Avalon Private Hotel

Me, my friend and my mom spent a weekend (15. and 16.8. 2008) in the Avalon hotel and we absolutely loved this place!

After having read some of the reviews and because of the bargain price (79 pounds/night for a triple room) we were mentally prepared for some hostel-like disastrous accommodation, but we have found a real gem instead!

We arrived at London on early Friday morning and the hotel was just a few minutes walk from the St. Pancras International railway/metro station, situated in a really calm street and there were also lots of small shops and restaurants nearby.

The hotel had a cosy hall and a pleasant atmosphere with soft carpets everywhere.

All the hotel staff was very nice and friendly. It was absolutely no problem to leave our luggage in the hotel before the check-in and again the whole day after the check-out.

Our room was situated on the top floor and there was everything that a tourist might need to stay overnight. The toilets and shower/bathtub were in the corridor on our floor and everything was very neat and clean.

Our room was large, with a wash-basin, a plug adaptor, a TV and facilities to make our tea/coffee.

The beds were comfortable and we heard no noise from the neighbours. In fact, there must have been other people on our floor (the hotel had no vacancies), but we never saw anyone nor had to wait for the shower or toilet...

We had a great time in London, were very satisfied with the Avalon hotel and will definitely come back there again!

Ok, it's clean.

Ok, they are friendly.

And the location is not too bad (close to St. Pancras / Euston train sations).

Unfortunately this is pretty much everything positive i can say about this place. It is basic - very basic even for London standards.

The furniture looks like either someone disposed it or they got it from the salvation army, rooms are tiny, walls are thin (you can hear almost everone else coming and going) and the window did not close properly, i would not want to stay here in winter.

Bathrooms and toilets are shared.

Fifty pound (what i paid per night) will get you something more decent, with private facilities, even in Central London.

Stay elsewhere if you don't depend on the location.

This Hotel is under new ownership - see paragraph 3 onwards , however...........

Very strange circumstances relate to this review by persons claiming to have briefly visited in November 2006, yet they posted this very poor review in October 2007, (when the Hotel was actually closed for two months and under new ownership)

Why did they wait 11 months before writing a review - could they even remember the name of an Hotel which they say they walked into and then walked out of within the space of a few minutes almost a year earlier!

Well, most importantly, since June 2007, this Hotel has been under new family ownership headed by Nigel and Susan Warren-Thomas. We closed the Hotel last Autumn for over two months during which time we implemented a complete and exhaustive Spring Clean of every square inch of the Hotel, and carried out urgent maintenance to these lovely Georgian buildings.

Our Hotel remains for the moment a little old fashion in its amenities - reflected by our very keen tariff, but its very clean, ( we have three new chamber-maids and cleaners who are brilliant) there's plenty of hot water and fresh towels, good central heating and a friendly welcome from ourselves, and all our (new) staff and other familiy members

We still have the former Maid's "smaller than normal" staircase to the top floor but once up on the third floor, the rooms and the views are very good, AND we'll ALWAYS help with guests' luggage up the stairs.

Incidentally readers may not know that you can not rip out and replace these old stairs or any other George III period features because the Hotel is a 200 year old Grade II listed (landmark) building and is protected against unsmypathetic alterations - along with about half a million other buildings in central London - many of which are small to medium size Hotels!

We hope we will continue to provide a welcoming, quietly located and extremely central Hotel, (with larger than average rooms) to travellers for some time to come.

Nigel Warren-Thomas

22/02/2008