Grange Holborn Hotel, London

Author's product rating:   

Advantages:	Great Location, Huge Executive Rooms
Disadvantages:	Quite expensive

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

I stayed at the Grange Holborne for 2 nights in April 2005. The trip was a special birthday treat for my mother and it was important to me that the hotel was particularly special. When I was looking for a hotel for our stay I saw that this came highly recommended by a number of websites and so booked an executive twin at a cost of £135.00 per night.

On checking in we quickly noticed that, although the reception area was quite small, the staff all seemed to be incredibly efficient and helpful. We arrived quite early and although our room wasn't ready they quickly arranged for us to leave our luggage so that we could get on with enjoying our trip to the big city.

Although the room we had reserved was an executive twin, I think we may have been upgraded to a mini-suite (I had emailed the hotel to tell them about Mum's birthday when I booked) as the room we had was simply huge. The room was a corner room and so was light and airy. We each had a queen sized-bed and as well as the usual TV (including digital channels), wardrobes & tea & coffee making facilities, we had a small seating area with a table and chairs which we later found out were made from hand-carved rosewood. The bathroom was quite small, however it was well decorated in granite & marble and had both a powerful shower and a bath too. The room was elegantly decorated, each bed was comfy and had lots of pillows for snuggling down with. The room also had a mini-safe, telephone lines (with voice mail), modem point, mini bar, trouser press, hair-dryer and individually controlled air- conditioning and temperature control. Our room fronted the main road, but there was no noticeable traffic noise and so I slept like a baby in my huge, comfy bed!

All of the public areas of the hotel are clean and smart. The hotel boasts a sushi bar and Wine Bar Lounge (which does fabulous, if a little expensive, afternoon tea) as well as regular Dining Facilities. Although we did not dine at the hotel on either evening of our stay, our rate did include breakfast, which was very nice - plenty of fresh fruit and yoghurt, warm bread and pastries, as well as cooked english breakfast if you prefer. The main restaurant ('Constellations') even features a ceiling which depicts the night sky star locations as seen on Millennium night!

The Hotel has a Health Club and 15 metre Swimming Pool that is designed to look like a Roman bath and is great for an early morning swim! The poolside has its own juice bar and relaxation lounge as well as steam and sauna rooms, all of which are free for hotel guests. In addition there is a mini spa offering a variety of treatments.

The hotel is located in Holborne (WC1) on Southampton Row, just a 2 minute walk from the nearest tube stop (Holborne - Central & Piccadilly lines) which makes it very central for most of the major sights, particularly the West End and Covent Garden.

This is a 4* deluxe hotel and it's clean, well-appointed, and the staff are both friendly and helpful. The hotel definitely has the luxurious feel that is often found only in larger hotels outside the capital. The Grange Holborn Hotel has 200 Double and Twin rooms and suites -if planning to stay, be sure to check out the website (http://www.grangehotels.com/holborn/holborn.htm) for special offers when booking - I've since seen the rooms as low as £90 per night.

I would certainly recommend this hotel to others.