Express by Holiday Inn Southwark

I booked this hotel for the last week in August-- the height of tourist season in Europe-- for I believe six nights for under $500 USD. That's amazing. I did it through Hotwire, booking the nights separately, which worked fine, and they didn't make me change rooms every day. The one snag was-- I wanted two double beds. My first London hotel, the Holiday Inn Express Limehouse, gave me two double beds plus a sofa bed without my even asking, but despite the fact that I had called ahead of time to the Southwark hotel to book two double beds, they said they could only accommodate us for certain nights of the stay. To compensate, for a few nights they gave us another room, until they were booked for the last night or so and we were back to one room with only one double bed.

Two of us in our party of four loved the breakfast, two hated it and wouldn't eat it after the first day. It's mostly bread and cereal, nothing gourmet. We also had a bit of a row with one of the travelers in our group, who proceeded to book her own separate room at the rate of 199 pounds a night! It shows how crazy she is, because we got this hotel for the entire rest of the time for a little over that price. In other words, don't just call up and book their rack rate, do it through Hotwire ahead of time.

Finally, the location is wonderful. It's a few minutes to the nearest tube station, Southwark, and the Jubilee line is close to everything and not crowded at all. Many times, we were the only people in the Southwark tube station. It's right next to the Tate Modern and the Millennium Bridge, Shakespeare's Globe and all the attractions of the South Bank. It's not the most happening area after 11 or so, but that's true for London in general.

Taxis from Buckingham Palace are only about 15 pounds, so it's also good as far as taxi fare if it's too late for the tube.

You won't mistake the rooms for the Ritz, but the hotel is wonderful for the price, a real bargain, and perfectly passable. I found the workers to be very amenable and pleasing,with one exception-- we did our best to avoid her. It's a great hotel to stay with friends for a trip in London. It's a bargain considering the location and being minutes away from every attraction. That is rare in London! I highly recommend it.

The one drawback is that they charged for the Internet, something like $4 a minute (two pounds). We spent a small fortune on the internet downstairs.

First -- I'm a big fan of Holiday Inn Express. That's why I made the reservation to stay here. The easy part about this stay: the facility. It's fine. It's Holiday Inn Express, meaning the rooms are comfortable, nicely appointed, and clean as a whistle. The breakfast was ample and the staff kept it supplied.

The location's appeal depends on your interests in London. Most of my activities are in St. James, Trafalgar and Piccadilly; so I ended up doing a great deal of walking, since there's not a lot going on in Southwark. On the other side of Blackfriars Bridge one can find St. Paul's Cathedral and Tate Modern.

The neighborhood is industrial and unattractive; but I felt no personal safety issues.

The staff at this hotel are a real problem. I have never seen such an adversarial stance towards hotel guests.

I arrived at 11:30 a.m., which didn't seem terribly early. I am a Priority Club Platinum member; but I was not welcomed warmly and no reference was made to my PC status. I asked if I could have an early check-in. The receptionist said, "Check-in time is 2:00." I said, "Even if a room is available?" He responded, "Check-in time is 2:00." Hey. Give me a break. He could have said, "I'm sorry. Housekeeping hasn't got your room ready yet." Or anything other than the response I got.

My room was drafty, so on the next day I went to the desk and asked if they had a extra blanket. I got the strangest blank stare I had ever seen. Needless to say, no blanket was forthcoming.

I had paid for my room in advance. For some reason, they would not then turn on the telephone in my room. Even though I assured them I would pay for any charges incurred.

Please note: I was always friendly when I asked questions, so I have no idea what they have this take-no-prisoners attitude. I simply cannot recommend this hotel to anyone until I know that the staff has stopped treating the guests like persons who can't be trusted -- or worse, as if we're the enemy.