an excursion to London - or WIDbeforeTW (2 weekends ago)
A few weeks back, following one of those nights of raiding on World of Warcraft were it is clear that people are working to two separate agendas, an email arrived letting me know about a pubmeet for the guild down in London, last Thursday. I looked at my diary, considered the impact of missing my regular Thursday evening, and decided that attending and then taking a day off work on the Friday would e the best solution.
So, Thursday evening, I left work on time (for once, or at least for the first time in a week), headed off to Warwick Parkway station, parked up, and headed south.
That's not to say there wasn't a fair degree of planning first. Chiltern Railways trains down to Marylebone vary in price quite dramatically so they are best pre-booked, plus I'd need an hotel. When I'd last been in London I'd spotted a new hotel under construction (or at least, conversion in an existing building). A far-eastern hotel company, Tune Hotels, hadn't quite brought a capsule hotel to central London, but had gone almost as far with what I've later seen travel writers describe as the Ryanair model of hotel rooms.
Now, I like the Ryanair mode. Yes, you have to pay extra for thing that normally you'd think of as standard, but I have always found the costs clear up front, and often have found they allow me not to select items that I don't need. This hotel chain promised the same - a basic en-suite room with a high quality bed, and virtually everything else a chargeable option.
A couple of hours after leaving Warwick I was at Marylebone. All was well, apart from realising I'd left my Oyster card in Coventry, so had to pay 'tourist rates' for my trip down to the City. It wasn't long before I was in a huge Wetherspoons, had ordered beer and a curry, and was happily frothing away about Warcrack. It also wasn't that long before the evening was over, and I headed for Lambeth North tube, and the 20 yards walk the hotel.
Check in was efficient - the extras I'd ordered were ready, TV activated, wifi ID ands password, and a towel and toiletries in a take-away-meal style paper carrier bag. The room was tiny, well organised, and spotlessly clean - to be fair, the hotel has only been open for a couple of months.
To give an idea of the room, the bed (a Hypnos double) took up half of it. A quarter was taken by the 'pod' containing the toilet and shower, and a quarter was open floor, allowing the door to open into the room. 3 1/2 sides of the bed were against (or virtually so) a wall. The foot of the bed had a large window, a large flat screen TV, and a drop down shelf with a couple of power points inside - the nearest thing to a desk or a table in the room. The right hand side of the bed was the end wall of the room, the bed head was against the inside wall, and had a huge mirror and good lighting built in. The foot end of the left hand side of the bed was right next to the end wall of the toilet and shower pod.
Everything worked - although the wifi did drop out a couple of times. Other options (hairdryer, safe) were already plumbed in, but not activated. There was a mirror / coathooks / mini shelf unit behind the door. I needn't have bothered with hiring a towel - an adequate hand towel was supplied anyway, and the toiletries were a small soap bar, and a mini bottle of shampoo - both things I could have included easily in my hand luggage along with my toothbrush. The shower was excellent easy to use, warm immediately, and very stable, despite using it in the morning rush.
When I checked out in the morning, I wasn't surprised to be asked to fill in a customer survey - it was that sort of place. They got very good marks - the only criticism was of the wifi.
So, on with the rest of the break - an excellent breakfast at a nearby café I'd used on a previous visit, a trip to a favourite bookshop a short walk away behind Waterloo station, and then a half day at the Imperial War Museum. This last may have been a mistake - it was the final weekday of half term holidays, and the last week of the Horrible Histories Trench Warfare event, so the museum was packed out. Still, it was a good time since I'd spent any time there, and it's always an interesting place.
The train back from Marylebone was busy, but ran to time - or rather ahead of time until Banbury, where it had to wait for a while. I was home by mid-evening, ready for the weekend to begin.
So, Thursday evening, I left work on time (for once, or at least for the first time in a week), headed off to Warwick Parkway station, parked up, and headed south.
That's not to say there wasn't a fair degree of planning first. Chiltern Railways trains down to Marylebone vary in price quite dramatically so they are best pre-booked, plus I'd need an hotel. When I'd last been in London I'd spotted a new hotel under construction (or at least, conversion in an existing building). A far-eastern hotel company, Tune Hotels, hadn't quite brought a capsule hotel to central London, but had gone almost as far with what I've later seen travel writers describe as the Ryanair model of hotel rooms.
Now, I like the Ryanair mode. Yes, you have to pay extra for thing that normally you'd think of as standard, but I have always found the costs clear up front, and often have found they allow me not to select items that I don't need. This hotel chain promised the same - a basic en-suite room with a high quality bed, and virtually everything else a chargeable option.
A couple of hours after leaving Warwick I was at Marylebone. All was well, apart from realising I'd left my Oyster card in Coventry, so had to pay 'tourist rates' for my trip down to the City. It wasn't long before I was in a huge Wetherspoons, had ordered beer and a curry, and was happily frothing away about Warcrack. It also wasn't that long before the evening was over, and I headed for Lambeth North tube, and the 20 yards walk the hotel.
Check in was efficient - the extras I'd ordered were ready, TV activated, wifi ID ands password, and a towel and toiletries in a take-away-meal style paper carrier bag. The room was tiny, well organised, and spotlessly clean - to be fair, the hotel has only been open for a couple of months.
To give an idea of the room, the bed (a Hypnos double) took up half of it. A quarter was taken by the 'pod' containing the toilet and shower, and a quarter was open floor, allowing the door to open into the room. 3 1/2 sides of the bed were against (or virtually so) a wall. The foot of the bed had a large window, a large flat screen TV, and a drop down shelf with a couple of power points inside - the nearest thing to a desk or a table in the room. The right hand side of the bed was the end wall of the room, the bed head was against the inside wall, and had a huge mirror and good lighting built in. The foot end of the left hand side of the bed was right next to the end wall of the toilet and shower pod.
Everything worked - although the wifi did drop out a couple of times. Other options (hairdryer, safe) were already plumbed in, but not activated. There was a mirror / coathooks / mini shelf unit behind the door. I needn't have bothered with hiring a towel - an adequate hand towel was supplied anyway, and the toiletries were a small soap bar, and a mini bottle of shampoo - both things I could have included easily in my hand luggage along with my toothbrush. The shower was excellent easy to use, warm immediately, and very stable, despite using it in the morning rush.
When I checked out in the morning, I wasn't surprised to be asked to fill in a customer survey - it was that sort of place. They got very good marks - the only criticism was of the wifi.
So, on with the rest of the break - an excellent breakfast at a nearby café I'd used on a previous visit, a trip to a favourite bookshop a short walk away behind Waterloo station, and then a half day at the Imperial War Museum. This last may have been a mistake - it was the final weekday of half term holidays, and the last week of the Horrible Histories Trench Warfare event, so the museum was packed out. Still, it was a good time since I'd spent any time there, and it's always an interesting place.
The train back from Marylebone was busy, but ran to time - or rather ahead of time until Banbury, where it had to wait for a while. I was home by mid-evening, ready for the weekend to begin.