Staying in the heart of London
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Recommendation added: 29/11/2007 13:05
By: mamba17 (YSUK rating +87)mamba17 has been thanked 3 times for this contribution
"I stayed in the Strand Palace Hotel in London a couple of years ago when my friend and I decided to go to the theatre. The first thing we noticed about this hotel was its fantastic location. Located just on the Strand road in London it really is in the heart of London. Close to pretty much everything it is a great hotel to make base when going on a break in London.
To get there isn't the easiest of tasks if you are travelling by car as it is London so it typically gets very busy in that area. Also there is no car park which makes it difficult; however there is one only two minutes away. The best way to get there is by taking the underground system. The nearest tube station is Covent Garden which is literally 5 minutes away from the hotel.
As I've said the location of this hotel is excellent, it is in the heart of the theatre district so if that's the reason you're going to London then this is the hotel for you. On first looks from outside the hotel doesn't look that impressive, just a plain building really. When you get inside it is much nicer, very clean and bright with lots of armchairs and sofas. The reception area isn't very big and only two people were there in order to help us. However they were extremely efficient and had us checked in and ready within two minutes. The room was quite easy to find, everywhere had signs telling you where places were and room signs. The hotel was carpeted and had pleasant pictures everywhere of London and different pieces of art.
The rooms were quite good, a bit small but they had nice comfy beds, en-suite bathroom and a colour TV. Most rooms had internet access but you have to pay for it. They had tea and coffee makers with cups. I didn't spot a mini-bar when I was staying but they had room service. The price of this was a bit steep but it's what you expect really in a hotel in London. The bathroom was good, a bit small but the shower was nice and warm and they provided shampoo.
The Strand Palace Hotel has two restaurants; both were very nice and served some top notch food in my opinion. There was the carvery which served either a cold buffet or a full meat dinner. We didn't eat at this one but saw the food and it looked delicious. Then there was the Brassiere which served lots of fish dishes. I had the salmon which was gorgeous, then the cheesecake which was delicious. We loved our meals, they were brilliant and the restaurant was lovely and very bright. It cost us about £20 each but it was definitely worth it. If you want a started it usually costs an extra £6-7 with drinks costing in the region of £5 each. The hotel also has two bars to add a bit of nightlife to the hotel. The Mask bar serves cocktails, however we were too young then to go in it!
The price of the hotel was quite good considering its location and how nice the hotel actually was. We paid £140 for a twin room for one night. This does go up for different rooms and different rates. They usually go up to around £200-250 per night which isn't really that bad in London. All rates include breakfast as well which includes a buffet of a continental breakfast.
So overall I liked the Strand Hotel and thought it was an extremely good hotel for what we needed it to be, a base for the weekend. The rooms were practical, the staff friendly and the prices fair, what more could you ask for.
General Information
Address: The Strand Palace Hotel, 372 Strand, London, WC2R 0JJ
Telephone number: +44 (0)20 7379 4737
Website: http://www.strandpalacehotel.co.uk/"
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