The Mad Hatter Hotel in London

For my first blog post on our exciting trip to London I feature our special hotel The Mad Hatter! As we checked in we were welcomed by Alice through the Looking Glass, literally. her hand enters a mirror which reflects the check in desk. Behind the desk was a large hat!

 

So why the Mad Hatter.?  –

As this sign declares, “Southwark was the centrer of  hat production  for hundreds of years. Due to poor factory conditions hat makers were exposed to mercury in felt. Today we know that mercury poisoning causes dementia-lik symbtoms, but int he 19th century people assumed hat makers were all “mad” drunks, hence the phrase “mad as a hatter” which is wehre ourname comes from. This was famously satirzed by Lewis Carroll’s eccentric character The Mad Hatter. ”

On the ceiling of the dining room we had the Mad Hatters Tea Party

 

On one window the mural blocked the view of the construction nearby

 

In the pub each booth had a different topic

 

Near the elevator, the descent to the rest rooms

 

 

In our bedroom we had some playing cards over the bed

 

View out the window. Insane development of high rises near by and in every direction

The Thames River Walk was only a block away

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our little hotel amid the development around it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Alms Houses overshadowed by giant skyscrapers

 

Another view out our window in another direction

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This small hotel is holding its own amidst so much development. Be sure to stay there if you go to London! It is super well located with a short walk along the Thames to the Tate Modern and the Haymarket, not tomention the National Theater where we saw the play “Small Island”