Sleep like a champion at citizenM - Review

As someone with a 1 year old human alarm clock, the elusive good night’s sleep is one of those perks of a previous life. It’s almost become a badge of honour amongst parents, sharing their nightly schedule with anyone prepared (and often unprepared) to listen. The reality is that a prolonged period of poor sleep can be detrimental to our health.

To my delight, global hotel chain citizenM has just released a groundbreaking new Sleep Like a Champion campaign, informed by extensive research by certified sleep consultant Naomi Hilliard.

The campaign is designed to provide travellers staying at their hotels with an enhanced sleep experience, including personalised guides and advice on how to get the best quality shut-eye. I had to try this out, and experience what the hotel had to offer even if it meant travelling all of 30 minutes to the Tower of London branch of citizenM.

First a little about the hotel

As a citizenM newbie, I was pleasantly surprised with how seamless everything worked at the hotel. They have managed to introduce an experience combining tech with a human touch that really makes the experience of the stay quite delightful. Check-in is largely self-service, I select my preferred view, floor and scan a room card and I’m checked in. A member of staff is straight over to make sure I am ok and know what I’m doing. It almost feels like an upmarket supermarket checkout (but with a friendlier assistant).

Feeling quite smug that I haven’t had to queue at reception, I check out the ground floor, a sprawling area which kind of feels like a trendy coworking space lined with bookshelves displaying interesting art, books and artefacts, various lounge areas with humongous TVs, a cafe and bar in the centre, and even a courtyard at the back.

The room

The rooms at citizenM are shaped for the needs of travellers. They are compact but cleverly designed with a large drawer providing the storage beneath a generous king-sized bed. The bathroom is a futuristic glass pod, and the fridge is integrated into a desk for the travelling workers. In keeping with the check-in process, the room just…works. You can control every aspect from the lights, TV, the blinds and curtain and even the entire ambiance of the room with switches, a bedside iPad or even the amazing app (if you remember to download it).

After perusing the various wellness themed reads from the room’s bookshelf, I spend some time completing a survey to generate my guide to a good nights sleep, more on that later.

The Rooftoop Bar

So I may be here to make up for 1.5 years of poor sleep but I must mention the rooftop bar at the Tower of London hotel. Before settling in for the night I travel up the the 7th floor to cloudM. Floor to ceiling windows frame the most amazing views of the iconic Tower of London and beyond. With a negroni in hand, I head out onto the balcony gazing at the panorama of Canary Wharf right down to the West End. Up one floor are meeting rooms and cosy lounge type booths where the vista is as impressive as the floor below. Well worth a visit.

Sleeping like a champion

My earlier questionnaire to figure out what the hell I should be doing to optimise my sleep for the night categorised me as an “inbetweener”. Not quite a night owl, not quite an early riser. The result was a guide of useful tips including optimal time to hit the pillow, blue light reduction, caffeine restriction, noise…the lot. I may have cheated with an early evening negroni, but luckily citizenM rooms are geared up well to handle some of the rest. Aside from the super comfortable king sized bed, with a few clicks of the iPad, I have triggered one of three automated room settings which sets the lights, blackout blinds and a “Brainwaves” soundtrack, specially composed by scientists and Goldsmiths, University of London to address common travel issues. I choose my track, the room falls into darkness and a slightly trippy but soothing track carries me to the land of nod. 

The verdict

Perhaps I am so sleep-deprived that an afternoon nap feels like heaven, but this is possibly the best night's sleep I’ve encountered during my little son’s lifetime. Maybe it was the music, possibly the bed, but in reality, the best feature of the citizenM room in my opinion was the complete darkness. I woke up worried it was the middle of the night but in fact it was 8am and my fabulous buffet breakfast at canteenM was calling.

Whether it’s a hotel stay that just works, a hotel geared up for working, or you want to work on your sleep. citizenM ticks a lot of boxes for me.

To book and find out more about sleeping like a champion, go to citizenm.com/campaigns/sleep

Written by Rick Hartley

Photography courtesy of citizenM