Strand Palace Hotel, London - Staycation Review

Location: The Strand, London
Price: ££
Value for Money: 5/5
Overall: 4/5
Perfect for: Exploring Central London, Groups, Business Travellers,

With the hospitality industry finally opening up, and after 16 months of working from home, I decided to mix things up a little bit and spend a few days ‘Working from Hotel, instead of the traditional WFH.

This would give me the opportunity to celebrate restaurants, bar and hotels opening up again by being in close proximity to them all and to lend my support. It was also an excuse to shake off lock-down and get back into London life again.

I settled on staying at Strand Palace Hotel, not only because it’s located as centrally as you can get, but it is also a deceptively large hotel, meaning they had availability during the busy Summer months.

The hotel is one I’ve walked past many times without actually stopping to take note. This time I did stop and admire the ‘Wes Aderson-esque’ facade and was blown away by the symmetry, detail and the size. It takes up a large amount of the street and I couldn’t wait to see what lay inside!

Location?

Literally situated in the heart of London, Strand Palace Hotel is located barely a minutes walk from Covent Garden, less than 5 minutes from Trafalgar Square and within striking distance of many other London hotspots.

During my stay, I spent time in Chinatown, the Southbank, Somerset House and of course Covent Garden, all of which were just a few minutes walk away.

This makes it perfect for those planning to spend their time exploring the city, as not only is it close to the shopping district of the West End, the best theatres, the bars and restaurants are also located at your convenience.

As a result during peak times and normal circumstances, this hotel is a hub for a vast array of travellers, from business travellers, weekenders, party-seekers and tourists from around the world. This eclectic mix of people is part of the charm of the hotel, as you never know who you’re going to bump into in the lifts.

Accommodation?

Strand Palace has been welcoming guests since 1909 and it does very well to cater for the needs of its vast and diverse clientele. It does this by doing the basics right. There are a range of newly refurbished rooms on offer including Deluxe, Superior, Family and Single rooms, catering for all needs.

After walking through a few seemingly endless corridors, all with iconic art deco styled walls, carpets and doors, we entered our Deluxe room. At initial glance it felt smaller to the hotel rooms we were used to. However we had to remind ourselves that space in central London comes at a premium and the room was probably significantly larger than its equivalents in the area. Our bed was vast and immensely comfortable, which was the most important thing.

The room included a desk and free high-speed Wi-Fi, which was important for working from the hotel. There was also a flat-screen TV, air conditioning and mini bar with free mineral water and a few snacks. The en-suite was also smaller than we were used to but still an appropriate size for the two of us.

Unfortunately we were given a room with a thin adjoining room to the next room, which although it was locked, meant that we could hear the neighbours TV very clearly. Thankfully apart from the odd occasion, the neighbours seemed to be away from the rooms as much as we were.

When checking in we were told the sparse mini-bar would be replenished for free, all we had to do was let reception know. However even though we informed reception, we arrived back to our rooms the next day to find that it wasn’t and we were asked to use the vending machine. Though whenever I did request water from reception, that was brought up without delay.

Activities?

A recent desire of mine has been to make the most of hotel gyms, and luckily Strand Palace has a well stocked and large gym. When we went down to use it the morning of our stay we were pleased to find that it was empty, and stayed empty for the whole time we were there. The gym included weights, treadmills, bikes, mats and floor equipment, making it ideal for all types of workouts.

The hotel also offers Strand Palace bikes for those brave enough to cycle around London, however as many of the places I wanted to visit were within walking distance, I gave it a miss.

Restaurants?

Located on the ground floor by the reception desk is Haxells Restaurant and Bar. This stylish and vast restaurant serves breakfast to the guests, lunch, drinks and dinner.

We had dinner at Haxells on our first night and were impressed with the variety of food and drink on offer. We ordered a bottle from the extensive wine list and a three-course meal which featured some outstanding dishes. In particular, my tiramisu for dessert was probably one of the best tiramisu I’ve had in London.

There was a lovely relaxed vibe in the restaurant and a great mix of diners and those just enjoying a drink, especially as the bar is open quite late.

Breakfast is also served in this same restaurant and can get quite busy. The next morning, after resolving a mix-up with our reservation we enjoyed a buffet breakfast featuring all of the standard options. This included hot food such as bacon, eggs, sausage beans and pancakes, as well as pastries, fruit salad and yogurts.

Price?

Things in central London don’t come cheap yet despite the central location, rooms at the Strand Palace hotel are quite affordably priced. If you plan on spending much of your time outside of the hotel exploring London, then there is no harm in opting for one of the smaller rooms and saving some money that way.

Overall?

I’d come to Strand Palace to WFHotel in-between exploring London, and the desk in the room combined with the fast wi-fi and business centre with printers made it a good location to work from. The location also meant I could head out for lunch breaks without rushing back. I could also admire the streets of London longer in the evenings without worrying about a train back.

The hotel does have some teething problems with service, but I would put this down to the lack of experienced hospitality staff at the moment, as well as the difficult period the whole industry has come through. I’m sure in time these will improve as the desire to offer good service is there.

I’ve stayed in a range of mostly chain hotels in central London, but what stayed with me most from my visit to Strand Palace was the wonderful mix of guests in the hotel. It has been a long time since I’ve been around so many different people, and in this way, the hotel is a reflection of the city it has served since 1909. This charm, sense of history and belonging is something that cannot be taken away from it and is the greatest appeal of the hotel.