Back in early September, I suddenly realised that my Chase IHG free night certificate was about to expire. I tried both online chat and the phone, but both agents told me there was no way to extend it. Oh well, I thought — might as well use it on something.
While browsing London hotels, I suddenly noticed a newly opened one in Canary Wharf, and it was also a relatively uncommon Vignette Collection property. Sold! I used a 40,000-point free night certificate and topped it up with another 5,000 points. Not exactly cheap for London, but certainly not bad either.
The history of this hotel is rather interesting. It originally opened in 1999 as a Four Seasons hotel, before leaving the brand in 2016 and becoming Canary Riverside Plaza, positioning itself as “the only independent five-star hotel in Canary Wharf”. A decade later, in 2026, it finally joined IHG.
In that sense, it’s somewhat similar to Regent Shanghai Pudong. And considering I’ve never actually stayed at a Four Seasons in my life — it’s not exactly a brand where I can redeem points, after all — I guess this technically counts as having stayed at one!
As mentioned above, the hotel is located in Canary Wharf, on the western bank of the Isle of Dogs and quite close to the Underground station. For tourists, it’s actually a pretty good location. The neighbourhood is modern and dominated by office buildings, the surroundings are pleasant, public transport is excellent, and most importantly, hotel rates are generally quite reasonable, especially at weekends and during holidays.
The architecture itself feels somewhat at odds with the traditional Four Seasons aesthetic, and is actually quite distinctive: huge ice-cube-like windows and an unusual copper roof. Unfortunately, it doesn’t stand out much among Canary Wharf’s many skyscrapers. The apartment building next door, built by the same owner, completely steals the show. You could easily walk past without even realising there’s a hotel here.
The lobby, on the other hand, has more of that old-school five-star hotel feel. I checked in on a Sunday and the place was practically deserted. The receptionist told me that the hotel had been rebranded as Vignette Collection quite some time ago, but honestly, I had absolutely no recollection of it. It certainly didn’t seem to make much of a splash.
A standard river-view room can be booked directly with points, and my IHG Diamond status got me upgraded another category to a Premium River View Room, which was slightly larger.
Well, it is a 1999 hotel, and the age is very obvious from the furniture and overall design. It’s not exactly run-down, but old — and somewhat basic — is definitely fair. I’ve never stayed at a Four Seasons, but I think it’s safe to say that the hardware here is nowhere near Four Seasons standards.
The bathroom was fairly spacious, with separate shower and tub.
And of course, let’s take a look at the river view, which is one of the room’s main selling points:
The greenhouse-like building outside the window is a Virgin Active gym. The hotel doesn’t have its own fitness facilities, but it has an arrangement with this Virgin Active, allowing hotel guests to use it for free.
The process is slightly cumbersome, though. You have to leave your room key at the front desk in exchange for an access fob, exit through the back door, enter Virgin Active, and then register at the gym’s reception.
That said, it’s a proper upscale gym with a full range of facilities, so it’s obviously much better equipped than the average hotel gym. The hotel’s promotional photos across various platforms also feature Virgin Active’s infinity pool, which is arguably a little misleading!
Finally, breakfast. I happened to have a friend working nearby, so I invited them over to help me make full use of the benefit.
There’s no buffet at all, and everything is à la carte. We ordered Eggs Royale and a waffle, both of which were pretty good.
The service, however, left a bit to be desired. They got the room number wrong and spent ages sorting it out, while the “continental table” wasn’t proactively offered or even mentioned. I had to ask for yoghurt myself.
And that was my one-night speed run! First of all, don’t come here expecting a “former Four Seasons”. Neither the hardware nor the service is remotely comparable to Four Seasons. Even by ordinary five-star standards, there are still a few areas where it falls short. That said, the price is actually quite reasonable.
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