The Ultimate London Staycation

Walking along London’s Southbank seems to provoke one of two opposing experiences. Option 1: your blood slowly begins to boil while swerving between tourists, narrowly missing a child that has slipped from its parent’s grip, gulls squawking over an ice cream dropped on the pavement, a quick sidestep needed to avoid the mess. Or option 2: the beautiful skyline of London’s financial district unfolds to the right, St Paul’s Cathedral rises to the left, the Thames stretches out alongside the path, a busker’s music drifting through the air, book stalls and poets-for-hire lining the way ahead, the smell of a streetfood market pulling you onward.

For so many Londoners, life stays contained to the route followed blindly to work each morning, the bars where friends gather, the places weekends are spent. It’s easy to slip into a narrow view of what the city has to offer, particularly as a resident, often doing everything possible to avoid heavily touristy areas. But this view can mean forgetting what the city actually offers. A weekend staycation at Sea Containers, London became a chance to see the city from a different angle and, pleasantly, playing tourist turned out to be genuinely enjoyable.

Enter Sea Containers, a luxury lifestyle hotel in the heart of the Southbank, a stone’s throw from Borough Market, the National Theatre, Shakespeare’s Globe and Tate Modern. Its design is rooted in Art Deco glamour and Brutalism, drawing on the spirit of a 1920s transatlantic cruise liner: nautical curves, brass detailing and a colour palette inspired by the river at dusk.

Earlier this year, Sea Containers unveiled a new design direction, introducing a new junior suite category, the Riverview Studio Suite, alongside an evolution of its wider Suite collection, responding to the changing needs of modern travellers. As Jacu Strauss, Creative Director and Designer of Lore Group, puts it, the goal was to “enrich the existing story rather than overwrite it.” He explains, “People stay differently now. They stay longer, they work from their rooms, they invite friends for a drink. The challenge was to support all of that without losing the maritime character and playful spirit that make Sea Containers London feel like nowhere else.”

Building on Tom Dixon’s original design, Strauss brings a more playful, elevated lens to the interiors, leaning further into the hotel’s transatlantic narrative and nautical heritage. With wall-to-wall, cinematic views of the Thames and skyline, the suites feel residential while staying elegant and intimate.

The hotel has also expanded into wellness with Agua studio, part of Agua Spa on the lower floor, offering weekly yoga glasses, breathwork and immersive sound baths, alongside a new Agua Thai Experience and other holistic therapies.

Sea Containers is also home to award-winning food and drink, cementing its place as one of London’s leading culinary and cultural destinations. The Sea Containers restaurant will welcome Gordon Ramsay at Sea Containers this September, open to hotel guests and outside diners alike. The award-winning Lyaness bar, from award-winning bartender Ryan Chetiyawardana and his team sits within the hotel too, alongside the eclectic 12th Knot rooftop bar and terrace, and the Curzon Sea Containers Cinema – offering endless entertainment for guests and visitors alike.

It turns out that taking a break doesn’t require flying abroad, and that when you’re staying somewhere built on exceptional hospitality and comfort, you can leave feeling rested and refreshed without ever having to leave the city.

For more information on Sea Containers or to book, visit seacontainerslondon.com