London Drum

The Piccadilly London West End – Review of the 5-star hotel in Shaftesbury Avenue

Piccadilly London West End HotelPhoto: londondrum.com
Star rating: ★★★★★ Address: Piccadilly London West End, 65-73 Shaftesbury Avenue, Soho Contact: Tel: 0207 871 6000 Web: thepiccadillywestend.co.uk Facilities: Restaurant, concierge, tea & coffee, minibar, Wi-Fi, TV, movies, telephone, hairdryer, iron, ensuite bathroom, air-conditioning, safe Parking: Car parks in the West End Buses: 14, 19, 38 Bus fares Trains: The closest station is Leicester Square Northern Piccadilly Other nearby stations: Charing Cross, Covent Garden, Embankment, Goodge Street, Green Park, Holborn, Oxford Circus, Piccadilly Circus and Tottenham Court Road Train fares

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Craig’s review… One of the downsides of staying in 5-star hotels is that you can’t just relax and have a walk around because you feel like you’re on show all the time. You have to shine your shoes and press your shirt and straighten your tie for breakfast, and I hate all of that nonsense. I don’t like people striking up a “how are you today, sir” conversation every time I get in the lift either. It’s all right if you’re trying to impress your partner but I’m not – it’s just me. (It’s always just me.) And that’s why I like this place – because it feels a bit more normal and homely and there’s no pressure to be posh. It’s a posh hotel for non-posh people.

Inside a room at the Piccadilly West End

Room inside the Piccadilly London West EndPhoto: londondrum.com
Room inside the Piccadilly London West End
TV, desk and minibar inside the roomPhoto: londondrum.com
TV, desk and minibar inside the room

The rooms are rather small but I don’t care because everything else is very nice. You get a big TV about the same size as a snooker table, a big bed that sinks in deeper than a swimming pool, and a Nespresso coffee machine with a tray full of capsules.

You also get a minibar full of drink so let’s have a look at the prices: £2.50 for a fun-size can of Coke, £5 for a tiny bottle of red or white wine, £5 for a tiny bottle of vodka, whiskey or rum, £6 quid for a tub of peanuts and another £3.50 for Pringles. So… yeah. There you go. It’s cheaper going down the pub.

Ensuite bathroom with a shower

Ensuite bathroom at the Piccadilly West EndPhoto: londondrum.com
Ensuite bathroom at the Piccadilly West End

The bathroom is small but it’s got a toilet and a sink to brush my teeth – that’s all you need. And some soap. And some scales. And some towels and a flannel. What else can I find in here… a shower hat and a vanity pack. Would you like to know what you get inside a vanity pack? Me too! You get some eye patches, toothpicks, cotton buds and nail files.

Do you want to know how much I weigh? I may as well stand on the scales seeing as they’re here. This isn’t the usual kind of information that you get in a hotel review, is it? But what the hell… eleven stone and a little bit. That’s not too bad – I might go and have that tub of Pringles in the minibar now.

Breakfast in the hotel restaurant

Their restaurant is really just a breakfast room because it only has seven tables in it, but you get all the usual kind of stuff: sausage and beans, scrambled eggs and hash browns, a bowl full of cheeses and plates of sliced hams. Plus a load of cereal and toast.

Location halfway up Shaftesbury Avenue

The best thing about this hotel is definitely its location: halfway up Shaftesbury Avenue and about two minutes from Piccadilly Circus. You can walk to Leicester Square in five minutes, Trafalgar Square in ten minutes, and Big Ben in fifteen.

Worth a stay? Value for money? Nice rooms? Good location?

Things to do in the West End

Today Agatha Christie’s The Mousetrap at St. Martin’s Theatre

Agatha Christie’s The Mousetrap at St. Martin’s Theatre

Today The Play That Goes Wrong at the Duchess Theatre

The Play That Goes Wrong at the Duchess Theatre

Today Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Phantom of the Opera

Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Phantom of the Opera

Today TINA -- The Tina Turner Musical at the Aldwych Theatre

TINA -- The Tina Turner Musical at the Aldwych Theatre

Today Disney’s The Lion King Musical (with songs by Elton John)

Disney’s The Lion King Musical (with songs by Elton John)

Today Back To The Future Musical at the Adelphi Theatre

Back To The Future Musical at the Adelphi Theatre