British Museum - 3 blocks
Covent Garden - 0.5 mile (1 kilometer)
West End (theater district) - 0.5 mile (1 kilometer)
Trafalgar Square - 1.5 miles (2.5 kilometers0
National Gallery - 1.5 miles (2.5 kilometers)
St Paul's Cathedral - 2 miles (3 kilometers)
Tate Modern - 2.5 miles (4 kilometers)
Houses of Parliament and Big Ben - 2.5 miles (4 kilometers)
Buckingham Palace - 3 miles (4.5 kilometers)
Harrods - 4 miles (6 kilometers)

The Heathrow Express train and black taxi cabs are available for transfer from the airport to the center of London. The London Underground’s Piccadilly Line also serves all Heathrow terminals and takes passengers into central London.

The extensive London Underground system (the Tube) connects the hotel with the rest of central London within 10 minutes. The Underground stations closest to the hotel are Holborn and Russell Square. There is also a wide choice of buses. The hotel can order black taxi cabs on request.

This 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.

Dudley’s - This bright, airy restaurant adjacent to the lobby serves breakfast, lunch and dinner daily. Breakfast options are the Continental Buffet or a Traditional Breakfast, with a choice of pork and leek or Cambridgeshire sausages. The new lunch and dinner brasserie menu includes steak, fish, pasta and curry dishes, plus vegetarian options and a selection of wines by the glass, half bottle or bottle.

Two Angels Bar - Tucked away in the basement of the hotel (the site of a Victorian-era bakery), the Two Angels is a traditional pub-style bar. Here, guests can relax over a pint of best bitter and bar snacks, or challenge locals to a friendly game of pool. Three satellite TV channels cater to sports enthusiasts.

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.

A small elevator serves the 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.