Travel: ​Portrait of a family’s stay at Bankside Hotel, London

Such was the case recently when my family and I booked a stay at Bankside Hotel, London. It was an auspicious occasion as my daughter would turn 16 whilst we were there. It would also be her, and her younger brother’s, first time in the vibrant, cosmopolitan city.

A Marriott Autograph Collection hotel, Bankside is a six-storey glass structure situated in the South Bank area of London, close to Blackfriars Bridge. The hotel is named after the area around it, whose main attractions are Tate Modern and the Globe theatre, where Shakespeare's plays are staged in the summer. Other London attractions such as The London Eye, are mere minutes away, as is the Graffiti Tunnel in nearby Leake Street.

Bankside is almost as much art gallery as hotel with pieces of modern art on its walls, a studio where local painters and sculptors can be seen at work, and it’s own large 'white cube' gallery space. But that doesn’t mean that it is highbrow or pretentious, far from it. There’s a laidback vibe and staff could not be friendlier or more helpful.

There were gasps of delight as we opened the door to our room on the fifth floor, with two very comfy large double beds, a ceiling-to-floor window framing the city’s jaw-dropping architecture (complete with remote controlled blackout blinds) a polished concrete ceiling and modern art on the walls.

As well as the usual mod cons, there’s a Nespresso coffee machine and tea making facilities, with really pretty, arty cups. The bathroom meanwhile has a rain shower, and Grown Alchemist bathroom products, which smell delicious. Throughout the hotel there are lots of clever 21st-century, eco friendly touches, including no single-use plastics. We loved the water service points where guests can fill jugs of still or sparkling water rather than the usual plastic bottles. And rather than minibars, there are vending machines dispensing wine and beers. Very clever!

The overall aesthetic is mid-century modern, with an eclectic mix of furniture and art that celebrates local craftsmanship. I loved the long mural of tiles in the Art Yard Bar and Kitchen. Crafted by London ceramicist Laura Carlin, it depicts the history of the Bankside area in sketches of everything from Viking longships to a skulking urban fox to New Year fireworks.

The aforementioned restaurant is informal and relaxed, with food that is second to none. Younger diners aged 12 or under can look forward to a curated £10 two-course menu. Meals are themed around an artist’s paintbox, with options including ‘Green’, pan-fried salmon and green beans, followed by a sticky chocolate brownie served on an artist’s palette or a scoop of creamy ice cream for dessert.

We enjoyed, the tuna nicoise with rare seared yellow fin tuna, anchovies and butter lettuce; and for mains the beetroot burger with chimichurri sauce, coleslaw, turmeric bun and fries, and wood-fired bass with clams, samphire, grilled red pepper, basil leaves. All worthy of high praise.

One could, if so inclined, spend the day relaxing in this gorgeous hotel, but with so many things to see and do in London, we had a packed scheduled.

Our first stop was the nearby Tate Modern (free entry), a vast contemporary-art behemoth where it would be easy to spend a full day. Surprisingly, the kids, not known for their love of trudging round art galleries, loved it, especially the quirkier exhibits.

There are plenty of ways to get round London from the tube to the bus, to e-scooters, and of course, old-fashioned walking, but to give us a 360 degree view of the city we opted to try the Uber Boat by Thames Clippers (@thamesclippers), and it was one of the highlights of our trip.

The boat stops at 24 piers along the Thames. We boarded at Blackfriars and travelled to Battersea Power Station. Inside there’s a spacious cabin and you can enjoy the taking in all the sights, like the Houses of Parliament, the MI6 building and Cleopatra’s Needle, whilst having a bite to eat from the onboard café.

One of London’s most famous landmarks, Battersea Power Station, which was decommisoned in 1983, is now a luxe leisure and shopping centre with shops including Rolex and Cartier. The merchandise may be beyond the means of this humble journalist, but the building’s silhouette of four slender white chimneys rising from the stepped art deco brick rooftop is something to behold.

No first-time visit to London would be complete without a visit to Madame Tussauds (www.madametussauds.com/london), so we joined the hordes of selfie-takers darting from famous face to famous face, papping and posing beside celebrities like George Clooney, the Royals, Kim Kardashian and David Bowie, all dressed to the nines and trapped in wax. It’s kitsch, it’s camp, but the kids loved it and so did we.

London is a shopper's paradise from iconic markets to historic department stores. We nipped into Borough Market for apple crumble and ambled around swanky Liberty’s.

After a day of shopping and sight-seeing in buzzy London it was a joy to return to the friendly ambience of the Bankside Hotel and those super comfy beds.

Breakfast, which is served in the Art Yard Bar and Kitchen, offers something to suit all tastes, including a vegan fry. Portions are hearty and everything is cooked to perfection, with the lovely staff on standby offering to top up teas and coffees and making sure everyone is content.

Bankside was a wonderful base for my family’s first time in London. And did the kids moan during our stay? Well, yes, but only that we couldn’t stay longer!