The strand palace hotel is as the name suggests in the Strand and is owned by Granada/Forte. It has been established at the same spot since 1907. Needless to say it has come up with the times, and is a highly popular hotel for a variety of reasons.
In my view there are a few essentials when you stay in a hotel including: cleanliness, there is nothing worse than paying to go somewhere and loathing touching anything because it’s not clean. After all you are paying a quite substantial fee sometimes, so cleanliness is utmost important. Second on my criteria is the ability to make tea in your room. Imagine waking up and being desperate (for a cuppa that is) only to find you have to wait until Breakfast for your first cup of the day? So that’s a close second. Next come sin staff politeness. I have lost count of the times I have asked a question to be faced with either, a non speaking recipient, or a down right rude English person. A simple polite answer is all that’s required and if that’s too hard don’t do the job. Lastly is food – good food, goes without say8ing doesn’t it?
The Strand Palace hotel has some 783 rooms on some nine floors (I counted them all!) And having spied in several others I was convinced they were all up to the standard of my own room. I booked my weekend theatre break through Superbreak for a cost of £196 for two persons the price included full English breakfast.
~~~Our room~~~
We arrived at our second floor room and slid the credit card style key into the slot and waited for the green light – you know the standard stuff. The first thing you notice as you enter into the room is the darkness. There is a main light so we flicked the switched but were still unimpressed with the brightness. So on went the remaining five lights and it becomes an acceptable level of light to read by. The room is decorated in brown/beige striped wallpaper and as said has several lamps around the room. Sitting on the-what appeared to be nine draw side is the TV (swivels round). The TV was a story of its own… The curtains and bed covering is a pleasant blue check design, while the carpet is a brown check design and unappealing in my opinion. Let’s look out the window….Wow what a view! Three further walls of the hotel and a load of rubbish set on a blue roof below. A total mess and this let the hotel down somewhat.
The nine draw cabinet is in fact on a three draw one. Pull the top draw on either side and you reveal a cupboard, one of which holds your tea/coffee making facilities (passed criteria test 2). The room even though not brightly lighted is obviously well maintained by the cleaners. Enter through a further door to the bathroom come toilet. Again it is very clean in fact almost sparkly clean (passed criteria test 1)
As it was tiddling (that’s polite for something else) down of rain we decided to eat in the hotel. The 372 restaurant was spotless, and modern with laminated flooring and side strip lighting. Staff despite be of foreign tongue did their utmost to accommodate my mobility needs, and were extremely helpful (pass criteria test 3). In addition we asked the concierge for some directions, which he gave in a polite simple manner. So easily in fact that we managed to get there and back without getting lost!
Lastly on the criteria test is food. Like I said it was raining very heavy, so we opted to eat in one of the hotels five eateries/drinking places and chose 372, which offers carvery selection. I was surprise how hot and fresh the food was. Not only that it was tasty too! We opted for lamb with roast potatoes, new potatoes and three vegetables. However, my only complaint about the meal was the vegetables; they were a tad on the raw side for my liking. That said I ALWAYS OVER cook my veggies. Dessert was for me home made apple pie and cream, while the other half opted for home made cheesecake – both were consumed without any complaints and very much enjoyed. Our meal for two with drinks cost £29)
Hotel: the hotel it situated in the Strand which is in central London and easy to walk to theatres such as the Aldwych, Lyceum, and many more. Come out the front of the hotel and turn right, and you’ll be heading towards Trafalgar square with Nelson, bear left and you have the Mall and St James park and Buckingham palace – all within a few minutes. A little further on passed the Haymarket and you find more theatres in Piccadilly (a little further on for Oxford Street). The hotel has several bars and restaurants on site, along with a gift shop, and left luggage position.
Disabled access:
We booked a disabled room though our room was in my opinion a standard one. It had no grab rails, though was big enough to manoeuvre a wheelchair around. Access to the hotel by wheelchair is done by a side street (Exeter road) where there is a home made style ramp covering part of two large steps. However, once up the steps you are in a difficult position again, there are two sets of NON automatic doors to contend with. Luckily I had my other half to help me; otherwise a stay in this hotel might not have been possible. The lifts are also fairly small and to enter I had to turn slightly to the left or right to allow room. Finding the room was also quite difficult, although there are signs; the ones pointing to our room took us a lot further than the way we found ourselves later. Entry to the room also requires two people as the doors are fairly hefty.
Other:
The TV has video channels which are charged at £7+ at time of writing including a ‘porn’ one. There is no mini bar or fridge, which is a bit of a let down. Room service is only available at certain times. A sandwich will set you back around £7.50 in the hotel; though I would recommend a little shop a few doors down called Benjy’s. They offer a range of sandwich’s for a fraction of the price. The nearest tube is Covent Garden, served by the Piccadilly line
Overall:
Despite some difficulties in access and room lighting I really enjoyed this stay at The Strand Palace hotel. It was extremely central to our needs, and offered polite helpful, knowledgeable staff. It was very clean throughout and I will have no hesitation in booking here again. I am gradually getting more mobile so I can now manage a few steps: however, if you are mobility impaired and by yourself this hotel might be best avoided.
Strand Palace, London
The Strand Palace is situated in the heart of Theatreland and adjoins Covent Garden with
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The London Eye, Trafalgar Square and Buckingham Palace all just a short stroll.The hotel is a 3 minute walk from Embankment, Charing Cross & Covent Garden tube sta...
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