This London Hotel Is Launching A Festive Rooftop Cinema

Every winter, London’s bars, restaurants, hotels and shopfronts are completely taken over with festive goodness. But the best examples are festive pop-ups that bring something new and Christmassy to the city for a limited time, from Club Curling lanes to alpine rooftops and winter igloos. The latest to reveal its winter plans is art’otel London Battersea Power Station, which is transforming its rooftop – home to a picturesque swimming pool in the summer months – into a beautiful rooftop cinema showing Christmas classics. Here’s what you need to know.

(Rebecca Hope Photography)

art’otel London Battersea’s Christmas Rooftop Cinema

If you’d like to fit all of your festive favourites into your watching schedule before the big day, it’s time to get started. For a more unique experience watching a Christmas film under the stars, head to art’otel London Battersea this season, where an enchanting rooftop cinema is setting up for a season of heartwarming classics.

Perched beside London’s new hotspot, Battersea Power Station, art’otel is a design-led hotel and home to buzzy Portuguese restaurant JOIA, helmed by Henrique Sá Pessoa, on the 15th floor. This is where your evening will begin: with a premium dining experience in JOIA, with floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the twinkling lights of London’s nighttime skyline. To start, guests can share a selection of petiscos and tapas like beef Pica Pau with pickles and mushrooms or the glazed aubergine with black olive tapenade and walnuts. For mains, choose between a traditional Portuguese fish with a JOIA twist, the arroz de marisco with bomba rice, red prawns, mussels and clams, or the orzo verde with asparagus and mushrooms, before finishing with a traditional Portuguese dessert: Torrija. Sip on JOIA Bar’s tasty cocktails or a glass of wine all the while, and make sure you grab a Hot Toddy before you head up onto the roof. A special just for film viewings, Chivas 12 year old Scotch Whisky with bergamot, honey, lemon and ginger makes the perfect winter warmer.

Then it’s to the roof, where jovial movies like Elf, Love Actually, Home Alone and It’s a Wonderful Life will be screened while guests snuggle up with cosy blankets. If rain is a worry, fear not: a covering will ensure screenings go ahead come rain, shine or snowfall. If your delightful meal didn’t fill you all the way up, grab a bag of nougat flavoured popcorn to munch on as the magic unfolds.

(Rebecca Hope Photography)

What’s On?

Running Thursday to Sunday from 21 November until 22 December, festive screenings include:

• Thursday 21 November: The Holiday
• Friday 22 November: Love Actually
• Saturday 23 November: White Christmas
• Sunday 24 November: Elf
• Thursday 28 November: White Christmas
• Friday 29 November: The Holiday
• Saturday 30 November: It’s A Wonderful Life
• Sunday 1 December: Home Alone
• Friday 6 December: National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation
• Friday 7 December: White Christmas
• Sunday 8 December: Home Alone
• Friday 13 December: It’s A Wonderful Life
• Saturday 14 December: Love Actually
• Sunday 15 December: Elf
• Thursday 19 December: Love Actually
• Saturday 21 December: The Holiday
• Sunday 22 December: It’s A Wonderful Life

BOOK IT

Dinner starts at 5.30pm, followed by the movie screening at 7.30pm. Tickets are priced at £80pp including dinner and cinema seats, or £180 for two guests sharing cosy sofa seats. Find out more and book at joiabattersea.co.uk