Citadines London Apartment Hotel, London

...and was attracted to the Citadines Apart’Hotel in Holborn due to its location and a good discount that I found on the Internet.

LOCATION AND GETTING THERE

The Citadines Holborn is literally a stone’s throw from Holborn Tube station. Leave the station via the High Holborn exit, and you can see the hotel across the road, next door to the Pizza Express restaurant. I actually made the trip from Euston by taxi ...
...to pay these rates, as Citadines actively market their rooms at great prices. One of the best places to look is actually www.laterooms.com – not my favourite site in the world, but does have some good deals from time to time. Last week, I paid £69 for the room – a discount of 50%. Even better, the rooms sometimes go for £55 – a saving of 60%! Similar savings can be made on the apartments and availability is generally very good – ... more

When you arrange hotel accommodation, your choice of venue will certainly depend on the nature of your visit. What I mean by this, is that you wouldn’t stay in a Travel Inn for your honeymoon. According to the nature of my business travel, I have found that on each visit to London, I have very different requirements, according to who I’m with, where I need to be and (if I’m honest) what kind of mood I’m in.

An increasingly large share of the hotel market is being taken up by Apartment Hotels. These buildings offer short or long-term accommodation for travellers who are happy to be relatively self-sufficient. These venues generally don’t offer the traditional services such as a restaurant room service and breakfast and instead provide modern facilities in a self-catering apartment. There is good potential to save some serious cash by choosing to stay here – the hotels have greatly reduced overheads and can offer the cost savings to their guests. That aside, this form of accommodation won’t suit everyone, as I’ll try to explain as I write this review.

REASON FOR TRAVEL

My most recent business trip involved travelling alone, with arrival in London relatively late in the day. My accommodation therefore needed to offer me a decent place to sleep in a place that was close to shops and amenities. Given that I wasn’t meeting friends or colleagues, I didn’t particularly want to eat in a restaurant, so I needed a good selection of places to get take-away food from. I arrived in London at Euston station, so I also wanted a hotel that didn’t involve a lengthy journey by taxi or Tube. I have tried Apartment style hotels in Manchester and Leeds, but haven’t tried them in London up until now and was attracted to the Citadines Apart’Hotel in Holborn due to its location and a good discount that I found on the Internet.

LOCATION AND GETTING THERE

The Citadines Holborn is literally a stone’s throw from Holborn Tube station. Leave the station via the High Holborn exit, and you can see the hotel across the road, next door to the Pizza Express restaurant. I actually made the trip from Euston by taxi and this cost me about £6. There are plenty of bus routes which pass close by, and if you travel by car, the hotel has its own car park – although this will cost you £13 per day.

The hotel is perfectly suited to its location and everything you might need is well within walking distance. There are several restaurants on the same road, as well as the popular chains such as McDonalds and Burger King. There are a number of cash points, and bank branches to enable you to finance your stay. Even better, there is a superb Sainsburys Central and a Somerfield supermarket within 500 yards, which means that you can go and buy food to prepare and cook in your room. There are two 24-hour convenience stores as well as a selection of popular shops (e.g. Clinton Cards) for last minute shopping. Holborn is also very well situated for most central London attractions and the hotel makes a perfect base for any visitor.

RECEPTION AND ARRIVAL

The entrance to the hotel is bright, modern and a bit clinical. There are two large glass doors that open automatically as you make your way in and the place is rather like the entrance to an office building. This is further reinforced by the circular reception desk, which looks more like a security station than a hotel reception. Everything is very new and clean though and there is a big television screen in a small lounge area, around which you’ll probably find a huddle of football fans. I’d booked my hotel directly through an Internet discount site and was impressed with the efficiency of the checking in procedure where, for once, they had captured all my details on a form and simply required a signature. The receptionist confirmed all the basic rules, such as check out time and within a few minutes I was off to my room.

THE ACCOMMODATION

What makes these places slightly unusual in comparison to “normal” hotels is that a considerable number of guests are staying for prolonged periods. As such, there are post boxes and other personal touches that make the place feel like a block of flats. A major drawback of this is that there is a lot of cooking going on inside the apartments, which means that the corridors are full of smells. As I stepped out of the lift onto my floor I was greeted by a bizarre and pungent odour that simultaneously reminded me of bleach, curry and urine. As I opened the door to the apartment, there was an eerie darkness in the room, and despite the fact that I was clicking the switches, I couldn’t get any of the lights to come on. I propped open the door, and phoned down to reception, who sent up a porter who pointed out a master switch in the corner.

