SHEILA WAYMANStays At The Leonard Hotel, In London
CENTRAL and comfortable were the prerequisites in an internet trawl of London hotels for a weekend break without, oh joys, the children. We wanted to spoil ourselves a little – without unduly damaging our bank balance.
Of course those vague parameters leave you with hundreds of hotels to choose from in our neighbour’s vast capital. Looking for a double room for no more than €150 a night over the weekend soon narrowed the field, however. Prices may be plummeting in this country, but they’re not in London – at least they weren’t for our fixed dates.
Any of the more luxurious hotels with familiar-sounding names seemed way out of our league for a three-night stay, but I persisted in looking at ones with at least a four-star rating.
The Leonard Hotel on Seymour Street, near Marble Arch, caught my eye. Right beside Oxford Street, it met the “central” criterion; “comprising four 18th-century luxury London townhouses” suggested character as well as comfort. A double room was available on booking.com for £130, or €147 a night, which put it within budget.
“Size of the room is 19 square metres,” I was informed as I booked a classic double room. That was a new one on me – a precise measurement rather than a fudged “cosy” or “spacious”.
Unfortunately, being spatially illiterate, I couldn’t envisage whether the room would be totally taken up by the queen-size bed or if there would be space to lounge around. Somewhere in between, it turned out.
Emerging on to Oxford Street out of Marble Arch tube station, we had only a two- minute walk to the hotel, on an elegant and quiet Georgian street behind the station.
The working fireplaces in the plush front lounge and reception, along with the small bar across the corridor, give it the feel of a private club rather than a hotel with 48 rooms. Hardly more than four guests at a time would fit in the creaky wood-panelled lift that took us to the fourth floor. As the lift doors opened the unexpected sight of an old harmonium endeared the place to me.
Staying in the cheapest rooms, we then needed to climb a dog-leg stairs to the fifth floor, set back in the eaves of the roof. Not for us the premium rooms of the first floor, with their splendid floor-to-ceiling windows.
In the garret, where servants once lodged, the rooms were not cramped. The “Georgian green” of walls, carpet, curtains and bedspread, with faux gilt picture and mirror frames on the walls, reinforced the period feel. However, the flat-screen television was a reminder of what century we were really in, along with a symbol of our most-up-to-date foolish ways: bottled mineral water all the way from Fiji. Other standard facilities were there, too, such as a broadband connection; minibar; iron and ironing board; hairdryer; and tea- and coffee-making facilities with the all-important biscuits – although they were not replenished during our stay.
Such reluctance to restock was not shown in the marble bathroom, where Penhaligon’s toiletries were aplenty. The shower over the bath was pleasingly constant in power and temperature.
Storage space for anything that would not hang in the closet was severely rationed. Packing underwear around the Bible in the single drawer of the bedside table didn’t seem quite right. The other three shallow drawers around the room accommodated a few more garments – but one of us travels very light, and we only had one bagful between us.
Considering its location, the peacefulness of the place was a pleasant surprise. For anybody intent on shopping in London, it is ideal. Oxford Street, Bond Street and Regent Street are all within easy reach by foot, and when the purchases accumulate it is easy to nip back to the hotel to debag.
The vast array of cuisine available on the doorstep meant we did not bother with breakfast or dinner in the hotel, but a menu of predominantly English fare, such as fish and chips or bangers and mash, is available.
If you turn right instead of left as you hit Oxford Street, Hyde Park offers an abundance of grassy space to walk, jog and – on our next visit, perhaps – exercise the children.
- WhereThe Leonard Hotel, 15 Seymour Street, London, 00-44-20-79352010, theleonard.com.
- WhatFour-star boutique hotel, which also has apartments across the road.
- Rooms48, ranging from 10sq m singles to a 75sq m one-bedroom grand suite, plus five apartments.
- Best ratesFrom £116 (€132) for a double room, excluding breakfast.
- Restaurant and barSmall restaurant and bar; breakfast tables set up in lobby.
- Child-friendlinessChildren welcome, but you would need to book a suite for an extra sofa bed.
- AccessibilityNo facilities for people with disabilities, but ground-floor bedrooms are wheelchair- accessible.
- AmenitiesWi-Fi, TV, DVD player, minibar, fitness room.