Tulse Hill Hotel, south London: review

This revamped hotel on London’s South Circular road admirably overcomes the challenges of its noisy location by getting everything else right

Once upon a time, the old Tulse Hill Tavern was a decrepit spot, barely frequented, paint peeling and marred by its location right on one of south London’s busiest roads, the South Circular. Today, though the location hasn’t changed (making it a somewhat unlikely place for a peaceful night’s sleep), the hotel has had one of those revamps that makes you forget how bad it once was. The Victorian architecture has been zhushed up in smart monochrome colours, with wooden plant pots on the outside and dark heritage paints, warm rugs and battered old furniture inside.

Cheery new manager Jemma Kiddle has trawled markets and scrapyards for salvaged items that include wooden panelling and a beautiful old glass bar back. The new website has pretty illustrations of forks and keys and mentions things like biodynamic wine and gardens. It doesn’t mention traffic.