Premier Lodge King's Cross London
Jul 22nd, 2004, 10:22 AM
#2
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kings cross is not my favorite neighborhood...the only time i would stay there is for a quick one night stay with the idea of catching a train at the kings cross station in the early am..or staying there after arriving by train late at night.
Jul 22nd, 2004, 09:38 PM
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I virtually never stay in London hotels, except when Mrs F locks me out, and this hotel is so new (couple of months) that few others will have stayed there.
But, having lived on the doorstep of Kings Cross (KX) for most of my life, I get irritated at the nonsense that's churned out about the area.
So, at the risk of telling you what you might already know, it may help to explain.
Until recently, KX was a run-down area with a lot of drug-dealing (that never intruded on the hundreds of thousands who passed through every day), a lot of dispirited hookers asking most male passers by if they wanted to "do business, love?" in a tone that clearly expected the answer "no", several brothels around Argyle Sq that passed as cheap hotels, and a lot of cheap hotels in the same street that really were (and are) dodgy. It also had phenomenally well-lit streets, probably the world's highest density of CCTV cameras and a surprising number of really charming back streets, especially to NE of the station, inhabited by the raffish, often slightly literary, urban middle class, who knew what great value they'd found.
For many years, Mrs F and I walked through the area daily. It was bustling, litter-strewn - and for us at least, totally safe.
Now the two stations are being heavily rebuilt to act as the Channel Tunnel terminal. And, since there are acres of underused space in a land-starved city, the area's being rebuilt, and the more colourful activities have mostly moved on to better locations. Most of the works are underground, or concentrated on St Pancras Rd, the road parallel with York Way (where the Premier Lodge is) on the other side of the station, so they don't directly intrude on the PL. But to get to the PL from the rest of central London by road you have to get through the clogged roads round the station. But the station is only a few yards stroll from the hotel.
The hotel is intended to be part of some fancy-schmanzy redevelopment in an area (those charming back streets) that IMHO was fine as it was, and the development's not complete. You won't be in a construction site, KX is London's best connected station, it's a pleasant 30 mins walk to places like Covent Garden and rooms seem to be going for virtually nothing.
There are now half a dozen chain hotels in the area: all fine, characterless, great value, perfectly safe and (as far as I'm aware) family-oriented. None have hookers in the lifts or bars (would that could be said of hotels elsewhere in London), none have large numbers of single young men running permanent drinking contests.
But they all have numbers of provincial Brits and continentals who are looking for reasonable prices in an expensive city and aren't as squeamish about staying near big stations as too many posters on this board seem to be. Including the early-teenage members of one branch of the flanneruk clan when their parents bring them to the big city.
But, having lived on the doorstep of Kings Cross (KX) for most of my life, I get irritated at the nonsense that's churned out about the area.
So, at the risk of telling you what you might already know, it may help to explain.
Until recently, KX was a run-down area with a lot of drug-dealing (that never intruded on the hundreds of thousands who passed through every day), a lot of dispirited hookers asking most male passers by if they wanted to "do business, love?" in a tone that clearly expected the answer "no", several brothels around Argyle Sq that passed as cheap hotels, and a lot of cheap hotels in the same street that really were (and are) dodgy. It also had phenomenally well-lit streets, probably the world's highest density of CCTV cameras and a surprising number of really charming back streets, especially to NE of the station, inhabited by the raffish, often slightly literary, urban middle class, who knew what great value they'd found.
For many years, Mrs F and I walked through the area daily. It was bustling, litter-strewn - and for us at least, totally safe.
Now the two stations are being heavily rebuilt to act as the Channel Tunnel terminal. And, since there are acres of underused space in a land-starved city, the area's being rebuilt, and the more colourful activities have mostly moved on to better locations. Most of the works are underground, or concentrated on St Pancras Rd, the road parallel with York Way (where the Premier Lodge is) on the other side of the station, so they don't directly intrude on the PL. But to get to the PL from the rest of central London by road you have to get through the clogged roads round the station. But the station is only a few yards stroll from the hotel.
The hotel is intended to be part of some fancy-schmanzy redevelopment in an area (those charming back streets) that IMHO was fine as it was, and the development's not complete. You won't be in a construction site, KX is London's best connected station, it's a pleasant 30 mins walk to places like Covent Garden and rooms seem to be going for virtually nothing.
There are now half a dozen chain hotels in the area: all fine, characterless, great value, perfectly safe and (as far as I'm aware) family-oriented. None have hookers in the lifts or bars (would that could be said of hotels elsewhere in London), none have large numbers of single young men running permanent drinking contests.
But they all have numbers of provincial Brits and continentals who are looking for reasonable prices in an expensive city and aren't as squeamish about staying near big stations as too many posters on this board seem to be. Including the early-teenage members of one branch of the flanneruk clan when their parents bring them to the big city.
Jul 23rd, 2004, 02:29 AM
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Well I stayed in the area before couple of years back and definitely did not like the overall feeling. But flanneruk is right about the druggies not infringing, I walked pass two kids shooting joints in bright daylight and they merely stared (not even hostilely). As I said in another thread, just mind your own business and you're fine.
Jul 24th, 2004, 05:25 AM
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You could probably find something in a different area of London for the equivalent of £50 on Priceline.com. Do some research first on www.biddingfortravel.com before you bid.
Last December we stayed at a 4* hotel in Westminster for $97 per night and we recently got rooms at the Heathrow Marriott for our last night in London for $67 per night. You can get some very good deals through Priceline, but be sure to do your homework beforehand.
Last December we stayed at a 4* hotel in Westminster for $97 per night and we recently got rooms at the Heathrow Marriott for our last night in London for $67 per night. You can get some very good deals through Priceline, but be sure to do your homework beforehand.
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