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Recommendation added: 10/11/2007 09:53
By: mamba17 (YSUK rating +116)mamba17 has been thanked 11 times for this contribution
"Staying in London and finding a good hotel that has character, is cheap and is nice is a bit of a task when you want to book for a weekend. But this is what my family and I had to do a few months ago. Luckily after a recommendation from a friend we decided to book into the Grange City Hotel, where we were not disappointed. I will now try to get over to you just how lovely this hotel actually is.
Location
Well this hotel is brilliantly located right in the vicinity of Tower Hill; it's literally a five minute walk to the Tower of London which is pretty impressive. As the Grange City Hotel is pretty much in the centre of London it makes for an easy base as it is so close to all the attractions in London. Needing only a short trip on the Underground you can get to all of the wonderful sights, events and activities London has to offer. It is situated only 2 minutes from Tower Hill underground. Turning one corner after getting out of the underground you come across a very posh street with big houses and business centres. Grange City Hotel is located right in the middle of this.
The hotel
This hotel has everything you could ever wish for when staying in London for the weekend. The bar called 'Isis' we visited on the Saturday night. It was very quiet but I like that in a bar. It was small but this only added to the cosy atmosphere. The seating was also very comfortable but the price of drinks was a bit much but compared to London pricing it seemed reasonable.
Grange City also provides a fitness centre, a swimming pool, laundry services, a business and conference centre, dry cleaning and virtual golf. There was also a Japanese restaurant called Koto, the food looked absolutely gorgeous, the fish looked very fresh and everyone seemed to be enjoying it.
Breakfast was included when we visited the hotel. We expected a small room with a small continental breakfast as I've come to expect from hotels. However we came to a massive room. Service was very quick and we were shown to a table quite quickly where we were told it was a buffet. We found tables full of fresh food. Included was everything you could want for breakfast, fruits, yoghurts, toast, croissants, cereal, sausages many other breakfast items. Tea/coffee and a variety of juices were also provided. I must say that it was probably the best breakfast I have ever had at a hotel.
Reception
The reception area is a large circular desk where there is lots of staff at hand to help you out with any needs. Walking inside of the hotel you can tell that it's a pretty nice hotel, very modern, very well furnished and clean. Even the chairs are plush; you could really sink into some of them. There are quite a few as well, so it is a nice place to sit and read the paper if you are waiting. The lifts were large which makes it useful if you are carrying many suitcases and they are all in a lovely golden exterior which looks tasteful. The floors are all marble so they have a very elegant feel to them and make the hotel seem all the classier from the start. So from first impressions you can really tell that the hotel is going to be nice as the reception does give off an air of classiness and yet also is very comfortable so it doesn't intimidate.
The rooms
The rooms themselves were absolutely gorgeous. I received a room which had a queen sized bed, a desk, TV with cable, mini-bar, en-suite bathroom but unfortunately no view. This did upset me a little as I like a view but rooms that were on the higher floors had views looking across London including the Thames and the Tower of London.
The rooms were lovely and furnished very well. The bathroom was very clean. It had a large selection of towels and complimentary shampoo and conditioner which was actually quite a nice brand. Also the shower was very warm and powerful.
The bathroom also provided a hairdresser that was powerful enough and did the job. There was room service that had a large variety of foods and drinks on it for the normal you would expect to pay for room service, so a bit expensive.
The bed was extremely comfortable. In this bed I fell straight to sleep as soon as my head hit the pillow. A very comfortable bed which made me not want to get up in the morning. Five stars for the quality of sleep you can get.
There was an iron and iron board which we found quite useful, a safe, a tea/coffee maker with cups and a Bose music system. There was also broadband internet, although not in every room. Plenty of space to put clothes so overall the rooms was lovely.
The service
The Grange City has a 24 hour porter and reception available for its customers. Everyone was absolutely superb. They were friendly, kind and had a brilliant sense of humour. They all looked very smart and wore impeccable uniforms. So for the service that they give us while we were there I would say they did very well.
Prices
When we went earlier this year in June we got a double room each for £75 pound a night, which is actually very good considering its location! However at normal and peak times in the year the prices do go up and a single room can start at about £150 going all the way up to paying for the penthouse for around £1200.
Overall Opinion
Overall I think that the Grange City Hotel is an extremely well run hotel. It is conveniently located, has brilliant views from some rooms, great rooms, great service and sometimes great prices. I would recommend this hotel in a heartbeat and in future I will always stay here whenever I'm in London.
General Information
Parking: There is on street parking but there is a local car park which is situated two minutes from the hotel.
Check in time: After 14:00 Check out time: Before 11:00
Directions: Get off at Tower Hill tube station, turn right and it's a one minute walk.
The address of the Grange City Hotel is as follows:
8-14 Cooper's Row, London, EC3N 2BQ"
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