London is a playground, and to quote Samuel Johnson, “…when a man is tired of London, he is tired of life”.
Never one to be ahem, associated with being boring, I accepted the challenge and decided to stay in London for a Friday night! (As opposed to my sweetheart, Brighton). And my home for the night was the extremely convenient Nadler Victoria, which is a stones throw from Victoria Station.
Used to running for the last train and hoping that the trains were running (!) was my usual association with the area of Victoria, I had never explored further than the immediate vicinity and once had a coffee meeting at Kate Middleton’s favourite hangout, The Goring.
I always assumed that Victoria was just a commuter’s hub, filled with grumpy grey suits who drank wine from Marks and Spencer on their way home to East Croydon! But after I checked in with my companion (fairly late admittedly), we set out to explore the local area. The hotel is conveniently placed just next door to St James Theatre, which almost tempted us in to the bar, but we thought a few footsteps away when SW1 was our oyster was somewhat cheating!
Obviously there are plenty of touristy things to do in the area, but after a hard day, I wasn’t in the mood for Wicked or Billy Elliot! And we steered past the usual suspect train station pubs, serving the Friday night, tie off revelers. It was food we were interested in and we were spoilt for choice with restaurants including Asian inspired Cinnamon Club, Mango Tree, Grand Imperial or the slightly more fancy, Michelin-starred Quilon.
With London voted as number one in Trip Advisor’s 2016 “Best Destinations in the World”, I can see why. Taking time out in the city where you work, to play proved to be an interesting experience, followed by the deepest sleep in an extremely comfortable bed. Not a seagull within earshot- or much else, due to the very thorough triple glazing.
The luxury of a hot cup of Nespresso coffee in a super comfy bed in the morning, gained lots of Brownie points, but coupled with the heavenly toiletries from Gilchrest & Soames, a GHD hairdryer and enough power points not to cause any matrimonial disputes, this has put the Nadler Victoria
well and truly on my home from home list.
With the central location and no frills approach, you can be sure you are getting affordable luxury and comfort in a cool, design-led environment- you can be as frivolous as you need to be!
All rooms contain a kitchenette with sink, corkscrew and microwave, which is a genius idea if you are holidaying with kids, and the two sink bathrooms went down a treat. Practical and functional but a little bit special, makes this a hotel that might be worth missing my train for! And seeing the Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace the next day was the icing on the cake.
For reservations, contact
www.thenadler.com/victoria
020 3540 8800
The Nadler Victoria 10 Palace St, London SW1E 5BW