Waking to gulls and a wall of glass overlooking the Thames, you could briefly believe you're aboard a glamorous liner rather than in a brutalist block on London's South Bank. That's the whole point of Sea Containers London, the Lore Group hotel whose nautical conceit lands hardest in its new Riverside Suites, reviewed recently by Suitcase Magazine.
The suites, which opened this summer, come with floor-to-ceiling doors onto a balcony running the full length of the room. From the 65sq m Riverview Balcony Suite, the view sweeps along the river towards Blackfriars Bridge, with St Paul's and the City's older riverside facades shimmering opposite. Inside, designer Jacu Strauss has gone full seafaring: North Sea-grey panelling, a curving powder-blue sofa, bright red accents and a concave metal sculpture that looks like a porthole bubble. There's a king-size bed, a big lounge, a breakfast bar with coffee machine and cocktail kit, and a two-person roll-top tub in a marble bathroom.
The hotel has 359 rooms, from standard categories up to the huge Thames Apartment, both of which are getting a Strauss refresh for 2026. Lore Group has a track record with statement suites — think the Collector's Suites at Amsterdam's Pulitzer or the First Lady suites at Riggs in Washington DC — and this property's Cabin Suite Collection channels the golden age of transatlantic cruising. The message: upgrade if you can.
Food and drink are a strong reason to stay even without a room. Sea Containers Restaurant leans seafood (Dover sole, oysters, mussels, cod with leek chowder), with weekend brunch plates like Devon crab eggs Benedict and sea bass ceviche tacos — and a Gordon Ramsay partnership arriving later this year should sharpen the menu. Downstairs, Lyaness, Ryan Chetiyawardana's vast blue cocktail bar, serves playful drinks including a flamingo-pink gimlet and a highball riffing on the Tube map; the rooftop 12th Knot has views across to St Paul's but closes some weekdays.
There's plenty to fill a weekend without leaving the building: a Curzon cinema screening films Friday to Sunday, the Agua Spa with yoga and sound bathing (open 9.30am to 7pm), a gym, and one of London's best running routes right outside along the riverbank. Sustainability touches include on-site solar panels and refillable water carafes; 34 bedrooms are wheelchair accessible and all communal areas are step-free.
It's also a strong pick for families — spacious suites, kid-friendly packages and room types, a Den stocked with board games, children's spa treatments, family film screenings and a kids' restaurant menu.
For travellers, this is a hotel that justifies splurging on a river-facing room: the view and the nautical theatre are what you're paying for, and the South Bank location puts the Tate Modern, Shakespeare's Globe and riverside walks on the doorstep.
