London – Camden (Borough of) – Goodenough on Mecklenburgh Square

I’ve been meaning to use up one of my hotels.com reward nights for some time, which was a free hotel stay up to the value of £53. That meant I had to find a hotel that cost at least that much to get value for money, with this one coming in at around £60, so it only cost me a few pounds. It’s the hotel attached to Goodenough College and the building stretches across five town houses, most of which were used as nurse’s homes after the Second World War.

The grand entrance to the building, with an air of formality about the hotel, but the member of staff at reception was friendly and engaging.

The single room, which I struggled to find, because the hotel numbering system gives each one of the five buildings a number, so a room number beginning with 4 is in the fourth building and not on the fourth floor. It was all a bit complex for me….. The room was clean, compact and at the appropriate temperature, with a modern bathroom. I dread to think how much this cost to convert the building, but it has been done tastefully and sensitively. There isn’t though a lift, as no doubt the building would never have been able to accommodate that, so there was a fair amount of walking up stairs, all useful training for the LDWA 100.

The hospitality tray in the cupboard.

There was a choice of breakfast, either a simple continental breakfast served in a bag outside the room, or a cooked breakfast at the college opposite. The man at reception said that I couldn’t possibly get lost and that the cooked option was best.

After I got lost and had to get a staff member to show me where to go, this is the Great Hall of Goodenough College, one of the nicer breakfast surroundings that I’ve had. There was no-one else around, other than for a personable and helpful manager and a member of serving staff, both of whom offered another friendly welcome.

The breakfast quality was a bit marginal in terms of the ingredients, but it was pleasant enough and I liked the dining environment. Not at all bad given that the breakfast price is included within the room rate and it isn’t far to walk.

I’m not sure that the hotel normally has room rates this low, circumstances have rather forced lower prices upon them. Often used by academics and students at the college, the hotel probably doesn’t usually have such availability, so this was a useful time to try somewhere new. Anyway, all rather lovely.