"We stayed at Virgin Hotels London-Shoreditch for our first wedding anniversary, using a Virgin Experience voucher that had originally been intended for dinner. I wanted to give Virgin a proper try as a hotel stay and, while there were definitely things we really liked, the overall experience was mixed.
First, the positives. The hotel is cool, modern and sleek, and the location is fantastic. If you want to stay in Shoreditch, it’s hard to fault where it is.
One of the main things we had been looking forward to was using the heated rooftop swimming pool and spending some time up on the rooftop. When we went upstairs, however, we were turned away because there was a DJ event taking place and we hadn’t reserved tickets. As hotel guests, that was incredibly frustrating. It almost felt like there was a party happening upstairs in your own house that you somehow weren’t invited to.
We had genuinely been excited about having a swim and hanging out on the rooftop, so finding out we couldn’t use one of the amenities we had specifically looked forward to was probably the biggest disappointment of the stay. We were later told that hotel guests were actually supposed to be able to access the space, which made the situation even more confusing. If an event is going to affect access to a major hotel amenity, guests really should be made aware before arrival.
The other area where the stay fell short was the personal service.
This was our first wedding anniversary, and it wasn’t something I had only mentioned in passing. Before arriving, I had two separate email conversations with the hotel about the stay. I joined The Know and completed my profile, and I also mentioned our anniversary again when checking in.
The hotel had even confirmed to me in writing beforehand:
“I can see that we do have your anniversary noted on the reservation. We truly hope you enjoy your stay with us and that we can make it an occasion to remember.”
Naturally, that created an expectation that there might be some small personal touch when we arrived. The Know had also been explained to me as including a complimentary welcome amenity and an upgrade to the next room category, subject to availability.
Yet when we arrived, there was nothing to acknowledge the anniversary. No note, no welcome amenity and no recognition of it at all. When I later showed Jiyo the two email threads, he explained that the information hadn’t been properly passed on.
This is where I do want to give Jiyo a lot of credit. Once I raised my concerns, he was excellent. He moved us to an upgraded room, sent Prosecco to the room for our anniversary and genuinely made an effort to recover the experience. We really appreciated what he did, and without that recovery I think I would have come away feeling much more disappointed.
We love a staycation and do them fairly regularly, and having previously worked for Hilton as a hospitality consultant, I probably notice the little touches and service details more than most. I’m also a Hilton Gold member, and Hilton and Conrad properties have generally been very good at making special occasions feel personal. Looking back, I do slightly wish I had used the Virgin Experience voucher for the dinner it was originally intended for and spent the hotel money with Hilton or Conrad instead.
That said, I don’t think Virgin Hotels London-Shoreditch is a bad hotel at all. The design is great, the atmosphere is cool and the location is excellent. I could absolutely recommend it to someone looking for a stylish hotel in Shoreditch.
For me, though, the stay just missed those personal touches that make a special occasion feel memorable, and not being able to properly enjoy the rooftop and pool was a significant part of that disappointment. Jiyo did a great job recovering the experience once I raised my concerns and genuinely lifted the stay for us.
If half stars were an option, I’d probably land at around 3.5 out of 5. There is a lot to like here, and Jiyo’s service made a real difference to how we felt about the stay. I would be open to trying Virgin again, particularly if we knew we could fully enjoy the rooftop and pool and experience more of the personal service Virgin promotes. I’d genuinely like to see what the experience feels like when everything comes together as intended."
