Ruby Stella, a decent-value stay in London

Seeing all the hyped new openings in London’s post-pandemic hotel boom, you could be forgiven for thinking the city has priced out all but the wealthiest holidaymakers and oligarchs.

“Entry-level” rooms going for the best part of $2000 a night, opulent suites with price tags roaring into five figures. It can be disheartening. But don’t worry about those. There are enticing new alternatives that won’t totally shatter the bank balance. And we’re not talking about a budget chain hotel overlooking the M25, the orbital motorway that wraps around the England capital’s outskirts.

No, I’ve found a decent-value stay and it’s in the City of London, the Square Mile, the capital’s storied old heart. Offering nightly rates from around $200 — maybe less if you time your booking right — Ruby Stella is on a quiet, sloping lane where Farringdon meets Clerkenwell, two historic villages on the north-western edges of the City.

There’s a raft of watering holes and eateries within a stone’s throw of the hotel and if you stretch your legs for about 20 minutes, you’ll reach St Paul’s Cathedral, with the famous attractions bordering the River Thames — such as the Tate Modern and Shakespeare’s Globe — just a little further afield across the water.

Regular double-decker buses trundle along the Clerkenwell Road — the main strip up from the hotel — and will take you to the shops, theatres, museums and nightlife of the West End.

A 10-minute walk the other way from Ruby Stella, you’ll find Farringdon station, which has various tube and rail links across London and beyond (including to and from Heathrow, Gatwick and Luton airports).

So the hotel’s location, while not super-central, is more than acceptable.

And Ruby Stella makes a fine first impression with a vibrant, high-ceilinged and impressively laid-out ground floor, which acts as the reception, lounge, bar and breakfast zone. Decor is inspired by the hotel’s surroundings with nods to the area’s past as a hub of printworks and foundries.

Besides an array of cosy chairs, high stools and banquettes, there’s an old printing press, Remington typewriter and shelves of vintage books, including novels by Charles Dickens, who lived and wrote nearby (his old home, now a museum in his honour, is an eight-minute stroll from the hotel towards Bloomsbury).

Ruby Stella actually takes its name from Estella, a character from Dickens’ Great Expectations, and the literary theme trickles into the 153 guest rooms, with items like feather quills and printing paraphernalia above the beds.

Since launching in 2013, the Munich-based Ruby brand has opened 20 hotels and eight workspaces in Europe, with more in the pipeline (it has just been acquired by the InterContinental Hotels Group).

Stella is the third Ruby in London — after Ruby Lucy in Waterloo and Ruby Zoe in Notting Hill — with the trio embracing their locations’ heritage and promoting an ethos of “lean luxury”.

This means that, while some things are a given in your room — air conditioning, pocket-sprung mattress, snug linens, a casting TV, en suite with rainfall shower and aromatic products — you may have to forsake certain amenities you’d typically have at other hotels.

For example, a bunch of rooms — in the Nest category — don’t have windows. However, the Cosy and Lovely rooms do come with a view, either of the street or the building’s secluded courtyard terrace.

All rooms are fairly compact, ranging from 11-26sqm. As I’m using this place primarily as somewhere to sleep — I’ll be exploring London most of the time — the floor space and no frills aspects don’t overly bother me.

To be honest, it is unusual — and slightly vexing, to use a favourite Dickensian word — not to have a kettle within arm’s reach. I’m not sure if I’ve stayed at another hotel in England where I’ve not been able to roll out of bed and make myself a morning cuppa. But — in the philosophy of compromise — I can live with that.

In any case, on every floor, there’s a “galley”, with a free selection of tea bags, instant coffee sachets, takeaway cups and a tap with filtered water (hot and cold), plus a vending machine selling snacks and other handy items.

I’m in a Lovely room (number 222, which also happens to be one of the accessible rooms, so the open-plan ensuite is larger than a regular one). My room also has an armchair and circular coffee table, a long slim ledge to put my phone and other belongings on. The wardrobe is big enough to store several nights’ worth of clothes.

And despite the “lean” aura, there are nice varnished wood and leather trimmings plus a small Marshall Bluetooth speaker and a larger Marshall amp. Hire an electric guitar from reception, plug it in and bounce around on your bed, doing your best impression of Brian May or Kurt Cobain.

Some evenings there are talented guitarists playing at the bar, which stages bands and DJs. After a good night’s sleep — rooms are well-soundproofed — go downstairs for the continental breakfast buffet (that’s an additional $35 per person a night).

The food is varied and good quality and there’s no faffing around with disappointing coffee from self-service machines.

You can order as many barista-made caffeine hits as you like (it’s a bottomless service and the accommodating staff will bring it to your table). After two flat whites — plus a flurry of fruits, cereals, yoghurt, pastries, bread, cheeses and charcuterie — I have a spring in my step, ready to indulge my inner Dickens and pound the streets of London. + Steve McKenna was a guest of Ruby Stella and Visit Britain. They have not influenced this story, or read it before publication. fact file + Rates at the Ruby hotels can vary wildly depending on the dates, so for the best value bookings, shop around online at ruby-hotels.com + For more information on visiting London and Britain, see visitlondon.com and visitbritain.com