Romantic? No. Luxurious? No. Lovely interior color palette? No.
Centrally located? Yes. Cheap? Yes. Excellent water pressure? Yes.
Life is all about trade-offs. If you've ever wondered what it might be like to sleep on a set of Star Trek in an incredibly small, utilitarian room with a capsule shower, look no further. But when that tiny room is cheap, and has lots of hot water (no problems with ours, although that might depend on the room's location in terms of which floor), and is near the Underground, and the bed actually afforded us our first great night's sleep in many days, it felt worth it. Plus, if you're a runner, Hyde Park is not too far, and it's lovely.
Just be ready to pay extra for everything. The wi-fi is not free (you can pay £1 for 20 minutes on their computers, or £10 for twenty-four hours on your laptop), the remote is not free, extra towels beyond the number of occupants is not free, early or late check-in is not free, and so on. Yet when you're visiting London, you hopefully don't spend much time in your room anyway (although it's worth it to spring for a room with a window, since they are so small and no reminder of the outside world might feel, well, a bit prison-like).
Our small room had enough space to walk in, move about three feet forward, and collapse onto the bed. Literally. Don't expect to store anything elsewhere than on the floor or under the bed. The bathroom? As my man said, you could take a s**t, a shower, and brush your teeth all at the same time.
Don't expect romance.
But do expect to save enough on your lodging that you can spring for several tapas courses at Dehesa in Soho, which is a whole 'nother story.... read more