The Dover

Not very clearn, could hardly turn around in the room let alone put our luggage anywhere. Had to climb up 5 flights of stairs.

We stayed at the Dover Hotel for two nights. The staff were kind and helpful. The location is excellent, only 5-10 minutes walk from the Victoria Coach and Train Stations. The breakfast was simple which included toast, cereals, juices and coffee/tea and for the price we paid this was excellent. The rooms are a little dated and small, but they were clean and tidy. The bathroom was very small with a shower. We would stay at this hotel again, but only for a short stay. i.e. 2-4 nights. It is a good budget hotel and an ideal place to stay if you wish to explore London.

I decided to take my daughter to London for a theatre break for her 16th birthday. I didn't go for the usual 'show and hotel' package, instead booked everything separately as I had limited funds. I booked the Dover Hotel in Belgrave Road, Victoria after reading reviews on TA. I had already booked 2 cheap flights with Ryanair (£28 rtn) so we were good to go. We stayed for 3 days - Monday to Wednesday (29 June - 1st July) and crammed a lot in! The hotel was as described in TA - basic but clean and that's all I wanted really. We spent very little time in it as we were out all day sightseeing as my daughter had never been before. The owners were very friendly and helped us with directions. At breakfast the women serving were also very nice. Breakfast was - again - basic but what you would have at home, fruit juice, cereals, tea/coffee and toast. Near the hotel was Victoria Shopping Mall which has a food court on the upper floor so if we were hungry there was plenty of choice nearby. On the Monday after checking in to the hotel, we decided to have a look around. We went to a couple of ticket booths to price tickets for 'Wicked' and ended up getting two for the stalls for the Tuesday evening performance at the brilliant price of £32.50 each - 4 rows from the front! We then just wandered round the capital - from Buckingham Palace, through Green Park and up to Fortnum and Mason's and Piccadilly Circus. We had our dinner at TGi Fridays where they sang Happy Birthday to my daughter and presented her with a huge slice of hot chocolate fudge cake with a candle in it - she looked embarrassed but I think she really enjoyed it! On the Tuesday we decided we would go for a bus tour with the Big Bus Company - well worth it for anyone who really wants to see the capital - but opt for the blue tour with the headphones as it goes out round Kensington, whereas the red tour doesn't appear to do that (according to the map). As you can hop on and off, we were able to spend more time at particular places - e.g Trafalgar Square, etc. Tuesday night was spent in the Apollo Theatre - the show was amazing! On Wednesday, we went to Covent Garden where there was a real mix of performers. Bearing in mind that this was one of the hottest days so far this year they all were brilliant and their shows were definitely worth seeing! All in all we had a great time shopping and sightseeing. We came home exhausted but happy and apparently this was her best birthday ever! Proof that the capital doesn't have to cost an arm and a leg to enjoy it!