Hotel? B&B?

Accommodations in London are expensive! Especially when you factor in the currency conversion....

When this trip came up, I knew I was on a budget. This was not to be a luxury vaca; this was a budget vaca. So my search started on the internet. I searched and searched. I spent days searching. When I found something that looked promising, I then searched for reviews. After days and days of reading and searching, I settled on a "hotel." We had chosen an area we wanted to be based in, so that narrowed down my search a little. We wanted to be near Holborn, near the British Museum, in an area my Hubby knew well from his student days in London and also Younger Son knows from his summer studying at LSE.

We settled on the Ridgemount Hotel. It is a family owned and run converted Georgian Terrace in the Bloomsbury area. http://www.ridgemounthotel.co.uk/

This is European hotel staying- not for the faint of heart. The couple who own and run the Ridgemount are lovely, sweet people. And the staff were all so wonderful; no complaints there at all. And yes, there is a "but."

The rooms are very small. That's okay; we didn't spend much time in them, really. They were adequate for our needs.

And the walls are paper thin. Not too bad, really, unless the couple next door are gigglers. Good Lord. And hummers. Every evening, they were humming and giggling. Every morning, more giggling. I want to know what the heck was worth giggling about every freaking morning and evening????? It almost sent me over the edge. Our last night there, the gigglers were gone. Ah, sweet peace. Until 1:30 a.m. when the newest tenants arrived. A room full of shrieking, laughing, french-speaking young girls. Hello?? After an hour, they finally settled down.... I should have called down to the office and asked them to take care of it for me. Next time, I will.

And Gower Street? Great location! Right on the bus route. A mere 10 minute stroll from the doors of the British Museum (pictured above). Did I mention the buses? ALL night long, the buses run. Right down Gower Street; right outside the hotel windows. Big buses. Loud buses. All night.

Yeah, gotta love the old European hotels- creaky floors beneath your feet, creaky floors beneath the feet of the people 1 floor above you, creaky floors in the hallway outside your door.... OH, and the "shared facilities" that we never had to wait for, and which were very clean. And cold. Do the English not heat "facilities?" The tile floors were freezing cold, not to mention the toilet seats- in the middle of the night. yikes! But we never had to wait to use them!!

On the other hand, free tea in the lounge day and night. And computer.... and a Christmas tree.... And breakfast was lovely. Every morning, we were offered "cereals," juice, tea or coffee, toast and variations on a breakfast theme: eggs + something. Offered as: eggstomatocheese? (toe-mah-toe) or eggstomatobeans? or eggsausagebacon? The first day, not wanting to appear "daft" b/c I couldn't figure out wth I was being offered, I simply smiled and said, "oh, no thank you" which was answered with "nufing a'tall?" Once I had figured it out, it was too late for that day, but the next morning I was ready to order my 2 eggs, scrambled, and stuck to it for the remainder of the trip.

Will I return to the Ridgemount? Heck, yeah! The people were wonderful!! The location was great!! And the price? Can NOT beat it. But I'll take ear plugs and slippers next time.