It’d be hard to justify calling a famous Firmdale hotel with more than 50 rooms ‘tucked away’. But the discreet nature of the Covent Garden Hotel is one of its biggest draws for both business and leisure travellers (among them a fair few celebrities) who want to be right in the heart of it all, but still cocooned from the hustle and bustle.
The rooms have the trademark Kit Kemp ‘quintessentially English with a twist’ feel, and are at once both cosily inviting and ultra-luxurious, mixing the odd well-chosen antique piece and opulent, brightly coloured soft furnishings with Bose docking stations, flat-screen TVs and WiFi connection. Smaller rooms have a shower and larger ones a bath, but all come complete with granite and mahogany detailing and Miller Harris smellies.
The Library is the sort of place where you can happily settle in with a glossy mag after a hard day in the West End and put the honesty bar through its paces. There’s a small gym in the basement, which is rarely used so you often have free run of the well-equipped space. Next door there’s a solitary treatment room where the therapist offers everything from facials and waxing to manicures and waxing using Matis and Jessica products.
The Covent Garden Hotel is popular with celebrities and film directors as it’s quiet, discreet and near to the film hub of Leicester Square. Directors often use the cinema to view rushes of films and Madonna has been known to drop by from time to time to watch a film with her family in private. If the screening room is free, guests can select a DVD from the Library at reception and watch it in private on the big screen.
What’s hot?
- The cinema
- The tea room
- The quirky design
What’s not?
- The gym and treatment rooms are a little small and lack the wow factor of the rest of the hotel
Need to Know: Covent Garden Hotel
Number of rooms: 58
Check-in/check-out times: 2pm and 11am
Room service: Yes
Swimming pool: No
Spa: No. But there’s a small treatment room
Dogs welcome: No
Eating and drinking: Brasserie Max serves a high quality selection of English food with a French twists. There are also hints of the orient thanks to the Five-Spiced Confit Duck, Black Sesame Seared Tuna Sashimi and Nori Wrapped Monk Fish. Neal’s Yard cheeses (from the shop nearby) are also on the menu. For breakfast there’s a large choice of cold (buffet) and hot dishes (made to order). The bar has a huge choice of spirits with a proper cocktail menu and a good choice of champagnes, whites and reds.
Near to? Shopping in Covent Garden, and eating and drinking options in Soho and Chinatown are all within walking distance; Bond Street and Regent Street aren’t too far away, either. On the culture front, it’s right around the corner from the Opera House, plus the theatres of Shaftesbury Avenue and the cinemas of Leicester Square.
Getting there: The hotel is five minutes’ walk from Leicester Square and Covent Garden tube stations. It’s also just a 10-20 minute taxi journey to Charing Cross and Waterloo Stations.
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