Edward Lear Update?
 

I have reservations at the Edward Lear for July 2003. Has anyone stayed there in the past year? The negative postings are all quite old and because of the price and location (I'm traveling with 3 teenagers) I'm reluctant to give it up, but I can't tolerate dirty, though I could tolerate shabby and small. I noticed that they lowered their internet prices since I made our reservation back in March. Thanks!

I stayed there in February. It is small and a bit shabby, but it is clean and safe. The breakfast was really good, and kept me full until mid-afternoon. Also, it's only a block away from a tube stop and various bus stops. I suppose it depends on whether you travel to stay in hotels, or if you only use hotels as a place to sleep and shower. I spend all my time out and about, so as long as a hotel is safe and clean, I'm pleased. I would stay there again.

Hi lily,

If they have lowered their rates, have you asked them to honor the lower rate for you?

We stayed there a year ago with our three (14,11, and 9). It was a little shabby and funky (two townhouses put together, so to get from our room to the boy's room involved going down a couple stairs, through a short hall, then up a flight of stairs), but it was clean and you can't beat the price/location. After staying in a series of non-kid-oriented B&Bs, it was really nice to stay in a hotel full of families, too. It may not be the place I would choose if it was just my husband and myself (and one room to pay for!), but I would certainly stay there again with the kids.

Thank you for your replies--I'm reassured! The Edward Lear staff did honor the lower rate (we're leaving on July 13 for London) for the reservation. I must say that in all my e-mail and fax dealings with them they have been very friendly, prompt, and welcoming. They explained that they had lowered their rates in response to the world and travel situations--so I think that perhaps their bookings are down. Anyway, the children and I are really looking forward to our stay--it sounds just what we're looking for--a clean, safe, central place to rest our weary heads between long days of sightseeing.

would recommend it for families on a budget. The location is great--just a block off of Oxford Street and the Marble Arch station of the Central Line and several bus lines. There is a laundrette two blocks away, a Sainesburys supermarket about another 3 blocks away, and two 24-hour food/wine/newspaper shops a block away.

We stayed in a family en suite and one double with shower. What some people might perceive as negatives: no elevator--it was a three flight hike to our family room--difficult with luggage. We were awakened more than one night to a family arrival that sounded as if they were on the floor above and every piece of luggage and toddler humanity was falling down the stairs as they made their Sisyphean mount. The TVs are 13-inch--in one room there was something wrong with the cable and we never got good reception or many channels. The furnishing in the double was charming--high windows with flower boxes overlooking Seymour Street. The shower is in a corner of the room, not a separate room. The furniture in the en suite was like leftovers from a garage sale--two tiny study lamps by the single beds on the wall, a miniscule globe light over the fireplace, and a broken-necked architect's lamp by the double. The linoleum in the bathroom (the en suite room did have a separate room for the toilet, bath and sink) was broken, the bathtub sides in need of repair, and the shower was a hand shower. Breakfast is your choice of cereal, coffee, tea, toast, eggs scrambled or fried, bacon, sausage and beans and tomatoes. For my vegan daughter, this was very limited--fresh fruit would have been nice. The beds were also piecemeal--the full bed in our family en suite was actually a fold out (though I found it comfortable). No air conditioning--and even our room at the back was a bit noisy until 11 or so, but we slept very well.

Positives far outweighed the negatives for us, but I must confess that my husband, used to American conference hotels on an expense account, was very uncomfortable when he joined us for five days. As I write, and when I saw it through his eyes, its charms seemed limited. But it is so conveniently located, and for the length of our stay it was such a relative bargain. My oldest son was also against staying at a chain ("Why go all the way to England to stay in a Holiday Inn?). So the shabbiness, the narrow, uneven stairs, and all that didn't matter, especially since we spent few waking hours there.

Positives: The breakfast is substantial and served until 9 on weekdays and 9:30 on weekends. Our teens, sleepy as they were, usually made it down just before the room closed. Staff is polite and friendly in a very professional, not chatty way. There were a variety of guests from many nations--sharing a table with strangers was pleasant. Again--location--we could take the bus and tube wherever we wanted, including Heathrow, with one change max. The front desk staff was very professional and courteous, though not much help with typical concierge type questions, or even mailing postcards for you. And I loved the atmosphere--the kids got a kick out of all the Edward Lear memorabilia (placemat tiles with limericks on them, which we always read aloud while waiting for breakfast, Lear books in the computer room). The computer was very handy for checking e-mail, train schedules, and sightseeing info, though usually there were other guests waiting so you need to stick to the 15 minutes even though the dial-up connection is super slow. New paint, wallpaper, and carpet seems to have been installed in some rooms and places since the people on Fodors complained and the hotel lost its rating from them. It was very clean, pleasant, and the price was so convenient--there is no way we could have found two rooms in this price range, and the miniscule studios, apartments, suites, and standard hotel rooms I checked out were more WAY more expensive and would have been very stressful (2 19-year olds, a 14-year old and their mother packed into a dollhouse sized room.,,)

Now that I'm more familiar with London neighborhoods, I would probably stay somewhere like Bloomsbury or Bayswater--a little less central but near a tube. But for a first-time pied a terre for a family on a budget, I'd highly recommend the Edward Lear.