Introduction:
Its hard to imagine how a hotel could be better placed for the major night life
areas of central London. The Premier Inn Leicester Square sits on
Leicester Square itself surrounded by the vibrant and bustling square below.
This is the very centre of tourist London and places everything you could want
within walking distance. Within Leicester Square are bars, clubs, cinemas (the
Empire cinema is adjacent to the hotel) and
restaurants and a small green area for visitors to sit and relax in is in the
middle of the square. The Premier Inn Leicester Square hotel itself incorporates businesses such as a cafe,
casino and a nightclub. This is also a pedestrianised zone so there's no traffic
to worry about. Within 75 yards to the north you have the Chinese shops and
restaurants of China Town (along Gerrard Street) and just 75 yards beyond that
is Soho, known for its restaurants, theatres and adult clubs. Within 200 yards
to the east is Covent Garden, know for its buskers, the Opera House and the
central Covent Garden pizza. 200 yards south is Trafalgar Square best know for
its pigeons and Nelsons Column. So in short, the hotel is in the midst of the
best known attractions, amenities, nightlife and districts of central London.
Hotel:
The
Premier Inn London Leicester Square is a modern contemporary hotel
p0urpuse built in 2012. The hotel has 24 hour automated check-in kiosks to speed
you through check-in no matter what the time of day.
Each bedroom is air-conditioned and features a flat screen television a good
size working desk and its own private bathroom. Family rooms for 2 adults and 2
children can be booked online.
The onsite restaurant is called 'The Kitchen' (well why not!) and serves both
traditional and contemporary dishes from its menu. Breakfast is served onsite as
well as main meals.
There is also a bar serving a range of drinks.
To minimise the noise guests might have experienced from the busy local area
(this is the heart of the vibrant west end) the bedrooms
float on top of thick engineered neoprene pads. These have been coined
'floating bedrooms'. Even more than this each bedroom is constructed within an independent box, so
they do not direct connect with hallways or other bedrooms.
The hotel has a dedicated front desk which is staffed 24/7. Smoking is strictly
prohibited throughout and luggage storage facilities are available. Wireless
internet access can be picked up in all parts of the hotel (charges apply).
Its worth noting that this hotel DOES have a lift, not something all central
London hotels can claim.
Parking: Not available onsite but there are many public pay car parks in the surrounding areas.
Bedroom Numbers: 84
Check-in: 14.00 (2 pm)
Check-out: noon
History: The Premier Inn Leicester Square opened in May 2012 after a £6 million pound renovation project. The deal to turn the Queens House on the corner of Leicester Square and Leicester Place into a brand new hotel was completed with Soho Estates in October 2010. Soho Estates had paid £12 million pounds for the building in 1995. The building dates right back to 1897 and is made of Portland stone (now painted) with an elaborately ornamented French Renaissance exterior and was designed by Messrs. Saville and Martin. The building was originally a hotel, the 100 bedroom Queens Hotel that opened in 1899. At the time of the purchase by Premier Inn it was being used as offices covering 24,000 sq ft and the upper floors of the building and had been offices since 1936 (when the Queens hotel was converted to offices).
During its time as the Queens Hotel the building had a buffet and grand dining-hall on the ground floor. There was a downstairs grill room and on the first floor were drawing, reading and coffee-rooms, decorated in the Louis XV, Empire and Louis XVI styles respectively. The bedrooms were on the upper floors.
