We arrived in London at Heathrow as many people do. We bought Oyster cards for the subway. They cost 5 pounds each and we put a 7 day travelcard on them for Zones 1&2 which cover central London. We also added 5 pounds to them as pay-as-you-go to cover the cost from Heathrow to central London. The Piccadilly Line runs from Heathrow. We changed lines at Earl's Court for the District Line and got off at St. James Park. The Sanctuary House Hotel is two blocks from the St. James Park subway entrance and was a very easy walk.
The reception/office for the hotel is on the first floor (the second floor in the U.S.). There is an elevator to take you up, you don't have to carry your luggage up the stairs. The front desk staff was very friendly and responsive. Our room was ready when we arrived early in the afternoon. Check in was quick. The ladies at the front desk asked if we wanted a wake up call and if we wanted a newspaper in the morning.
We had a superior double room with breakfast. We had room 101 right outside the reception area. This was not any problem. We were never bothered by any noise from reception or the elevator. There was some noise from the pub but it closed at 11pm so it did not bother us. There was some noise from the street with...We arrived in London at Heathrow as many people do. We bought Oyster cards for the subway. They cost 5 pounds each and we put a 7 day travelcard on them for Zones 1&2 which cover central London. We also added 5 pounds to them as pay-as-you-go to cover the cost from Heathrow to central London. The Piccadilly Line runs from Heathrow. We changed lines at Earl's Court for the District Line and got off at St. James Park. The Sanctuary House Hotel is two blocks from the St. James Park subway entrance and was a very easy walk.
The reception/office for the hotel is on the first floor (the second floor in the U.S.). There is an elevator to take you up, you don't have to carry your luggage up the stairs. The front desk staff was very friendly and responsive. Our room was ready when we arrived early in the afternoon. Check in was quick. The ladies at the front desk asked if we wanted a wake up call and if we wanted a newspaper in the morning.
We had a superior double room with breakfast. We had room 101 right outside the reception area. This was not any problem. We were never bothered by any noise from reception or the elevator. There was some noise from the pub but it closed at 11pm so it did not bother us. There was some noise from the street with garbage pickup in the morning, especially with all the glass bottles from the pub. I am not a light sleeper and I get up relatively early so this was not a problem for me but could be for some. If so, you should just request a room higher up.
The room was nice, clean and not small for European standards. There was enough room for a desk and chair and small table and chair, although it was a little tight. The bathroom had a bathtub/shower combination so it had a good amount of room in the shower. The tub was raised off the floor about 6" so if you have trouble stepping up and over, this might be a problem. The free wifi worked just fine. The air conditioning/heater worked just great and are controlled in the room. We were in London in early September and it was warm enough that we had the air conditioning on.
There was a small frig in the room along with a pot to make hot water. Coffee, tea and hot chocolate was provided in the room. You could call the front desk and they would arrange for a small pitcher of milk to be brought to your room from the pub for your coffee or tea. They also left Walker's cookies in the room each night. Several times near dinner, a staff member knocked and asked if we needed anything. My wife and I were very pleased with the room and the staff.
The breakfast in the pub was also great. Having paid for the full English breakfast, we could eat anything we wanted. They had the typical European continental selection of cereals (they had Kelloggs cereals), pastries, fruit, yogurt, meat and cheese. I tried the full English breakfast one morning and it was more food that I wanted. You are not forced to order it. You can order off a small menu and get less food, one morning I had a pancake. The breakfast pub staff and the same staff that work the pub at lunch and dinner.
If you don't want to pay for the breakfast, there is a Pret A Manger located in the next block. It is a chain and serves coffee, tea, pastries and also sandwiches for lunch.
Besides the pub on the ground level, there are several pubs within walking distance (The Feathers and The Albert) and an Italian place (Colosseo) also.
Besides being two blocks from a subway entrance, you are just two blocks from Westminster Abbey and the New Scotland Yard. Literally, when you step outside the hotel, if you look to your left, you see the subway entrance and if you look to your right, you see Westminster Abbey. There is also a Barclays Bank with ATM in the same direction as Westminster. This bank is closed on the weekends though. There is another bank with outside ATMs located on Victoria Street which runs behind the hotel that you can access on the weekend,
From the Sanctuary Hotel, it was an easy walk to Westminster Abbey, Parliament and Big Ben, the Churchill War rooms, and Buckingham Palace.
We thoroughly enjoyed our stay at Sanctuary House and would definitely recommend it to others.More
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