Marx described the Strand in London as “a main thoroughfare which gives strangers an imposing idea of the wealth of London”
One of the oldest thoroughfares in the capital,first mentioned in 1185,it links Charing Cross with Fleet Street and the Chancery and once before Balzagette’s sewers created the Embankment,it formed the North shore of the Thames
It’s been a long time,certainly pre pandemic and probably a year before that so a chance to travel down and stay in the centre of the City couldn’t really be passed and a chance to see what most pandemic London looked like
The most famous hotel on the Strand is of course the Savoy, once the site of John of Gaunt’s Savoy Palace was destroyed in the Peasants’ Revolt of 1381 and is now the site of the famous hotel.
Our stay was opposite, The elegant Art Deco building that houses the Strand Palace Hotel.
Its location is ideal, a five minute walk from Charing Cross and Trafalgar Square.it Covent Garden basically backs on it with Leicester Sq and Theatre land,the National Gallery and the British Museum close by
Its a short walk to the Thames and Westminster with Admiralty Arch and the start of the Mall close by.
Getting there is easy, The Convent Garden underground station is a six-minute walk from the hotel and Charing Cross is eight minutes away on foot.
The hotel has a history that stretches back to 1907 when permission was first given to build a grand hotel which opened two years later, a room and breakfast would have set you back 27 pence
Walk into the reception and you have stepped into 1930’s Art Deco,low ceilings huge light fittings,marbled tiled floor,mirrored columns and much brown,black and grey
The rooms all 785 have been modernised,functional but classy as well,they come with 24-hour room service, and same-day dry cleaning.There are tea- and coffee-making facilities and bottled water with a compact fridge
The bathroom was a good size and comes with a Hans Grohe shower and the bed was extremely comfortable,so much so that it was fairly easy to oversleep.But as an incentive to get up there is a basic fitness centre open until 10pm, with treadmills, a free weights section, exercise balls and cycling machines
For someone central to stop if you are coming down to London for business or pleasure it makes an ideal location
372 Strand, London WC2R 0JJ, England.
0207 379 4737
strandpalacehotel.co.uk