I was only staying overnight in London for one night in early June, as I was attending a wedding being held in the vaults of the Royal Society of Arts, which is also just off Strand. The Strand Palace Hotel is about 3 minutes stroll from the RSA so it was an absolutely perfect location for me.
I booked via Hotel Pronto (via QuidCo!) way back in March so getting a single room was fine and the room rate of £79 included breakfast, which, if you pay for it separately is £14...so you could say the room only cost £65 if you want to break it down.
Upon arrival at the hotel, which is just minutes walking from Charring Cross tube station, I was quite impressed with the entrance but not agog or feeling out of my league in casual KIT trousers and a summer top!
It's a spacious entrance with gleaming lift frontage, a concierge desk, a luggage room (a very reasonable £2 to leave my suitcase there all day Sunday whilst I gallivanted with a friend) and at the bottom
there is a large seating area and the reception / check in area. To the right is the 372 CarveryRestaurant area which also serves breakfast in the mornings till 10.30am (on a Sunday anyway - I can't speak for midweek.) There are also other facilities within the hotel ground floor complex (which I didn't use) namely a currency exchange, a bank of telephones, toilets, some shops and a cafe.
The hotel had kindly allowed me early check in at 1pm - normal check in is at 2pm. I had requested this several weeks prior as I wanted a little extra time to get ready for the wedding - I didn't want to travel down on the train and then across London on the tube in my gear. The hotel couldn't guarantee early check in but they said if I arrived that morning/early afternoon they would sort it if they could help out. They obliged and I was delighted with the extra time to prepare.
I had a feeling my first floor room would be small from reviews I had read elsewhere so I wasn't surprised when I opened the door. Yes the room was small but it was big enough to house a generous single bed, a dressing table, a chest of drawers accommodating a TV and a built in wardrobe. There were tea & coffee making facilities under the TV in a little shelf area within the cabinet but I didn't use them.
The room also had a tall fan as the room was not air conditioned. This fan was on all the time I was there as it was a very warm day.
The bathroom was big enough and very light & fresh feeling in contrast to the bedroom which was dark wood and curtains. There was a built in shower over the bath with the usual clingy shower curtain although this wasn't too bad once I sprayed it with water and told it to "gerroff!"
There was a sink built into a recess in the wall with a big mirror over it and of course, there was a loo in the bathroom too.
Some toiletries were included - a small round tablet of soap, shower cream in dispensers and a shower cap. If you have forgotten anything there are vending machines on some (or possibly all) of the floors and you can buy toothbrushes, pain killers etc.
I got ready for the wedding and on the way out I enquired about leaving luggage the next day. The very informative man at the concierge desk advised me of the prices and what to do - a very pleasant chap!
After the wedding I walked back along a still busy but not rowdy Strand and wondered how I would fare that night as I am a light sleeper and I was concerned about the warm room.
I put the fan on - and it stayed on all night. It was adequate in keeping me cool but to be honest I am glad it wasn't one of those really hot mid summer nights, I think it would have been a bit of a nightmare. If you are going mid summer - I would definitely request a room with air con if possible if you don't like the heat.
As for noise - not a bit of it. Oh I think I heard a door close at some point but that was it. I was on the non smoking first floor and the view overlooked the air con units (lovely!) so I guess I was tucked away somewhere....this may have had a bearing on the noise factor. But personally speaking - it was great. No drunken antics at 4.00am, banging & crashing or anything of that nature. I was so pleased.
After a long shower in the morning I ventured down to the '372' for breakfast. I waited around 60 seconds to be seated and then requested some tea. This was served exceptionally quickly and considering it was a very busy Sunday morning, I was impressed.
I helped myself to a large cooked breakfast - I am vegetarian but there was a lot to choose from (for both meat eaters and veggies) of both cooked and cold breakfast foods and juices.
Checking out was easy even though there was a queue. I was asked if I had prepaid - yes I had. So my card key was taken off me as I'd ordered no room service or anything extra to pay for and I exited the queue. Result!
I then stored my suitcase for the day and off I went. Upon arrival back to pick up the suitcase some 6 hours later or so, the gentleman kindly carried it up the stairs for me and wished me a pleasant day.
So overall I had a good stay at The Strand Palace. Yes the room was small and quite dull but it served the purpose of being able to get ready, get clean, get fed - and get some sleep. The location of the hotel is superb. For £79 (via hotel pronto) I really don't think I could have asked for better.
Would I use it again? Definitely. But maybe I'd be a bit careful if it were a hot summer booking.
** Quality of Rooms - tough one this as I stayed in a single room that is no doubt put aside for cheapie booking sites. The double rooms may well be fantastic so I'm going for a 'good' as anything less may well be an injustice.
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lovely review ~ l usually bring own pillow/sheets as too many sensitivities to even washing powder ~ were there enough sockets for things like phone chargers?
. . . . ~ ! ♥♥ ! ~ ........................................................... ~ jes ~ ! ♥♥ !
Wearsidelass 13.06.2007 17:17
I did enjoy reading this review and could actually imagine the room. Julia
venice105 13.06.2007 14:46
Yay, a new review, and a fab one at that! What I really want to know is how did you wear your curls to the wedding? ;-) Steff xx
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Location. The Strand Palace stands within the busy Strand district of London, England. ... more
Covent Garden is located two blocks away, and the River Thames flows two blocks from the hotel. Hotel Features. The hotel's marble clad lobby reflects is furnish...
Information:
Price is per double room per night and may vary depending on date booked...
Jun 12th, 2007
very helpful by (100%):
