. That is not to say it wasn’t full of luxurious touches — a Toto toilet, double sink, full-sized products and a well-stocked mini bar and coffee station hidden in a cabinet.

Thirteen floors is a long way up, so I advise ordering in-room breakfast before you are starving. But, as Sloane Peterson said in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off from the top of the Chicago Sears Tower, “The city looks so peaceful from up here,” so it was a pleasure to wait.

Wellness centre, gym and pool

The first floor is given over to wellness — a welcome change from most hotels, with their cave-like subterranean spas. A 20-metre x 8-metre pool heated to 28-30C is a serious draw — and non-guests can even book a day pass to the facilities for £60, including sauna and pool, or £80 taking in the gym too. On my visit I didn’t have time to try the £55 Somadome meditation pod — but I am tempted to go back for it, on account of its promises to help you, as they say, “become your best self, more of the time”. No small feat.

At a glance

• Rooms and suites: 203

• Good for: Sublime river views and easy transportation to central London

• Not so good for: The immediate vicinity

• FYI: The hotel’s electrical supply is sourced from 100 per cent renewable green energy

• Address: 7 Nine Elms Lane, London SW8 5PH

• Website; Directions

Rebecca Rose was a guest of Park Hyatt London River Thames

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