Review: Great Scotland Yard Hotel, London (Hyatt’s Unbound Collection)

This is our review of the Great Scotland Yard Hotel, part of Hyatt’s Unbound Collection and probably the best Hyatt property in London.

It was the first UK hotel to join Hyatt’s Unbound Collection, which lets high quality hotels join World of Hyatt without having to adhere, line by line, to the standards of Hyatt’s own brands. That means you can earn and burn points and receive World of Hyatt status benefits in what is, effectively, a luxury independent hotel.

Rhys stayed here in 2021, just after it opened, and was impressed. The flagship ‘Ekstedt at The Yard’ restaurant was not open at that point, however. Hyatt was keen for us to return, partly to let London based readers, as well as potential guests, know what Ekstedt has to offer – and it is very good as you will see.

The hotel’s name stems from use of the building at one point as the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police. The ‘Scotland’ element goes back to when this area was part of the Palace of Whitehall and housed diplomatic representatives of the Kingdom of Scotland.  After the Met moved to Victoria – and more recently back to Embankment – the building was used by the Ministry of Defence as late as 2013.

The beautiful Edwardian facade stands out next to the larger Government buildings in the area. With 151 rooms and suites it is not as small as it appears but does have a distinct boutique hotel feel.

The location is surprisingly good for a tourist. Whilst being on a very quiet side street, Embankment tube station is under five minutes away. Many of London’s key landmarks such as Trafalgar Square, the National Gallery, Westminster Abbey, the Houses of Parliament, Covent Garden and the West End shopping areas are all walkable. The lovely Whitehall Gardens are around the corner and you can walk across the river at Embankment in less than 10 minutes for the South Bank and London Eye.

My stay was complimentary from Hyatt for two nights and included dinner at Ekstedt and afternoon tea. Thank you to the team for being very welcoming and giving me a tour.

The lobby at Great Scotland Yard

Entering from the street, you take a few steps down to a very spacious lobby. Hyatt has sensibly decided to max out on the police theme with Sherlock Holmes references, and the lobby is packed with police artifacts and memorabilia.

Here’s the view you see as you enter:

…. and if you turn around you’ve got the reception and concierge area:

To the left of the stairs you will find the walk of fame with portraits of infamous gangsters, prominent judges, lawyers and royals – and even TV personality ‘Judge’ Rob Rinder, real life criminal law barrister turned Amazing Hotels co-host.

The walls of the lobby are lined with boxes of police related memorabilia such as these police whistles from the 1880s to 1950s. It’s worth popping in to take a look if you are in the area even if you are not staying here.

Eccentric furniture pieces in the lobby combined with Tom Dixon floor lamps make for an interesting combination. This is a rhino chair!

The interior of the hotel is of a very high quality. We wouldn’t normally run a picture of the public loos but it’s a shame not to show this lovely art deco style design:

No detail was too small, such as the brass plague on the cistern:

Here is the entrance to the Ekstedt restaurant. On the left you see a sample of the hotel’s art collection, bought from Koestler Arts, the UK’s best-known prison art charity.

My room at Great Scotland Yard

I was booked into a standard room but was upgraded to a ‘Premium King Bed’. There is very little difference between this and a standard room apart from a little extra space.

Someone has gone to town on the corridors, with blue ornate doors and posh copper fire extinguishers. You will notice that there is police presence everywhere.

The corners of the walls in the hallways and rooms were protected with metal – you can see it by the door below – with a prison-like design. I really liked this little detail as hotel wall corners can become scruffy so quickly.

My room was on the third floor looking out to the front of the hotel. There are no views except to the empty desks of the Department of Energy Security and Net Zero opposite, but as you will have realised by now the most interesting things to see are all inside the hotel.

The room design was lovely with clever lighting. Socket lovers should note there are USB A, European AND British plugs next to the bed.

The windows had secondary glazing to keep any noise out, albeit the hotel is on an exceptionally quiet street, and I noticed massive new marble window sills had been put in during the renovation. Instead of a separate desk I had a table with two armchairs.

The bathroom was particularly smart with a Japanese toilet, a very big shower with gorgeous tiles and lots of marble. It felt very art deco and sophisticated.

The high-end toiletries are in big bottles from Jo Loves by Jo Malone.

A sideboard contained a cooling drawer with free non-alcoholic drinks including water. There is a coffee machine and a tea selection. Alcoholic drinks have to be ordered.

Attention to detail is what really makes this hotel. Next to the tv was another little nod to history with a Victorian-style moustache-shaped coat hook, possibly modelled on Dr Watson.

The Sherlock Suite

I asked to view a suite to see the difference to my room and was shown the Sherlock Suite. The bedroom itself was relatively small as you can see below, and the decoration was similar to my own room.

The suite also had a small sitting room with a sofa and coffee table as well as the table and two armchairs I had in my own room.

Where the Sherlock Suite really excels is the bathroom, which is XL size. You have two sinks far apart, a marble floor and shower ….

…. as well as a bathtub tucked behind the door.

The toilet is separate and close to the entrance of the suite.

The gym

The gym is in the basement of the hotel. Whilst not very big it is perfectly functional with all the necessary machines available. Clever lighting and large mirrors make it feel quite spacious.

Around the corner are weights and a bench and space for yoga, gymnastics or pilates.

This is the end of Part 1 of my Great Scotland Yard Hotel review.

In Part 2, click here, I look at the bars, the impressive Ekstedt at The Yard restaurant and The Parlour, where I enjoyed afternoon tea. If you live in London these are all worth knowing about, even if you will never need to sleep here.

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