On Board with the Exceptional Hospitality of Sunborn London Yacht Hotel

Simon Wittenberg climbs aboard London’s only superyacht hotel to experience a luxurious weekend overnight stay with a difference on the River Thames.

Sunborn London is not your regular four-star bricks and mortar hotel, but one that is housed within a superyacht. At five storeys high and 120 metres in length, this sparkling white vessel is not seagoing, nor has it ever been.

Starting off life floating next to a luxury hotel in Finland in 2003, it was then fully refurbished at a cost of several million pounds, and towed over a fortnight to its current mooring on London’s Royal Victoria Dock opposite the Royal Victoria footbridge, and the vast ExCeL exhibition centre.

In fact, the historic Royal Victoria Dock dates back to 1855, and was once home to steam ships, and became the first dock to use hydraulic power to operate its machinery. Today, a total of 14 preserved black Stothert and Pitt cranes line the quayside, which tower over the river and the Sunborn yacht.

With the vessel accessed towards the stern via a covered Sunborn-branded walkway and a set of lifts, guests are then greeted on the third floor with the main reception area, which sits underneath an impressive mirrored grand central sweeping staircase and hanging chandelier – akin to what you would find in the finest of superyachts.

Resting and Reclining
Accommodation comes in the form of 133 rooms and five suites, which are split across the five levels rising up from the waterline. Offering views of either the surrounding dock or the river, and priced from around £230 per night on a weekend, the categories start with the Yacht Classic, and culminate with the two flagship 45 square-metre Yacht Executive Suites.

We stayed in a spacious cabin-esque Yacht Executive Room, which featured its own private balcony with a couple of chairs that looked out on to the river, and a view downstream towards The O2 Arena.

Although the Sunborn London Yacht Hotel is located close to City Airport, there was no disturbance of note, nor was there much passing traffic on the river to compromise this relatively tranquil location.

Our room came nicely furnished with a king-sized bed made up of a surprisingly thin, but comfortable mattress lined with a plethora of cushions and pillows, plus a small lounge area with a sofa, coffee table (which hosted a delicious selection of afternoon tea pastries on our arrival), a flatscreen TV, and a writing desk.

When hunting around for sockets to charge up a phone for example, there’s no obvious provision for USB cables and, with the vessel hailing from Scandinavia, they were mostly two-pin sockets, which is of course handy for European guests, but less so for UK visitors. There’s also the added bonus of fast and free Wi-Fi throughout.

The bathroom was a touch small, but was spacious enough to conduct one’s ablutions with the help of some nicely scented dispensers from H2k Botanicals of Harrogate. It also came with powerful heated flooring banishing any chance of getting the shivers, a shower cubicle, a toilet, and a single sink. White fluffy towels, bathrobe and slippers equally provided a nice touch of comfort.

Sipping and Sunsets
Just behind the main foyer and leading out onto the rear deck is the Sundown Bar, which faces west downriver towards Central London.

It’s a must-visit, especially on a warm sunny day, that we were also fortunate enough to have, as it offers the chance to enjoy a magnificent sunset over the Canary Wharf skyline as day gives way to dusk, and then to night, hence this establishment’s very apt name.

With seating inside and al fresco, it’s the ideal opportunity to indulge in a cocktail or two, a glass of wine, a soft drink, or even some bar snacks.

As an accompaniment to the spectacular panoramic vista, I enjoyed a brilliantly concocted Piña Colada (£15), which came with thick coconut cream and, similarly, was not overpowered by the dash of rum, thereby achieving an excellent balance between ingredients.

My other half opted for the equally impressive Pornstar Martini (also £15) garnished with half a passion fruit and arriving with a side shot of Prosecco – the perfect prelude to an evening meal aboard this floating yacht hotel.

Dining and Admiring
The Lands End Restaurant, which is inspired by all things ships, such as the anchor motifs on the carpet and round port hole windows lining the walls, is situated on the fourth floor of the yacht and offers British cuisine and a good array of dishes.

These are the domain of the hotel’s Head Chef, Paul Ribbands, who has previously plied his trade at the Westbury Hotel Mayfair and the Lanesborough, meaning diners are in good hands.

Seating over 100 people in a single sitting, this eatery offers nice views of the river, and therefore, a tip is to sit by the window at dinner to admire the illuminated London cityscape, where your eyes can follow the cable cars which turn purple and pass each other as they venture across the river through the night sky.

In fact, at a ten-minute walk away, the IFS Cloud Cable Car (costing £7 each way) grants spectacular far-stretching views on a sunny day, including, of course, Sunborn London, which can be seen in all its splendour from up above.

Being on the water, it was only apt to pursue a marine theme for my choice of dishes at Lands End Restaurant. I kicked off with the salmon rillette with smoked halibut (£16.50), which translates as a stacked salmon mousse sitting on cured pieces of sliced fish with a sprinkling of salad garnish for decoration.

Dishes will be adapted where possible for dietaries, but vegans may struggle a little here, and this applied to the starter, so my other half headed for the Sunborn B.O.A.T (£12). This took the form of a round, homemade, warm loaf of bread sporting a nice thick crust, some olives, and a delicious tomato tapenade, all joined by a small green salad.

On to the mains, and there’s a choice of six different dishes spanning lobster tagliatelle, to chicken breast, and duck leg.

Being a pescatarian, it was a definite thumbs up for the roasted sea bass with crushed new potatoes and samphire (£37), which I tried, whilst my dining partner tucked into the succulent piece of medium-cooked Herefordshire beef (£42), alongside the stacked and layered potato dauphinoise, and seasonal vegetables. In fact, with such generous portions, sides are not really needed, but there are extras, such as chips, should these be desired.

To round off dinner, I headed for the elegant and seeping warm dark chocolate fondant (£12.50), whilst my other half decided on the cool refreshing blood orange sorbet (£9.50) which came with rhubarb gin and berry compote in a delightful crystal container for another nice touch of luxury.

Drawing open the curtains in the morning reveals a calmness and birds bobbing up and down on the surface of the river, and heading out on the balcony gave the chance to catch a refreshing light breeze. Breakfast on a Sunday morning is served from 8 am and is entirely buffet-based.

As this hotel is popular with guests visiting ExCeL, as was the case on the weekend that we stayed, the trick here is to get there from the beginning of service, to avoid the rush of early risers, and the queues for the vital ingredients of a full English.

In summary…
It must be said that our stay was all plain sailing from start to finish, and Sunborn Yacht Hotel London certainly floats our boat, thanks to the service and exceptional attention to detail shown by the team during our stay.

It is set to get even better thanks to planning permission being granted for the next generation of Sunborn London, which will take the form of a newly constructed and rather futuristic-looking eco-friendly yacht hotel with 225 rooms and extensive leisure and event facilities.

Sunborn London Yacht Hotel – Where and How?

Sunborn London Yacht Hotel is located at Royal Victoria Dock, London E16 1AA, United Kingdom. For more information or to make a reservation, visit www.sunbornlondon.com.

See highlights from our visit on our Instagram page.

Photography courtesy of and by Altitude Lifestyle, Simon Wittenberg and Sunborn London.