To paraphrase what my wife said on Facebook: " I quite like this hotel. It's run by a family and they are so proud of everything. In fact, the current owner grew up in the basement of the house! The mosaic tiles around the reception window, the inspirational plaques in rustic wood focused on kindness, the small art prints of small London moments that float on the wall above the handrail that winds up the narrow staircase, the newly refurbished hotel kitchen (Try our new toasties for an afternoon snack! We will bring you your choice of breakfast to your own room! ), and the bathroom toiletries-highest London quality!
It won't ever win awards for class, but on the friendly and clean scale, they are winners. Two blocks away is a grimy looking street (in all fairness, a LOT of London and Paris score extremely high on the grimy scale) full of people shopping at tiny stores of all kinds--Turkish markets, hot nuts (delivered !), locks, phones, phone repair, clothing stores, fabric stores, and more Turkish restaurants than I've ever seen. Last night's dinner was at one of those. Walking back in the dark we could see the ragged looking apartments above the commercial properties lining the street. Real life in London, away from the tourist center."
When we left we left with hugs from the owner. If you're looking for a place to stay that's about 20 minutes from the center of London and won't cost you an arm and a leg, the United Lodge Hotel is a winner! read more