Shropshire Star

Travel review: Flying visit to capital’s hotspot

As Big Ben chimed 12 times, this didn’t just mark the time to celebrate the start of the New Year, but also to begin making plans on how best to enjoy it!

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Vibrant Covent Garden is a tourist hotspot in the heart of the West End, London’s main theatre and entertainment area

With all of us having to juggle so many balls in the air these days, from work, to home-life with kids and dependent relatives, making time ….. even if it is just a little time … to get a break way, is essential.

And a visit to our capital city, however brief, is on the top of many a person’s lists of short escapes.

Myself and my partner, Rob, decided to do just that when an opportunity arose to try out one of the UK Holiday Inns venues for a night.

This is an ideal option for people who don’t want to splash out on the most expensive London hotel accommodation, but still want to eat and sleep in excellent surroundings.

We were able to book a room for a Saturday night at the Holiday Inn London’s Regent’s Park Hotel.

This is a superb modern hotel near central London’s attractions, with free WiFi.

It has easy access to central London’s major attractions, with Great Portland Street and Regent’s Park Tube stations just a few minutes away. You can head to the leafy grounds of Regent’s Park or hit the shops on buzzy Oxford Street, both an easy walk from the hotel.

Family-friendly attractions like Madame Tussauds, the Sherlock Holmes Museum and London Zoo are all a stone’s throw from the hotel. You can take in the British Museum, less than a mile away, or see an exhibition at the British Library. Theatre lovers can reach the West End in 15 minutes on foot, along with the bars and restaurants of vibrant Soho.

You can also unwind with a glass of something or two in the bar’s comfy couches while you surf the web with free WiFi, and tuck into hearty meals at The Grill Room. And a big plus is that kids stay and eat for free!

Myself and Rob decided to travel up to London by car from Shropshire, which just took a couple of hours.

Car parking is available under the hotel in an NCP car park. Charges are £40 per 24 hours subject to change, or £28 up to three hours, as the hotel is within the Central London Congestion Charge Zone.

Rob had the excellent, alternative idea of using the parkonmydrive.com website and get the tube into the capital.

Founded on the ethos of true entrepreneurship, Park On My Drive is an ingenious new concept that allows those who have empty driveways and garages to rent them out on a daily, weekly or monthly basis to motorists who have had enough of soaring car park fees, resident permit zones and the dreaded yellow line.

We arrived at an address in Pinner, which was just a five-minute walk to the tube. We texted the owner of the secure gated parking space and he gave us the code to open the gate and drive in/out. Excellent. It cost £12.50 for two days (£6.25 per day). You can pay for tube travel with your debit/credit card at the station’s entry turnstile if you don’t have an Oyster card.

On arrival at the hotel we were warmly welcomed by the friendly reception team and allocated an executive double suite.

This was smart, comfortable and contemporary styled and had everything we could want to relax in and plot our next move.

As we didn’t have much time, having arrived at midday, we swiftly set off back to the tube, to our chosen destination – Covent Garden.

A must-see for any visitor to our capital, Covent Garden is in the West End, London’s main theatre and entertainment area.Tourists fill its elegant, car-free piazza, home to fashion stores, crafts at the Apple Market and the Royal Opera House. Street entertainers perform by 17th-century St. Paul’s Church, and the London Transport Museum houses vintage vehicles. Restaurants with pre-show deals and high-end spots like The Ivy cater to theatregoers.

We enjoyed a very tasty American burger meal at Maxwell’s Bar & Grill there, which was packed out over its two levels. Even though busy, the service was friendly, fast and efficient. T

hey specialise in American-style burgers, salads, ribs and grills with a vast cocktail list and pre-theatre specials.

Later we dined in the hotel’s Grill Restaurant & Bar. Though quiet that night – I imagine many a guest would have been out enjoying a West End show – we thoroughly appreciated the service and food on offer, which was excellent and competitively priced.

After a good night’s sleep, in a super comfortable bed, we went down for breakfast. Now the restaurant was packed. The menu was endless and the self-service area very well looked after.

After enjoying a thoroughly good full English etc, we left to tube it back to our cheap parking space and drive home.

So when you plan your next short trip up to the capital, don’t forget to consider ways to make it as affordable as you can, without losing out on any of the standards you deserve!