Fielding

Recommended!

Because we're urban hikers, staying in a central location makes us very happy. The location of this hotel -in the Theatre district was ideal! The Fielding has the lowest hotel rate in this neighborhood. In 1999, we paid $150 per night for a double room.

The front desk staff were friendly, helpful and efficient. The restaurant staff (breakfast) was eager to please.

The room was clean, well-furnished and quiet.

Unique Quality: This hotel is a little Northwest of the Waterloo bridge (Thames), near to the Royal Opera House and the Seven Dials.

We devoted one day to sites/attractions to the East of this hotel (Tower of London, Tower Bridge).

We devoted another day to sites/attractions to the South of this hotel (Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey)

Directions: Via London Underground, take the Picadilly line (black) to the Covent Garden station.

· The Fielding Hotel - Hotel
4 Broad Court, Bow Street, WC2 (0171/836 8305). Quietly situated on a traffic-free and gas-lit court, this excellent hotel is one of Covent Garden's hidden gems.

· Strand Continental Hotel - Hotel
143 Strand, WC2 (0171/836 4880). Almost opposite the Waldorf, this tiny Indian-run hotel offers very basic rooms with shared facilities, plus continental breakfast - but what a great location.

· One Aldwych - Hotel
1 Aldwych, WC2 (0171/300 1000). Fashionable minimalist hotel in a 1907 Art Nouveau building, this is the place to blow £250 a night if you need to.

· Butlin's Grand Hotel - Hotel
42 Princes Square, W2 (0171/727 3091). Deeply naff, but serviced by the famous Redcoats and beloved of the British package holidaymaker.

· Generator - Hostel
Compton Place, off Tavistock Place, WC1 (0171/388 7666). A huge, funky hostel in a converted police barracks, hidden away down a cobbled street. The neon and UV lighting, 1984 posters and post-industrial décor go down well with the clientele, as does the late, cheap bar.