I’m not quite sure what I had expected, but my apartment wasn’t quite what I had envisaged. I had reserved a studio apartment, which basically comprises one bedroom/lounge, a separate bathroom and a small kitchen. My first instinct was to ask where the bloody bed was, but it then occurred to me that the sofa was in fact a sofa bed. At this point I was starting to have a few reservations – very few sofa beds that I have ever slept on have been particularly comfortable, and the room was very warm. However, I got the air conditioning under control, unfolded the sofa bed and flopped down, to discover that it was in fact very comfortable. The room had a portable television, with satellite channels, and a mini hi-fi system, which meant that I was able to play a cd – always a nice touch. The desk was a perfect size and provided plenty of space for me to work in.

The kitchen was incredibly small, but fiendishly compact and very well equipped. Despite the fact that it was probably no larger than five square feet, it contained a fridge, dishwasher, sink, two ring hob, microwave and several cupboards with all the plates and kitchen equipment in. Basic tea and coffee making facilities are provided – but otherwise you have to get everything yourself. The only slight drawback is that when you first arrive, the fridge isn’t turned on, so if you wanted to chill something quickly, you would be out of luck. You are supplied with tea towels, washing-up liquid and cleaning stuff, although the rooms are serviced daily, so it’s not quite like being at home.

The bathroom was very nice. Although it didn’t have any natural light, it was very modern and very well fitted, with a proper power shower complete with a solid glass screen rather than a nasty shower curtain. My first priority was to have a good soak in the bath, and there was plenty of hot water. The bath wasn’t enormous, but was big enough for me, which is normally not the case in hotels. In general, the whole apartment was clean, modern and comfortable and generally quite welcoming.

My only criticisms of the accommodation would be that some of the extras leave a bit to be desired. There was no sugar in the kitchen for instance – and you wouldn’t want to go and buy a bag of sugar, just to have a cup of tea. There were quite a few towels, but the bath ones weren’t very big and nor were they particularly soft. The cutlery in the kitchen was a bit industrial and the pillows on the bed were horrible – very thin and uncomfortable. Furthermore, I found that with the air-conditioning on, I was hot, but when I turned it off I was cold – and the bed was only made up with a single sheet and one thin blanket. I think it would be much nicer if they used better quality bedding and towels – the ones they offer currently are a bit cheap.

WHO WOULD LIKE THIS – AND WHO WOULDN’T

If you were quite an independent traveller, then this style of accommodation would suit you perfectly. The hotel is very quiet and you can come and go without interruption. It’s nice to be able to prepare your own food, and with supermarkets so close by, no real hardship either. This kind of hotel is also very good if you are on a tight budget. With Internet discounts, the rooms are a fair bit cheaper than a Travel Inn, and you can also eat at supermarket prices rather than paying for restaurants. These are great hotels if you want a base, and don’t intend to spend vast amounts of time in your room. That being said, if you want to sit and watch TV in a lounge rather than a bedroom, you also have that opportunity.

This hotel would not suit someone who was looking for some luxury and pampering. The facilities are comfortable, but basic and there are no extras like room service or a gym. You also need to be fairly independent. Staff assistance is limited and there is an unspoken rule that says you should be left to your own devices. If you want to stay in the hotel and have all your food brought to you, then this wouldn’t be any good. The hotel is also rather short of atmosphere – you wouldn’t want to spend too much time here. I probably wouldn’t bring kids here. Although the apartments would be larger than a hotel family room, I would be uncomfortable with the children being in the building on their own. Disabled guests might find that there is a lack of staff support – and some of the doorways are unsuitable for wheelchairs.

PRICES AND STUFF

There are two types of room available. A standard room (like my one) sleeps two people and normally costs £138 per night. Apartments are also available that sleep three people and these normally cost £195 per night. That aside, I defy anyone to have to pay these rates, as Citadines actively market their rooms at great prices. One of the best places to look is actually www.laterooms.com – not my favourite site in the world, but does have some good deals from time to time. Last week, I paid £69 for the room – a discount of 50%. Even better, the rooms sometimes go for £55 – a saving of 60%! Similar savings can be made on the apartments and availability is generally very good – there are 192 rooms in total.

MY VERDICT

I’d definitely stay here again. The style of accommodation generally suits me really well, and with the online discounts, these rooms offer superb value for money. If you bear in mind my comments about whom this would suit and who it would not, you can’t really go wrong.

Recommended

For information: Citadines have a number of other buildings in London and indeed worldwide. Check out their web site for more details at www.citadines.com
 

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