East Meets West | Urban Villa | Great West Road, Brentford, London TW8 0GA

The Invisible Man loved his new shoes. Photograph: Urban Villa

Boutique hotelier Urban Villa opened their first UK hotel in Brentford last month (that’s Brentford, not to be confused with TOWIE territory Brentwood in Essex). Think serviced apartments/aparthotel but with more attention to detail and to the guest – whom are encouraged to treat their room like an apartment, but are offered all the benefits of a hotel. There’s a virtual concierge via the TV, in-room spa treatments, the NoHo gym or you can even request an in-room gym kit if you want to work out in private.

The hotel is designed by NYC architects Grzywinski + Pons who worked on Manhattan’s Nolitan and the Hotel on Rivington, it’s simple but stylish with a little similar feel to the Ace hotel in Shoreditch. Lots of our favourite colour – grey, with beautiful geometric patches of colour on the floors. We loved the little touches, like how they’d hung extra chairs on the wall in our villa, who’d have thought such a space-saving idea would look so cool?

Is it reception or is it a bar? Actually it’s both! Photograph: Urban Villa

You walk straight into the bar as you enter the hotel – always a good start. The lobby is small and intimate, you wouldn’t think there’s 100 villas stacked above you in this brand new building. The rest of the development isn’t quite finished yet but you can’t miss this tall glass structure next to the M4. A shiny beacon which helps direct you from the station – Brentford mainline is less than a ten minute walk away.

It has to be the first time we’ve ever slept in a bed metres away from a fitted kitchen. An inspection revealed they’d covered pretty much everything, from a tin opener to a Nespresso machine. The bathroom had a plentiful supply of Malin + Goetz toiletries, a huge Samsung TV hung on the wall on a handy swivelling bracket so you can watch telly in bed (vital). And what a bed – a sumptuous mattress (you can request the firmness) topped with a marshmallow-soft duvet ensured us an incredible nights sleep.

With Urban Villa being a new concept, here’s some other things you might like to know about it.

What is there to do in Brentford?
Loads! It’s not far from Kew Gardens, Chiswick, Gunnersbury Park, and Twickenham rugby ground. Richmond isn’t too far away either.

Why is it in Brentford and not Central London?
They like edgy locations and Brentford was just that, but more importantly it has a large corporate demand for accommodation that was dominated by mainstream brands. The area was ripe for a design led offering, says Andrew Fowler of Union Hanover

Is there a minimum stay at Urban Villa, what if I only want to sleep over for one night?
No minimum or maximum, so you could do an ‘Alan Partridge‘ if need be.

How about my car, is there parking available and more importantly, is it free?
Yes and yes for long stay guests, £10 for short stay.

Will I need pop to the nearby Sainsbury’s for things like washing-up liquid or do you provide it?
Washing liquid and tablets are both provided.

Do I need to bring my own towels?
The bathroom has a plentiful amount of lovely white fluffy towels.

I’m here on business, can I hold meetings in my room?
Yes but they suggest the master villa as you could have a meeting for up to eight round the table in the living room.

What takeaway options are there if I don’t want to cook?
The guys at the hotel are on hand with restaurant and takeaways suggestions and can book you a cab to take you there too.

Boki – the coffee shop downstairs

Talking of food, where can I go for breakfast?
Boki – the coffee shop downstairs has really great Allpress coffee, smoothies, juices, pastries etc. The breakfast sandwich (pictured) is a must.

I want to schmooze with clients or friends, where can I do that?
In the Sour Diesel bar and lounge in the lobby or in the privacy of your villa.

What do I do about my dirty laundry?
There’s a laundry service that delivers your clothes back to you by 6pm if you drop them off before 9am that day.

Take advantage of their introductory promotions here.

urbanvilla.com
Great West Road, Brentford, London TW8 0GA.

Email: enquiries@urbanvilla.com.
Telephone: +44 (0)203 750 5000

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Nearest station: Brentford (8 mins walk) or South Ealing (16 mins walk)