LSE Northumberland House

I’ve stayed here before and would come back for a good-value offer. It’s a good spot near the Mall and Trafalgar Square, with decent access, security and lifts, and the rooms are a reasonable size. This is surplus, off-peak student accommodation, so having the room refreshed and cleaned every two days wasn’t a big issue. On my earlier visit, our en-suite bathroom had a cracked toilet seat and a mouldy shower curtain, though that may just have been bad luck for us that time. UPDATE, January 2020: I stayed again and got a tiny room on the 10th floor. During term time there are fewer of the larger rooms, but that isn’t made clear, and the price was unchanged. It didn’t feel like good value with such a small room. I’d now be cautious about booking again if the room size is a lottery at the same price.

This is affordable accommodation in a big historic listed building, with spacious rooms and wide corridors. The location is excellent, just steps from Trafalgar Square and Charing Cross Station, and most London sights are walkable. Each floor has a well-equipped kitchen for self-catering. The place is well staffed, with people ready to help, and the en-suite rooms are clean.

For the price, it’d be hard to find a place with this location, privacy and a view. We walked pretty much everywhere, and the room had a lovely view that we hadn’t expected. One of us had stayed in a much more expensive London hotel before and had no view at all. From memory, the room was cleaned every other day, which was another nice surprise. We really enjoyed our stay and would recommend it. I’d come back if I return to London.

The only thing I liked was the location. The room was much better in the photos, and I was disappointed when I arrived. The bed was comfortable but noisy. The bathroom is so small you have to share half the shower space with the toilet, leaving the whole floor wet when you shower. The vent was awful and filthy, the most disgusting thing I’ve seen. The walls were a bit dirty and worn, with some pipes exposed, and cleaning seemed limited to visible spots. Behind the furniture was really dusty. The heat was the worst part. It was about 18ºC outside but felt like 30ºC in the room. The fan from reception was useless, just blowing the hot air at me. The room was much hotter than the corridors, which seemed odd. One elevator wasn’t working properly, though there was always another one available. I didn’t use the kitchen, but it looked a bit dated. I’d have preferred a small fridge in the room anyway. I asked to move rooms, but that didn’t happen. I still had two weeks left there and just wanted to get out. It’s overpriced for the quality, and I probably won’t come back.