We stayed at St Giles Hotel right at the junction of Tottenham Court Road and Oxford Street. We’ve stayed there before and knew what to expect; basic but central, only yards away from the British Museum. However, I wouldn’t recommend it at this time of the year and in a heatwave. The hotel was incredibly busy with coachloads arriving every day, long waits for lifts and breakfast. Breakfast itself was disappointing: the food was unappetising and even basics like honey were unavailable. If it wasn’t included I would have eaten at one of the many cafes in Bloomsbury or Soho instead.
ON THE PLUS SIDE, HOWEVER: the staff were lovely and friendly, as helpful as they could be within the corporate dictates of the pack-em-in attitude of the St Giles corporation. And I can’t praise the location enough. We were within easy walking distance of Oxford Street, Charing Cross Road, the Chinese restaurants of Gerard St, British Museum and Soho. We walked to Camden and then did this canal walk in reverse: https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/enjoy-the-waterways/walking/walking-routes/little-venice-to-camden-walk
We started by walking from Tottenham Court Road to Camden and then continuing along the canal to Little Venice as shown in the walk then on to Paddington Basin and carrying on walking through Hyde Park, up Piccadilly and through Soho back to the hotel. It was one of our more energetic holiday jaunts!
Despite the shortcomings, if you want to be in the swim of things, you can’t beat St Giles Hotel at the price. If you want service, luxury and a nice breakfast, try the Radisson round the corner.
