Hilton London Bankside has expanded to 368 rooms, with design studio SpaceInvader delivering 76 new rooms and suites that lean hard into the neighbourhood's identity. Bankside was historically known as 'the other side of the Thames' – a free-thinking, slightly rebellious quarter – and the new interiors borrow from the Tate Modern next door, Shakespeare's Globe, the area's graffiti culture and the railway viaducts that slice through it.
The standout design gesture is a set of bespoke sculptural headboards that sweep across the wall and wrap around the corners of the room like a theatrical screen, cocooning the bed. Art placement flips the usual script too: instead of a print above the bed, works are hung on other walls or around corners, mimicking the experience of stumbling across street art while walking the area. There's even a recurring 3D fox motif, a nod to folklore about a vulpine visitor when the original building stood on the site.
Architects Studio Moren added a ninth floor with views over Bankside and the London skyline, plus new rooms on floors four to six. Twelve room categories are now on offer, across four design typologies: King Superior rooms with chaises longues and Silestone desks; King Executive Premium rooms in blue velvet referencing the Thames; General Suites with L-shaped sofas, jewel tones and freestanding baths; and two ninth-floor Penthouse Suites. One penthouse features an art wall of fifteen lit squares, each telling one of 'The Fifteen Stories of Bankside'.
Wellness-minded guests get looked after too. A dedicated Premium Peloton Room comes with a mirrored fitness alcove and personal Peloton bike, while the Landmark View Suite adds a private mini gym with personalised lighting, sound and scent programmes, and an in-room fitness menu for extra equipment. City View Suite guests get a sensor-lit walk-in wardrobe.
Sustainability is baked in rather than bolted on: Silestone tabletops contain at least 20% recycled materials and are made on 100% certified renewable energy, the carpets are cradle-to-cradle bronze certified, and the mural wallpaper uses BIOVYN, a bio-sourced vinyl.
For travellers, this matters if you're booking a South Bank stay and want character over cookie-cutter. The suite tier in particular is pitched at a residential 'dream apartment' feel – kitchenettes, lounges, dining areas – which suits longer city breaks or work-plus-leisure trips. The location puts you steps from Tate Modern, the Globe and the riverside walk, and the design makes the most of that context rather than ignoring it.
