Ambassadors Hotel

I booked this online through www.venere.com
You can book by phone - Central Reservations +44 (0) 20 7259 2888 or fax +44 (0) 20 7259 2999

My Visit was November 2006

The Crystal group advertises itself as 8 Central London hotels "No Frills"- all inclusive rate with no added extras. (Check whether your price includes breakfast- as we would have had to pay extra - £5 for continental, £7 for cooked I think- we ate 'on the hoof' while rushing to Olympia)

4 of us were attending a conference at Olympia, and as this hotel was within walking distance and reasonably priced, I went ahead and booked 4 single rooms (with private bathroom) for £48 each! (Thursday night (November)

As there were 4 of us, we got a taxi from St Pancras Station. (ask for Ambassadors, Collingham Rd - There is another Ambassadors Hotel in Bloomsbury- not related)

Check in took a while - but was done politely- (foreign student undergoing training)
Pleasant reception area with comfy seating, papers, tourist info stuff) Juice bar and restaurant area.

There are 140 en-suite bedrooms, with satellite tv, telephone,hairdryer, tea/coffee making equipment.
Lift to all 5 floors
24 hour internet access in reception lounge.
No Smoking rooms.

For a nights stay, the hotel was fine - it is nicely decorated and furnished (recently refurbished).

My room was 'compact' but with satisfactory storeage space for an overnight/weekend stay.

The bathroom was also 'cosy' Bath with shower above, wash basin and toilet - The bathroom door was getting a groove, where it scraped against the toilet seat!!!

My only gripe was that the large swing windows in my room only opened about an inch, and were then quite difficult to close- I thought I'd not shut mine properly, as the traffic noise, and people passing below (I was on the 4th floor) kept me awake most of the night . (The hotel flyer states that it is in a relatively quiet location) So request back rooms, or bring ear plugs if You're a light sleeper!

Unique Quality: Good location for visiting the sights - 0.3 miles from Gloucester Rd tube station. 14 miles from Heathrow.

A few minutes walk from Earls Court Road, with plenty of restaurants, pubs, take aways etc.

A Good bargain, if you're using your room just for the night, or as a base for travelling around.
As expected for a 'bargain' hotel, the rooms are small - but clean and pleasantly decorated etc.
I thought that it was good value for the price we paid

This was a reply to a Forum question re. cheap accommodation in London.

Have you looked at www.venere.com, booking.com. hostelbookers etc? I tend to look at these on line sites first, when I'm planning a European break for work or leisure.

I've stayed at The Royal National Hotel (Bedford Way),Telephone.44 207 637 2488 which is a huge hotel with budget rooms, very near Russell Street underground station. I paid £66 for a single room, which is very good for this area of London.

I also stayed at the Ambassadors Hotel (16, Collingham Road) (Kensington area)
You can book by phone - Central Reservations +44 (0) 20 7259 2888 or fax +44 (0) 20 7259 2999 www.crystalhotels.co.uk

These were good bases.