Ace Hotel in Shoreditch

With a reception looking more like a record store the Ace Hotel in Shoreditch both unsettles and comforts at the same time.  Design cognoscenti will be familiar with the hybridisation of spaces where aesthetic styles are borrowed and re used but your average punter may find the collision unnerving.  

But this is Shoreditch and with friendly staff welcoming guests any jitters are quickly overcome. The use of materials, with rich colours and textures is immediately comforting and reassuring. With a palette of greys, copper, exposed concrete and timber the design creates a warm and sophisticated impression.  

We're met by Laslo, dressed casually in a t-shirt, jeans and Doc Martens. All black but offset by yellow laces. Receptionists wear white shirts with black ties and ribbed jumpers.  There's a touch of military fatigues about them but this ain't no boot camp.




































Ascending the lift to the rooms, reached along corridors of raw concrete, artwork panels 
and large navigation graphics, the aesthetic continues combined with some witty details 
including a magnetic door panel with a reversible magnetic sign to attract room service's
attention.


There's a industrial feel to the fixtures and fittings but the hard edge is softened by timber, cork panels, individual wall art and a lovely patchwork blue bed spread on a very comfortable bed.  The mini bar includes Polish vodka and Pot Noodle which sums up this place where luxury is mixed with austerity, stripped back and rich, but put together with a sophistication that appeals to customers looking for a unique experience.



I pluck an Eric Clapton vinyl album from the shelf, some rooms have record players, and an Ercol stool sits in the white tiled bathroom.  There's something vaguely nostalgic about how it's all put together, harking back to a simpler utilitarian lifestyle perhaps, but with the mod cons and service you'd expect from a top hotel.

The reception area currently includes an exhibition about the design of the hotel including a materials board which is great for students and professionals of design. A great website and the usual blog, Facebook and Twitter feeds provide a seamless and rounded experience.