London's Arosfa Hotel

The Arosfa Hotel (83 Gower St., London WC1E 6HJ, ENGLAND; phone/fax 020 7636 2115), located a 5-minute walk from Goodge Street Underground Station, is more a B&B than a hotel, in my opinion. It is one of several small hotels along busy Gower Street. I would recommend requesting a room in the back of any of them, as Gower Street has traffic noise most of the time.

The rate was £45 ($83) per night, single. All rates posted at the Arosfa refer to rooms with facilities en suite, and accommodations range from singles to quads. Breakfast is included.

You’ll find no elevator, nor air-conditioning, hair dryers, washcloths, tissues or phones in the rooms. There is soap but no shampoo. There are TVs, but they have no satellite stations. The premises are nonsmoking.

My single, overlooking a back garden, was the smallest room I have ever stayed in. Its length was exactly that of a twin bed, entry wall to window wall, its width slightly less. A narrow hanging cupboard had a couple of shelves. Thankfully, there was a tiny desk on top of which I could leave my suitcase.

When I first saw the room, I was dismayed by its size; it occurred to me that prison cells might be larger. But it was in good repair and spotlessly clean, the bed covered with a pristine white chenille bedspread, and I got used to my “nook.” Cozy or just tiny? Choose your adjective.

The bathroom was more challenging. My bath’s width measured less than three feet (including the shower) by about six feet long. The shower area was separated from the rest of the bathroom by a curtain on a rail, but, despite my attempts to keep the curtain closed tightly, water inevitably seeped out onto the bathroom floor. However, I had hot water whenever I needed it.

Breakfast was modest but adequate: cold cereal, egg and bacon with one other item (sausage, tomato or beans) plus toast, jam, orange juice, tea, coffee or hot chocolate. I was always offered seconds on toast and beverages.

The proprietors, Mr. and Mrs. Dorta, were reserved but kind and helpful. I asked to see a double and a triple room, to get more information about the place. The double accommodated a double bed with perhaps one or two feet on either side and the same size of bathroom. The triple had three twin beds with several inches between each and a slightly larger bathroom.

I haven’t overly praised the Arosfa, but if the budget calls for it on my next trip, I’ll stay there again (in a double). At more elaborate places, I wasn’t sure I was getting the best value, penny for penny, while at the Arosfa I was sure I was. The hotel seems to be doing quite well; on two of my four days there, the “no vacancy” sign was posted.

ELAINE LAVINE
New York, NY