London Hotels

• Occupying a historic Victorian building along the Strand, this hotel sits atop Charing Cross Station. Trafalgar Square and the River Thames are about 100 meters (330 feet) away.
  
  
• Breakfast is served in the Betjeman Room, with intricate domed ceiling and marble pillars; in the evening, guests can dine in the intimate candlelit restaurant overlooking The Strand.
  
  
• Guestroom styles vary from contemporary with pine furnishings to Old English with Tudor rose motifs. All include high-speed Internet access; bathrooms have phones and radio/TV speakers.
  
  

GENERAL INFORMATION:
What to expect: Visitors arrive through a revolving door into a low-ceilinged, marble-floored lobby with sweeping wood-paneled front desk. International businesspeople, seasoned leisure travelers, and diplomats from nearby embassies relax on quirky red-velvet chaise longues and upholstered chairs. A barrel-vaulted passage with Italian Renaissance details extends from the lobby to a wide staircase.

Amenity highlights: Guests can have breakfast in the opulent Betjeman Room, with red-marble pillars, Renaissance-style cornice statues, and high domed ceiling with intricate stucco plasterwork. Afternoon tea is served in the chandeliered Victorian lounge. The Strand Terrace restaurant serves global cuisine in an intimate, candlelit setting.

Insider tip: Just a block from the hotel, an easily missed passage inside the door of St Martin-in-the-Fields church leads down to its 18th-century crypt. Inside is a peaceful haven from the hubbub of Trafalgar Square, where visitors can unwind in the café, have a go at brass rubbing, and book tickets for classical concerts in the church above (where Handel played the first organ and Mozart is reputed to have given a concert).

PROPERTY AMENITIES:
Designed in 1864 by eminent Victorian architect E. M. Barrie-whose father designed the Houses of Parliament-Charing Cross - a Guoman Hotel is less than a five-minute walk from Trafalgar Square. With a central location and easy access to the Charing Cross Underground, this handsomely appointed hotel provides a convenient base for exploring the city's cultural and historical attractions.

Dining and refreshment options include a domed breakfast room, a high-ceilinged lounge with marble fireplace, and a candlelit restaurant with views of the Strand and Trafalgar Square.

ROOMS:
Charing Cross - a Guoman Hotel, London, offers 239 guestrooms in a fully renovated six-story building dating from 1864. Decor is either contemporary, with pine furnishings and Art Deco lamps, or traditional, with floral fabrics, dark-wood furnishings, and faux-candle wall lights. Walls are decorated with etchings depicting Victorian London. Rooms include high-speed Internet access (surcharge). TVs offer cable channels and pay movies. Closets house laptop-compatible safes, trouser presses, and irons and ironing boards. Tiled bathrooms have granite vanities, bathtub/shower combinations, designer toiletries, heated towel rails, telephones, and radio/TV speakers with volume control.

DINING:
The Betjeman Room - An extensive breakfast menu is available daily in this opulent room appointed with red-marble pillars and a high, domed ceiling with intricate stucco plasterwork.

The Strand Lounge - Grand high-ceilinged Victorian lounge dominated by large marble fireplace and four crystal chandeliers. Tudor-rose plasterwork, pink walls, Regency-style furnishings. Light fare, cocktails, afternoon tea.

The Strand Terrace - Arched doorways from the lounge lead to the intimate restaurant, with original tiled floor, floral chandeliers, and tables topped with white linens. The restaurant offers an eclectic menu of global flavors accompanied by views of The Strand and Trafalgar Square. Lunch and candlelit dinner.

The Strand Bar - With olive Chesterfield armchairs, dark-wood paneling, and Victorian oil portraits, this bar recalls an 18th-century club. Heavy drapes and low lighting enrich the ambience. A wide range of spirits and cigars are available from the granite-topped bar.