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This gritty corner of London is finally in fashion – 11 years late

The Gantry hotel - Ryan Wicks
The Gantry hotel - Ryan Wicks

At some point, everyone in the UK will have seen ABBA Voyage. Through word of mouth, it has become a phenomenon impossible to resist, even by the most curmudgeonly of kitsch-haters. I went recently and, like everyone I know, found it genre-defying, as exhilarating as it is expensive and deeply weird.

A friend from Philadelphia sat next to me and repeated every few minutes: “Look, I’m sorry, but they are not holograms.” Meanwhile, my big sister was dancing like no one was watching and slowly losing her mind. By Dancing Queen, she had gone through the looking glass.

ABBA Voyage - Alamy Stock Photo
ABBA Voyage - Alamy Stock Photo

One of the weird aspects of going to ABBA Voyage is going to Stratford – which, even before the 2012 Olympics and the construction of that strange red Anish Kapoor thing with the Carsten Höller slide weaving through it, was being touted as the London neighbourhood that will define the future.

It is one of the best-connected places in the city in terms of transport, and the mega-Westfield has both a casino and a branch of Greggs. There really is something for everyone. And yet it still feels like a non-place in search of an identity.

Perhaps this may finally be changing, with Sadler’s Wells East scheduled to open there this year and a V&A East due to follow. Then there’s the long-planned MSG Sphere arena, which if realised will dwarf everything else in the area, its globe surface covered in more than 1m LEDs to beam visual nonsense across the whole neighbourhood. Hmm.

The Gantry hotel recently opened across the road from the station, on the fabulously named Celebration Avenue. Apart from the little pods that make up the Snoozebox opposite the arena, and the Stratford (set in a skyscraper with a top-floor, top-notch restaurant, Allegra) the Gantry is perhaps the default hotel for those in town for ABBA – and certainly for those who want to do it in style.

Coupe the Gantry hotel - Ryan Wicks
Coupe the Gantry hotel - Ryan Wicks

It is one of the Hilton’s new Curio Collection and works well as a new local landmark. It’s a glass box, 18 storeys high, clad in a kind of sculptural birdcage, with an elegant undulating grid. Once inside, you know the drill – shift things 180 degrees from corporate blandness, throw in a funky-looking coffee shop in the lobby and a pop-up restaurant specialising in dumplings.

The bedrooms upstairs are a lovely blue colour. To reassure you that this is a 21st-century version of Hilton, there is a coffee pod machine, together with fancy martini glasses on the minibar that are ersatz cut crystal.

There are full-length mirrors with rounded edges, furniture that resembles metal travel trunks, and a few industrial touches, such as metal cogs on the wall next to monochrome photographs of watches and typewriters. Everything feels fresh. You will sleep well here after the show. My sole complaint about my room was that it lacked a functional desk area – a necessary evil if you are anywhere on partial business.

The Gantry hotel bedroom - Ryan Wicks
The Gantry hotel bedroom - Ryan Wicks

Apart from the proximity to the ABBA Arena, would you pick this hotel for a stay in London? With the arrival of the Elizabeth Line, maybe you should: it is 16 minutes from here to Bond Street, which still blows my mind – and so it should, with the rail service 13 years in the making.

I checked in, dropped my bags and went to the bar, Coupe, hoping to work my way through the list of British sparkling wines of which the hotel makes such a big deal. But Coupe was kaput for the evening, so I went to the bar a few seats away where they still had Gusbourne Blanc de Blancs from Kent by the glass.

Union Social rooftop lounge London - Ryan Wicks
Union Social rooftop lounge London - Ryan Wicks

In the bar was a mix of residents, locals and an after-work crowd. People do, indeed, live and work in all those new-builds close by, and as casual hotel bars and eateries go, the Union Social lounge is close to perfect. There are views across the glowing hinterland of Stratford and a crowd-pleasing menu: crispy cauliflower pops with miso glaze are a good veggie alternative to popcorn chicken, the wild mushroom falafel is moist and tasty, and a daube of beef on a sweet parsnip purée is the cosiest of comfort foods.

Several floors up there is a branch of STK, a restaurant that was all the rage when I first went to the New York original in 2007, and which promises a DJ “to create an infectious, high-energy atmosphere”. Not one for me, but who knows – if you get really carried away at ABBA, it might be just the ticket.

Doubles from £189, including breakfast. There are 20 accessible rooms