Park Hyatt, London River Thames Hotel

The Park Hyatt London River Thames opened in October 2024, marking the brand’s first UK property. Housed in the lower 18 floors of a 42-storey, 160-metre glass tower at One Nine Elms, the hotel is part of a riverside skyline fast catching up with Canary Wharf’s skyscraper moment of the 1980s and 1990s.

Inside, neutral palettes, high ceilings and floor-to-ceiling windows create a calm, modern atmosphere. Guest rooms are large and uncluttered, with plush beds, soft textures and marble bathrooms — some with freestanding tubs looking directly onto the Thames. The hotel’s scaleshows elsewhere, too. Its heated 20-by-8-metre indoor pool is among the largest in Londonhotels, designed for proper lengthsrather than just floating. Swirling through the lobby, a striking gold installation by Charlie Whinney, Ebb and Flow, references the Thames without overstatement.

Made with wood from the Lake District and copper from China, it underscores the hotel’s deliberate ‘East meets West’ theme – fittingfor an Asian-owned property.

Dining is pitched well above the international-chain standard. The Nine Elms Kitchen serves small plates, flatbreads, grills and salads with seasonal ingredients, from Cornish crab salad to a playful ‘fish and chips burger.’ From Wednesday to Sunday, Yú Gé presents refined Cantonese cooking. Led by Eng Soon Yeo, formerly of Hakkasan, the dim sumand roast duck are the standouts.

Location is another advantage. A 15-minute walk across Vauxhall Bridge brings you to Tate Britain; cricket fans can reach the Oval in the same time in the other direction, while Westminster Abbey is half an hour’s stroll along the river.

Nine Elms may still be in transition, but the Park Hyatt already feels settled — a gleaming tower with the scale, design and service to match its ambitions.

Words by Rod Mackenzie.

Doubles from £389. 020 3503 1234, hyatt.com