Hilton London Bankside is a flagship London design-led hotel and pioneer for the next generation of Hilton hotels. Located in the heart of the vibrant cultural quarter of Bankside, the hotel features a contemporary industrial design and artworks by British artists referencing the rich history of the Bankside area and its past life as an Essence Factory in the 1800s.

The hotel has 292 modern guest rooms, including 25 bespoke Suites and one beautiful Penthouse apartment with private terrace as well as an Executive Lounge, 11 flexible meeting rooms and leisure facilities including a fitness studio and indoor swimming pool.

The hotel also houses a 168-cover restaurant and specialist Gin Bar, OXBO Bankside and The Distillery. This year the hotel launched the world’s very first Vegan Suite, following guest feedback. Given the approval of the Vegan Society, everything from the carpets to the pillow options and mini-bar offering has been redesigned to create a boutique, luxurious and welcoming experience for the ethically conscious traveller.

Hilton London Bankside also features Bankside’s largest Ballroom accommodating up to 700 guests theatre style or 600 in a banquet setting. With a private entrance, a 6-metre high ceiling, dramatic chandeliers, a balcony and sweeping marble staircase, the ballroom is the largest in the Bankside.

Designed in partnership with London-based practices Dexter Moren architects and design studio twenty2degrees, the vision for Hilton London Bankside was to break away from the classic Hilton mould and pioneer the next generation of design-led Hilton hotels, embracing the authentic Bankside neighbourhood as the primary source of inspiration.

The architects mined the rich seam of history and heritage to create a concept that captures the grittiness and texture of the neighbourhood, mixed with refined nostalgic details and contemporary simplicity. A combination of the concrete brutalism of Southbank, the urban edginess of Bankside, the looming shadow of TATE Modern and the power of the River Thames inspired the force of the narrative and the details of the design.

Following guest feedback, Hilton London Bankside launched a new Vegan Suite in January 2018, designed in collaboration with Bompas & Parr – experts in multi-sensory design.

The whole suite underwent a complete refurbishment, with the involvement of The Vegan Society – who were consulted on the vegan-friendly materials and design elements throughout the process. Everything from the carpets to the pillow options and mini-bar offering was redesigned to create a boutique, luxurious and welcoming experience for the ethically-conscious traveller.

Guests enjoy a vegan experience from the moment they step foot into the hotel and are greeted with a specially designed plant-based check-in desk, with upholstered Piñatex seating and botanical artwork before being given their Piñatex keycard.

The calming suite interior draws inspiration from the simple pineapple, which symbolises luxury and hospitality, having been brought to South London by botanist John Tradescant in the 17th century, with noticeable nods throughout to London architecture – including the finials of St Paul’s Cathedral.

Utilising Piñatex – a natural leather made from the fruit’s cellulose fibres that have been extracted from its leaves – the suite’s interior was built with influences of the delicately pure core material throughout with every detail being intricately thought through.

Throughout suite, guests experience a range of specially designed features that embrace a plant-based lifestyle including:

Bedding
• Pillow options include anti-bacterial, non-allergenic and environmentally sourced material to replace feather down such as Buckwheat pillow made with 100% organic buckwheat hulls, Kapok Pillow made from natural kapok, Millet Pillow made with organic millet husks, Orthopedic memory foam pillow made with bamboo shredded fibre along with Anti-Allery Foam Pillow, made with 100% recycled cluster polyester
• Piñatex leather headboard – plant-based natural leather using the pineapple’s fibres and hand-embroidered by local embroidery artist Emily Potter

Flooring and Eco-Cotton Carpeting
Guests can enjoy a stylish, solid stone-grey flooring with distressed finish made with 100% renewable and sustainable Moso Bamboo. The suite also includes responsibly sourced organic cotton carpets for guests to sink their feet into, offering a soft and eco-friendly alternative.

Seating
Desk chair and pouffes that feature in the suite have been stylishly created using Piñatex leather, with scattered Piñatex cushions to keep a chic feel to the space.

Vegan Mini-Bar
The mini bar offers a variety of locally-sourced, vegan treats including Graze protein powder, Naked fruit and nut snacks and Deliciously Ella energy balls in different flavours.

In-room menu
The culinary team at Hilton London Bankside has redesigned the in-room menu which now includes various vegan breakfast options (e.g. fruit juices, muesli, hummus and vegetables, potato hash, grilled Portobello mushroom, avocado and scrambled Quorn and quinoa), as well as lunch and dinner (e.g. cucumber salad, cauliflower steak and five-bean dhal).

Toiletries
The suite provides PRIJA ginseng, earthly hotel toiletries such as shampoo and conditioner and essentials such as a shower cap, vanity and nail kit (made with recycled packaging).

Stationery
The suite’s desk comes kitted out with stationery from notepads, pens and pencils which are all vegan-friendly with no animal traces in the paper or ink.

Cleaning products
The hotel’s housekeeping trolleys have been refreshed with eco-friendly products including Method’s range of nature inspired, non-toxic and non animal-tested cleaning products, with all linen being washed with environmentally friendly detergent.

Less than a year after opening, Hilton London Bankside introduced a rooftop meadow on the fourth floor of the hotel to help reintegrate greenery into the Bankside landscape.

Alongside wild flowers and a variety of plants, the hotel worked with local partner Bermondsey Street Bees to install beehives as part of Hilton Bankside’s proactive contribution to London’s green infrastructure. Bees are vital in the city to pollinate gardens, allotments, parks and other public areas – and to provide local honey to Londoners which can help cure hay fever symptoms during the summer months. A significant contributor to the decline of honey bees in the past few years has been the loss of flower-rich habitat on which the bees are dependent on for food. The productive use of its open spaces is part of Hilton Bankside’s campaign to help maintain a sustainable London.

The apiary was designed and installed by Bermondsey Street Bees founder Dale Gibson, an expert on sustainable urban beekeeping. Dale, who has won many awards for his honey, specializes in designing apiaries for chefs, hotels and restaurants, as well as keeping bees at locations as varied as Lambeth Palace and Bermondsey street roof tops.

Each of the four beehives were designed and painted by local designer Alex Monroe in their own individual style representing each of the four British seasons and are named after local landmarks – Tate, The Shard, St Pauls and Bankside.