EMMA BARTHOLOMEW stays a night at M By Montcalm hotel, off Old Street’s Silicon Roundabout and finds it as high tech as expected
The first time I saw the M by Montcalm hotel as I was walking up City Road, I did a double take.
As a backdrop the sky was radiant as sun was setting – and the skyscraper at the fore appeared to be flat.
Maybe it’s a combination of the triangular building and its eclectically-shaped angled windows which create the optical illusion.
Whatever it is, it’s an ultra-modern design feat.
Inside I found what’s possibly the most up to the minute tech hotel I’ve ever visited.
The futuristic bedroom is not square - more of a triangle shape, with windows that are parallelograms angled upwards – and evidently what makes the optical illusion outside.
In many cultures black symbolises luxury, and here there’s plenty of it.
The bedroom has the feel of a very luxurious office.
There’s a black and white colour theme, sharp angles, shiny furniture and a wall of soft leather behind the bed.
A tablet on the wall controls just about everything.
I have fun playing around with its “mood lighting” button, changing the colours of the lights, from where they come from and their brightness.
The tablet also controls the curtains, and instead of having to leave those cardboard signs hanging on your door, which invariably fall off, you can press a button here to say “Please clean my room” or “Do not disturb”.
What might happen in the event of a power cut, God only knows.
Carpets are so plush you feel yourself sinking into the fibres, even with shoes on.
Dinner in the hotel’s Urban Coterie restaurant on the 16th floor is an experience to remember, and should be undertaken even if you’re not staying at the hotel.
The lighting is intimate and dimmed inside, making the spectacular bright lights of London’s nightscape all the more vibrant.
We can see Canary Wharf from one window, and the London Eye from the other.
The food is exquisite, and the chef comes to explain every course of his artistry to us.
Despite being above one of London’s busiest roads, the room is incredibly silent and I slept soundly in the pitch darkness.
Breakfast is served in the hotel’s other restaurant, Tonic and Remedy, on the first floor. Open plan, it’s bustling and, as you’d expect from a five star hotel, there’s plenty on offer from fried English breakfast to more healthy alternatives.
A day in the spa here is fantastic – and again worth experiencing even as a day visitor.
A stunning swimming pool with marble and a shrine at the far end, a huge sauna area behind and through a door a peaceful enclosed room of leather loungers – where I actually fell asleep.
M by Montcalm is every bit as techie as it is luxurious – and I’d expect nothing less from a hotel in the heart of Tech City’s silicon roundabout.
A stay in a double room at the M By Montcalm costs from £334.
151-157 City Road, EC1V 1JH
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