WXyz

Wow this bar is honestly soooooooooo bad, please don’t stop by, overpriced understaffed, was staying there so I tried it, just painful.

Every aLoft hotel has a wxyz bar inside of it, and generally they are friendly low-​key places where guests can have a relaxing drink while enjoying a good chat with friendly staff. Someone at the aLoft London ExCel seems to have missed the memo.
On the positive side, this wxyz has a pretty good selection of rums behind the bar, and a very large seating area which is rarely close to being filled.
Unfortunately, when this place gets busy, staff just seem unable to cope. The wait times stretch while the two bartenders dash madly from one end of the bar to the other, all while under the watchful eye of someone who is obviously a manager as he did nothing to assist either the bar staff or patrons.
This is also the only food or drink venue that I have ever visited that used a jigger to measure a wine pour. Yes — you read that right — not only do they use a jigger to measure shots of liquor, but even when you ask for a glass of wine it is measured in a jigger. I get portion control, and I get making sure your staff aren’t giving away profits to customers, but this is just excessive.
Realistically — the 2 stars are just for convenience, as there is really little else near the hotel. Go out in the Canary Wharf area, and come back to the aLoft for shut-​eye because there’s really not a bar worth spending time or money at here.