Review: The Gantry, Stratford hotel – part of Hilton’s Curio Collection

This is our review of The Gantry hotel in Stratford, London.

It seems that Hilton has an almost inexhaustible number of Curio Collection hotels in London. Last year I took a look at The Westminster (review here) following an extensive renovation and conversion from a DoubleTree.

Earlier this year I reviewed Lost Property St Paul’s (review here) and Hart Shoreditch (review here), both part of Curio Collection. A few months later I find myself in another – The Gantry.

The only ones left to do review are The Trafalgar, 100 Queen’s Gate and the (currently closed) Lincoln Plaza ….

Having done three Curio hotels, I knew roughly what to expect: boutique hotels with a very strong design-led aesthetic. Luckily, The Gantry does not disappoint.

The hotel website is here.

Hilton offered us a free stay at the hotel for review purposes.

Where is The Gantry hotel?

Let’s start with the hotel’s location, which is not in central London but Stratford – about five miles from the City of London, and further from the West End. Whilst Stratford itself isn’t really a major tourist destination that is beginning to change.

The last 15 years have obviously seen huge amounts of development in the area thanks to the legacy of the Olympics, but it has largely been structured around residential building and the Westfield shopping centre.

In the next 5-10 years it will pivot towards visitor attractions with the V&A and Sadler’s Wells both both launching Eastern outposts. The London College of Fashion is also moving in, whilst UCL will open a Stratford campus.

There’s plenty happening here as Stratford matures from its Olympic past to a more mixed-use area. This transition is already in full swing, particularly with ABBA Voyage which is now enticing ~3,000 people to the area every day (in fact, it was also why I was there!).

The opening of the Elizabeth Line means it is even worth staying here if you are mainly spending time in central London, as journey times to Tottenham Court Road are around 20 minutes. The DLR, Overground, Central and Jubilee Lines are also convenient for getting around.

More specifically, The Gantry is just across the road from Stratford International station, one DLR stop away from Stratford or a short walk through Westfield.

Inside The Gantry

I’m not 100% sure why it’s been called The Gantry, although recent hotel openings such as Lost Property St Pauls clearly suggest there is a trend to non-traditional naming conventions. In this case it may refer to the industrial-inspired exterior, with double-height metal fins cladding the entire building:

The industrial theme continues inside although it is softened with hardwood flooring and colourful soft furnishings. The lobby is on your left as you enter, with a bank of four lifts directly to the right of the check-in desks:

I wasn’t the only one checking in but fortunately there were enough staff to deal with us all and I didn’t have to wait.

Also on the ground floor you’ll find an oddly fancy mini-mart selling artisanal food products. I’m not sure what the market for this is but it all looked very delicious.

Rooms at The Gantry

There are 15 floors in total in the building, although the top one is reserved for a branch of the STK Steakhouse restaurant brand. I was on the 13th floor in a King Deluxe room. This is the second level up from a standard room.

One of the benefits of staying in a new-build hotel outside of Zone 1 is the noticeable increase in room size. It compared very favourably with my stay at the Hart Shoreditch or even Lost Property St Pauls, where rooms tend to be on the smaller size. No such complaints here, with a wide hallway:

Immediately on the right is the bathroom:

This features a very large shower albeit only one washbasin:

Toiletries are from Australian brand Grown Alchemist with a focus on natural ingredients. It is now owned by L’Occitane.

If you noticed the cut-out in the corner of the bathroom, this is for the minibar in the main part of the room:

There’s a Vertuo Nespresso machine and a range of glasses, although the mini-fridge itself was empty.

The room itself is – again – very spacious, with plenty of space to store luggage, including on this big metal trunk under the TV:

(There are drawers on the bottom although I wasn’t able to open the top.)

Opposite is the big King bed with padded headboard.

On one side is a bedside table whilst the other features a small round table that doubles as a desk. This was less than ideal: given the room size, there is more than enough space for a desk in here. It’s clear the hotel is aimed at leisure travellers.

Next to the table is a chaise longue.

Whilst, in the corner of the room, you’ll find a free-standing wardrobe:

I had a nice view, albeit of a residential area rather than anything significant:

Dining and breakfast at The Gantry

You have a couple of options when it comes to food and drink at The Gantry. The top floor and rooftop is dedicated to destination restaurant STK Steakhouse, which also has branches at The Westminster and the ME by Melia hotel on the Strand. This is a trendy pre-party kind of restaurant and isn’t everyone’s cup of tea.

On the first floor you also have the hotel’s own Coupe bar and Union Social restaurant. Both of these are much more casual and are also where breakfast is served.

They are similar in style to the lobby, with colourful industrial touches.

There are also two outdoor terraces which were lovely on an early June evening – we ended up eating outside.

The menu at Union Social comprises small plates with prices between £6 and £10. Because of STK on the rooftop, the hotel feels less pressure to be overly sophisticated here. We went for the burrata, crispy chicken tender, boneless beef ribs, scottish salmon and octopus.

and

I’m not going to say it blew me away – it didn’t – but I think, given the pricing, it was equivalent to any high-street chain you’d find in Westfield.

Breakfast

Breakfast is also served in Union Social with a full self-serve buffet. It was relatively busy when I arrived, with a short queue waiting to get seated.

In terms of what you get, there is a full range of full English breakfast items, and you can also order eggs to order, although there is a little queue for this so I didn’t bother:

Also available are a range of cereals and pastries:

Some cheese, salami and cut vegetables (but no smoked salmon):

…. plus some oats and yoghurts.

The staff did a very good job of regularly topping up items, especially the hot food, which meant it was quite fresh. They were definitely some of the crispiest hash browns I’ve had at a hotel breakfast.

Conclusion

Overall, The Gantry offers is a new convenient option in Stratford, which isn’t exactly overrun with high-end hotels. With the area becoming increasingly interesting it’s good to have boutique hotels like this as an option.

I particularly liked the larger (for London) rooms, which were stylishly appointed without being over the top.

Room rates at The Gantry start at around £160 per night, or 45,000 Hilton Honors points. You can find out more, and book on the hotel website here.

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How to earn Hilton Honors points and status from UK credit cards (April 2024)

There are various ways of earning Hilton Honors points from UK credit cards.  Many cards also have generous sign-up bonuses.

Do you know that holders of The Platinum Card from American Express receive FREE Hilton Honors Gold status for as long as they hold the card?  It also comes with Marriott Bonvoy Gold, Radisson Rewards Premium and MeliaRewards Gold status.  We reviewed American Express Platinum in detail here and you can apply here.

Did you know that the Virgin Atlantic credit cards are a great way of earning Hilton Honors points? Two Virgin Points can be converted into three Hilton Honors points. The Virgin Atlantic cards are the only Visa or Mastercard products in the UK which can indirectly earn Hilton Honors points and they come with generous sign-up bonuses. You can apply here.

You can also earn Hilton Honors points indirectly with:

• American Express Gold (20,000 bonus Amex points)
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and for small business owners:

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The conversion rate from American Express to Hilton points is 1:2.

Click here to read our detailed summary of all UK credit cards which can be used to earn Hilton Honors points. 

(Want to earn more hotel points?  Click here to see our complete list of promotions from the major hotel chains or use the ‘Hotel Offers’ link in the menu bar at the top of the page.)