London Hotels

• This Victorian hotel, round the corner from the British Museum, is a ten-minute walk from the West End theater district.
  
  
• Duvets, tea and coffee-making facilities and bright fabrics and carpets provide a simple, homely atmosphere.
  
  
• The Two Angels basement bar is an informal meeting place to unwind, mingle or shoot a frame of pool.
  
  

GENERAL INFORMATION:
What to expect: Fronting both a lively shopping street and a more sedate restaurant-lined lane, this red-brick Victorian hotel makes a convenient base for sightseeing or theater-going, with its central location and excellent transport links. Period details include English Heritage listed stained-glass windows in the lobby and stairwells, while traditional patterned carpets line the hallways.

Amenity highlights: Since mid-2003 the hotel has been upgrading its facilities, including double-glazing of rooms overlooking busy Southampton Row, new beds in most of the rooms, enhanced room lighting, and new duvets and pillows on all beds. In-room amenities include satellite TV, movie channels, and 24-hour room service. Dudley's restaurant has a new brasserie menu, and the Two Angels bar shows three channels of sports and has its own pool table.

Insider tip: John Barbirolli, Conductor Laureate of Britain's distinguished Halle Orchestra, was born in the building in 1899, before its conversion to a hotel. As a boy, he practised conducting in the large wardrobe in the family's second-floor rooms, wearing his mother's gloves and using a pencil as a baton. In the US he toured the New York Philharmonic and broadcast a Sunday concert series on NBC.

PROPERTY AMENITIES:
A small elevator serves the Bloomsbury Park Hotel's six floors.

Business facilities include a theater-style meeting room with capacity for up to 30 people, audio-visual equipment and in-house catering.

ROOMS:
The Bloomsbury Park Hotel has 95 guestrooms, all of which are simply furnished. All rooms have satellite TV and movie channels. Rooms facing busy Southampton Row are double-glazed to eliminate street noise, and corner rooms have large, bright windows. Crisp white duvet covers and cream walls are complemented by dark blue carpet and cheerful curtains. Fully tiled ensuite bathrooms have either a bath or a shower.

DINING:
Bloomsbury Kitchen and Bar - This bright, airy restaurant adjacent to the lobby serves contemporary modern cuisine for breakfast and dinner daily. The bar serves a selection of local and international wine and beer choices.

The Cellar Bar - Tucked away in the basement of the hotel (the site of a Victorian-era bakery), The Cellar Bar serves a variety of drinks with soul and jazz music in the background.