Gower House Hotel

If you are looking for luxury accomodations, can't handle steep stairs, or plan to spend a lot of time in your hotel room having an affair or whatever, this is not the place for you.

But if you are just looking for a clean, quiet, inexpensive place to sleep in a supurb central London location, close to the Tube and buses and non-touristy shops, this place is hard to beat.

From some of the other reviews I thought it might be noisy. I had a street-facing room on the top floor, and from there the traffic sounded very distant (and there wasn't very much of it). What woke me up in the mornings was the sound of birds chirping -- absolutely charming! The walls are thin so if you had noisy neighbors it could be a problem -- but all of my neighbors were quiet and polite (I was the only American there -- the others seemed to be French or Italian, or Brits). The rooms had a hot water heater with tea(hooray!), a telly, and plenty of closet space.

Yes, the building is older, but well-kept and clean, and a very typical older London row house (by the time I visited Dickens' house it seemed very familiar!). The staff was very helpful to me, particularly on the first day when I was still fuzzy from my flight. The rooms are small and basic, but who in their right mind is going to go to London to sit in a motel room?

The shared bathrooms were close to the rooms. I never had to wait for other people to finish and they were kept so clean I never had a perception that I was sharing them with other people. The breakfast was not gourmet fare but ok, with good coffee (the main thing i care about).

My friends were staying at the Generator Hostel. By comparison, I felt I was living in the lap of luxury, and in the end I didn't spend that much more than they did.

Gower House is situated in Bloomsbury. It is a basic budget hotel and in early 2009 cost £65 a night for a single room.

There didn't appear to be a reception area. Instead you just ring the bell upon arrival and after you're given your room you get a key that opens both the main door into the building which is closed off-hours (from approx. 10.30pm until approx. breakfast time 7.30am) and an indoor hallway door that leads to the rooms. There was a member of staff in the basement on the one occasion I went there off-hours (about 6.30am) so it seems there's always at least one member of staff in the building. (All staff I encountered were friendly).

The room itself was very basic. For the price you're not going to get an attractive room in this location. I thought it was a bit cold during the night- it was the middle of winter. The heat came on about 5am and there was usually just enough warm water for washing in the morning - though it sometimes took a while to get that warm water. The room was spacious enough with small colour TV (terrestrial channels), desk, closet, and several lights. Everything was very basic budget quality - the room, bed, shower, bathroom, etc.

The main problem with the room was noise from all night traffic on Gower Street, including a bus stop right outside the hotel. I was in a front room so ask for a room facing the back if you're a somewhat light sleeper.

There is no lift/elevator but there aren't that many floors and the stairs aren't steep, like in Amsterdam, so it won't be a problem unless you've got mobility issues.

Breakfast was served in the basement. You could have bacon & eggs or a poached egg plus cereal, toast, tea and coffee. It was better than most budget hotels I've stayed in.

The location is excellent. Gower House is on the same street as the British Museum, close walking distance to many of London's main attractions, and within 10 minutes walk of several Tube stations. There are very few shops on Gower Street itself but nearby (less than 5 minutes walk) Tottenham Court Road has plenty of shops (ie Tesco, Boots, fast food restaurants) and a couple of pubs.

Next time I'm in London I'll stay in the same area but Gower House won't be my first choice.

That said, it WILL be one of my alternatives if I can't get my first choice. So, overall, I'd recommend it for 'no frills' budget conscious travelers who want to be close to the centre of London but don't want to stay in a dump.

I needed to find an afordable place to stay in the bloomsbury area. This was it. I stayed in several different rooms at the house. All were clean with fresh towels daily. The street side of the house is very noisy, do request garden side! I would pay the extra for en-suite as the bathrooms are more up to date. There is no lift and only 2 rooms on the ground floor. It's a lot of steps to the top. Breakfast is served 7:30 - 9:30 you get cereal, juice

coffee or tea, bacon(english ham) 2 eggs and toast.

Nothing great but better than nothing. This hotel is within walking distance of the British museum. Bus stops on the street.

Tube station at end of street.

Owners friendly and accomadating.