As many people made a last minute dash to get away for the Bank Holiday weekend I decided to stay in London… onboard a luxury Yacht… the Sunborn London.

Sunbborn Yacht

The Sunborn Yacht is located by the Excel Centre in Royal Victoria Dock. As you can see it was a typical overcast Bank Holiday weekend, so it was great to be on board a floating hotel with a difference… it was not going anywhere as it is permanently moored.

Entrance to the hotel / yacht

As you enter the Yacht you are taken in an elevator to the Reception level.

Grand Staircase in the Reception Lobby

The Sunborn London has recently been launched and is still in it’s soft opening phase, as I was told. The check in was not as smooth as it could have been due to a computer failure, which apparently was quite a regular occurrence. It may have taken a little longer than usual although during the process I was informed that the rooms had their own tablet for guest use with Wi-Fi and as well as the usual tea and coffee making facilities, there was also a coffee maker.

I had booked a Classic Kingsize Yacht room. I asked if the room I was checked in to had a river view. I was told this is never guaranteed although when I was presented with my keycard I was pleasantly surprised to be told that I had been upgraded to the Junior Suite which did have a  river view.

Our receptionist who seemed a little flustered was polite and professional. However he did make a note to tell us that even though check out time was 12 noon to avoid checking out between 11am and 12 noon as he did not want a rush at the desk. To compensate for this he said we were welcome to take our time and check out later even after 12.30pm if need be. This to me was a red flag that they still have teething issues with dealing with checking guests in and out smoothly.

The suite I stayed in was the Wheelhouse at the very front and would have been as the name suggested where the ship would have been steered from by the Captain. I eventually located the Suite, unfortunately the signage only went up to room 5033 whereas my room was 5038 further along the corridor. Reception said they had noted that error and it was on the snagging list.

Once in the room it was met with great expectation:

Ensuite Shower Room (no bath available)

The room itself was a decent size with a “kingsize” bed. On closer inspection I was disappointed to see that this was in fact two single beds with a kingsize mattress topper. The ensuite shower was clean and compact as you would expect on a ship and had some lovely Molton Brown toiletries too.

Tea and Coffee, Safe and Mini Bar

Discreetly hidden in a cabinet was the tea and coffee making facilities, safe and minibar. The tea and coffee tray had to be taken out to be used. Did you spot what is missing from this picture? Yes, no cups. We contacted Reception about this and in no time they had been replaced.

The WheelHouse

The interconnecting door from the bedroom led you in to The Wheelhouse. This had wonderful views of the river and the Excel Centre. It was set up as a private dining / meeting room with regards to its layout. Other than that it was a little empty, as all the cupboards were bare. I was expecting some glasses and plates possibly that I could have used.

Outside The Wheelhouse was a lovely deck area which the room led on to:

Deck area

This was not actually a private decked area as other guests could access it from a side stairway.

The room itself was lovely although there were a few things missing. Other than the cups, there was no coffee maker. In the wardrobe there was an ironing board although no iron. Again this was mentioned to reception and they said they would make a note and ensure they were put in the room. Although I do wonder where they would have put the coffee maker as there was not a lot of space for this.

Breakfast was served in the main restaurant called Lands End. It was a buffet style with Continental and Full English choices. When I arrived in the restaurant the staff were busy clearing dirty tables and replenishing the food, although attention to detail was lacking. The table I sat at was not completely set up. It was only when I ordered a pot of tea that the female server noticed there were no teacups on the table for example. The clearing of plates was quite slow also.

Check out was much smoother than check in. Although there seemed to be more staff on than computers available, as was the case when I checked in. The receptionist, this time female was again lovely and polite although did roll her eyes when I informed her of some of the snagging issues I had come across.

This Super Yacht is luxurious to stay on – particularly if staying in the Junior Suite – however there are still some service issues that need to be addressed. In particular attention to detail. Hopefully once the hotel is fully opened it would have ironed out these teething problems as is the case with any new opening.