Apex Temple Court Hotel, very close to the theaters in London
Apex Temple Court Hotel score by the 5D Sensograph of placescases.com: 4.9 out of 5.
October 2019
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I came across Apex Temple Court Hotel just because it was close to where I had to attend a business meeting and because it had a good rating on TripAdvisor.
The hotel is suitable for business visitors and is housed in an old building where in the past centuries students lived and studied law. For this reason and because nearby is the court, the arbitration court, as well as many law firms, we could say that the hotel is located in the legal heart of London.
The location of Apex Temple Court is very key also for other reasons- one of its entrances is on Fleet Street, which passes into the Strand, leads to Trafalgar Square and then passes into the Mall, ending up at the Buckingham Palace.
In walking distance through the bridge over the River Thames is the business district – very convenient for people on business trip, attending meetings in the City of London, or as it is called The Square Mile. Nearby are Kings College and London School of Economics and Political Sciences– attractive for parents with children studying/applying at any of them. For every fan of musicals, it is of particular importance that there are many theatres in the immediate vicinity. Covent Garden is in the neighbourhood, full of souvenir and gift shops, small pubs and restaurants, squares with street artists, as well as the Royal Opera House. There I found a wonderful little restaurant, which offers with contemporary finesse crabs and oysters, with well selected drinks, and a few more things on the menu. Read about this place in my post Funky groove, oysters and crabs at Oystermen in Covent Garden, London.
The official address of Apex Temple Court is on another street from which you can drive into the hotel courtyard. In the summer months, the latter provides a short escape from the noisy main street with a drink and other refreshments. But the front entrance, with the Big Green Elephant, which is like a symbol of the hotel is on Fleet Street. You can see in the map below its exact location.
See ….
…. The green elephant at the main entrance- this is a sculpture that has been sold for charity in favor of environmental protection;
…. Red reception and walls inside the hotel;
…. Good-looking lobby, with armchairs in old-fashioned style;
…. Pleasant rooms, with large bathrooms with walk-in showers.
Feel ….
…. Slightly cold everywhere- in the rooms and public areas. I tried to raise the temperature of the air conditioner in the room at 27 degrees to warm the room faster, but it still remained at 20-22 degrees. After all, it was a healthy temperature, and it didn’t bother me so much because of the nice duvets;
…. Soft and fluffy duvets, pillows, bathrobes and towels. Definitely the comfort of the hotel textiles played a great role in eliminating the unpleasant feeling of a little cold in the rooms;
…. Good service and adequate response of the staff to the small issues I had. For example, only one set of cosmetics was left in the bathroom, provided that the guests in the room were two. The electricity adapter, provided by the hotel in every room was missing in mine. Both problems were solved very quickly and adequately.
Hear ….
…. Our room was overlooking the inner courtyard and was very quiet. I could hardly hear the noise from the main street.
Movie watching time: 0:49 min.
Smell ….
…. In the beginning the bathroom smelled of bleach, but subsequently it faded away;
…. The cosmetics in the bathroom smelled very well and were of good quality.
Taste ….
…. The hotel kindly provided compliments- an espresso coffee machine with compliment coffee as well as two bottles of water;
…. If you hadn’t pre-paid your breakfast, you can order and pay for it on spot. They prepare omelette, Eggs Benedict, or poached eggs. There is also a bar with a continental breakfast, but at a separate price. Unfortunately, the Eggs Bene were not very delicious, rather tasteless to my expectations. Free coffee is included in the breakfast price;
On the second morning I chose to have my breakfast at the nearby Pret-A-Manger, where apart from offering several types of coffee and tea, they have all kinds of delicious pastries, and even the traditional for the UK cereal snack- porridge. They use sustainable practices- the utensils, cups, plates are recycled, and the tap water is recycled and purified.
…. The lobby bar of Apex Temple Court offers good wines and cocktails which go with compliment snacks. It even has a happy hour. I tried and liked a lot a cocktail which was not in the card. You can see it in the short movie here.
I must confess though, that wherever I go and try the local mixology creations, One More Bar in Sofia surpass them a lot.
I would recommend Apex Temple Court mainly because of its great location and high quality of service.
Travel hints for London
(Skip if you are a regular visitor of London)
If you haven’t visited London soon, or haven’t been there at all, I would like to give you a hint. If you want to use a taxi, install Uber in your phone. Check the internet for other taxi companies that are cheaper than the standard, unless you want to experience the pleasure of riding the iconic classic black cab or Hackney carriage, for which attraction you will have to pay 6-10 GBP for 1.5 km.
In case you are reluctant to pay so much to explore the fancy Hackney cab, see what the classic London taxi looks like below in this Oasis video of their famous piece Don’t Look Back in Anger.
However, it is more important to know that London public transport is very well organized. You just need to buy an Oyster card from a vending machine. It costs 5 GBP. You load it by cash or a card and you check-in with it in the vehicles. You can even set your debit/credit to be automatically recharged if it falls below a certain balance. Thus you’ll never be out of credit. I recommend that you do not use only the metro, named here The Underground or Tube, but also to ride on the iconic red double-deckers. That way you can look from above at the streets and buildings. If you have a business in Greenwich or closer on the Thames banks, get on a boat. It’s a little more expensive, but it’s still an experience. Any information and schedules can be found online. If you land at Luton Airport, it is most convenient to get a Greenline bus for 11 GBP, to Victoria station in London. The trip lasts approx. an hour and a half. From there, you can go anywhere with the subway. The nearest metro stops to Apex Temple are The Temple, Blackfriars, Chancery Lane.
If you are staying at Apex Temple Court, you can even walk to Tate Modern or the British Museum. That’s what I did. Along my way back from the latter, I stopped for a pint of ale in Covent Garden at a small spot, highly rated for their good draft beer. It’s name is The Crown.
If you’re more of a wine fan, right next to the hotel is the Lazy Ballerinas where you can enjoy a glass of good wine in a sophisticated setting.
If you prefer a more authentic pub setting to drink wine or beer close to the hotel, pull over at The Old Cock Tavern. There you can even order a glass of Sherry or Port as a true Englishman.
How to book your stay in London?
If you are already planning a trip to London I recommend that you book your stay right here. For your convenience, I added a booking.com box, which refers directly to their site. I guarantee you’re going to use all your genius discounts and privileges they would offer to you. Just enter the dates of your trip, then hit the Search button and voila. In addition, booking.com are doing their best to make sure that your expectations as a customer are fulfilled. I’ve described an example about the latter in my story about our stay in Shangri-La hotel in Singapore.
How to get Apex Temple Court hotel?
Don’t worry about getting to Apex Temple Court hotel in London. Just use the Google map here by clicking on the red pin of its location and then select directions:
1-2, Serjeant's Inn, Temple, London EC4Y 1AG, Великобритания
A: 1-2 SERJEANTS’ INN, LONDON EC4Y 1AG
T: + 44 (0)800 049 8000
E: london.reservations@apexhotels.co.uk
On the web-site of the hotel there is online reservation form and Live chat.
If you feel confident with the left side driving in UK and decide to rent a car, you can book it here in the box of the biggest rent-a-car online platform.
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Do you ever wonder how some places are so very different from others in service, environment, as a general experience? This means you are also interested like me in the topic of The Experience Economy by Pine and Gilmore. I’ve tried to recognize those places which apply it in practice its principles, whether deliberately or accidentally, and I think it is worth to consider them. Right click on category The Experience Economy.