Premier Inn London Southwark

We stayed at the Premier Inn, Southwark from last Saturday until this Tuesday. The first thing that we were impressed with was the hotel manager, Darius, ringing us at home the day before to check that everything was OK and if we needed any assistance, very helpful.

On our arrival we were made welcome by the girl in reception and we continued to be impressed by absolutely all of the staff that we came into contact with throughout our short 3 night/4 day stay.

The hotel is small, around 50 rooms I think, and in first class order throughout, unlike a lot of hotels there is a marked absence of chips & scraps to the public areas. Our room was on the 2nd floor with a bay window looking out over a small inner courtyard. We travelled with our 14 year old son and hence had a family room. The room was reasonable in size, very clean, flat screen tv, coffee making, hair-dryer, armchair, plenty of hanging and shelf space. Our son's bed was comfortable enough but basic in that it was a thick mattress set onto the floor, it slides out from the main king size bed. The bathroom was spotless and a credit to the staff who clean the rooms daily.

There is some work going on at the ajoining building (The Anchor Pub) but we were not inconvenienced in any way - work seems to start at around 7.30am, but as our trip was designed to see the sights of London together with theatre trips we were up-and-about anyway.

Breakfast is taken in the Anchor pub, with corridor access from the Premier Inn via keypad. Breakfasts were extensive in choice and the 2 girls (and male i/c) worked very hard to ensure that all of the guests were suitably looked-after. The end 2 tables, which seat 2 and 3 people, have fabulous views of the River Thames, Southwark Bridge and over the river to St Paul's Cathedral etc.

Trips to the West End and Oxford Street are easy, but not especially quick. We either used London Bridge underground (10 to 15 minutes walk away) or down the river embankment to the Millennium Footbridge (which is close by) and across to the St Paul's area where buses are very frequent to Trafalgar Square and beyond (numbers 15 and 23).

South of the river, you can walk down past the Millennium Footbridge to the London Eye and Houses of Parliament (around a mile away), or into Lambeth for the Imperial War Museum (which was simply brilliant AND free of charge). The Tower of London is only around 15 minutes walk away and closer than that is the popular London Dungeon. We visited a Churchill experience in Tooley Street but it was poor value for money at around L10 per adult. The Clink Prison is over the road from the Premier Inn, and for a fiver it's about right and worth a half hour look. Southwark Cathedral and the local Borough Market are close by but we didn't have time to go.

The hotel closes its large gates at 11pm each night, but this is no problem as there is an intercom attached to the security person on duty.

Overall, an excellent well-run small hotel offering, for London, outstanding value for money.

The Motel is in a great location - a five minute walk from Tower Bridge Trube Station and a 15 minute walk to St Paul's. The motel is fairly new and out the room was neat , clean and well maintained. It is attached to the Anchor Pub which was reall hand for meals after a busy day sightseeing. Considering the location it is reaonably priced. The hotel staff were friendly, efficient and very helpful.

This has one of the best London locations for the price. Important tip is that the price was 97 pounds Fri - Sun nights and jumped to 145 pounds Monday to Thurs nights.

The Globe theatre is very close and is a must do. At 5 pounds in the pits (standing only, heckling allowed, and drinks) it is an experience you will never forget.