London - How Is This Location?

Soho (one capital letter) is right in the middle of things. The “glory” days of Soho (the Krays, strip clubs etc) are pretty much the stuff of history.

Definitely right in the middle of things. You could probably see most of the big tourist sights without even having to take a tube journey, lots to do and see within walking distance. You're absolutely spoiled for choice for great food and entertainment on your doorstep.

The “glory” days of Soho (the Krays, strip clubs etc) are pretty much the stuff of history.

Googling 6 Archer Street, it appears to be upstairs from a Chinese massage parlour. Knowing where it is, I'd imagine that all may not be as it seems there. Soho has cleaned up a lot, but there's still traces of the slightly less salubrious past if you know where to look. I bet there's a few flats with "MODEL" on the door buzzer if you look close enough.

Prime location! It is equidistant from 2 awesome pubs! 1) The Devonshire, at 17 Denman Street, has the best Guinness in London, plus an excellent upscale menu (they age their own beef) and 2) the Ship Soho, at 116 Wardour Street, which is a scruffy-but-legendary old rock/punk pub that was frequented by many music luminaries back in the day.

You’ll be close to almost all of the most touristic stuff, with excellent tube and bus connections to literally everywhere. My only worry might be noise… there are bars and pubs galore that might be rowdy and if your room faces the street, it could be an issue. That said, I don’t know that for a fact, and frankly the location is so central that it’s probably worth it.

there. Soho has cleaned up a lot, but there's still traces of the slightly less salubrious past if you know where to look.

Hence “pretty much”.

Thanks for the spelling correction Camborne2018. I will correct my post.

I just looked it up on Google Earth. I guess I should have looked before. I reread the reviews and while people have commented on the noise level at night it appears to only affect the living room area. Many noted that the bedroom in the back of the apartment was quiet and considering the time of year I’m sure we won’t be opening the windows.

I knew when I booked it that it would be a busy area. I’m fine with that as long as it is safe. Thanks for all of your comments.

interesting window in the door to number 6

over a massage parlor yes, but next to Gelupo. Can't go wrong with gelato, even in November

It’s a great central location. It’s personal preference as to whether you want to be in the heart of the action with restaurants, theatre and shopping all on the doorstep or whether you’d rather be somewhere quieter and leafier. One is not right or wrong. The area is not seedy. There are many high end hotels and restaurants in the immediate vicinity.

It is a wee bit seedy, but that's half the fun of Soho :) I'd be interested to know if it's the same folk who own the shop downstairs that own the flats above. I wouldn't be surprised if there's other commercial enterprises being run from them apart from AirBnB.

GerryM, Yikes, I never thought about that possibility. I’m going to hold on to this reservation and continue looking for other options. I was interested in staying in an area we hadn’t stayed in before, but maybe there’s something to be said to stay somewhere familiar. The apartment we rented near the Gloucester Road tube station is available for our dates. Sadly it is $400 more for one less night than it was in October 2022. I’ll keep looking.

It's purely speculation on my part, so make of that what you will.

Someone pointed out the "Model" name by the doorbell at another doorway in Soho to me once years ago and I saw it in several places after that once I was looking for it.

I'd hasten to add I'm not speaking from personal experience here. My only real experience of the night time economy of Soho was when a friend of mine had a DJ gig at a private members club some years ago, not far from here, but I won't say where exactly. I tagged along a couple of times and was able to drink cocktails on his tab. That was Russian-run and the clientele were predominantly Russian "businessmen" and their companions. No issues though. If there is anything untoward going on I think it would be a case of mind your own business and all would be good.

It is a great location in terms of things to do and see, but I think it's best to know that the peep shows and strip clubs are mostly gone, but Soho definitely isn't Disneyland.

My job took me into many seedy areas, so that doesn’t worry me. There’s a difference between seedy and unsafe. I went into those areas as well. Still, I will see if I find an option I like better.

When you're in the mood to start browsing some options.....
I highly recommend Locke At Broken Wharf flats.
Have you stayed in the City Of London before?
(Also recommend using Booking to do a search for a flat in a certain area.)
This is centrally located near St. Paul's and you can walk across the Millinneum bridge to Borough Market, Tate Modern, and Shakespeare's Globe.
It is very much "in the middle of things"; Inexpensive for London, good restaurants and pubs within walking distance:

https://www.lockeliving.com/en/london/locke-at-broken-wharf
https://www.lockeliving.com/en/london/locke-at-broken-wharf/area-guide

https://www.booking.com/hotel/gb/locke-at-broken-wharf.en-gb.html?aid=1607597&label=v3.cm4fwp7cta5sj0842kyzvbw0k&sid=c7a19194e762c486821f7348418506df&dest_id=362783&dest_type=hotel&dist=0&group_adults=2&group_children=0&hapos=26&hpos=1&no_rooms=1&req_adults=2&req_children=0&room1=A%2CA&sb_price_type=total&sr_order=popularity&srepoch=1733688589&srpvid=38bf7e48a9c30617&type=total&ucfs=1&#hotelTmpl

Your tube station would be Blackfriars. When you leave London....
District line to Earl's Court; change trains--and jump on the Piccadilly line to Heathrow.

For around town, you could also use Mansion House tube station and the Circle line.
The Number 15 bus runs along Cannon Street just a few blocks north of this apartment. The #15 runs from Trafalgar Square to St. Paul's to Tower of London (and beyond), passing along its way the Inns Of Court and Covent Garden (a short walk 2 blocks north of one of the stops).

Happy browsing!
Looking at London apartments/flats/hotels is one of the fun aspects of trip planning for me.

Thanks Rebecca, I have not stayed in or even been to the City of London. I seem to recall hearing it’s pretty dead at night and the weekends. I have no idea if that’s true. I’ll take a look. In the meantime, yesterday I booked the apartment we stayed in near the Gloucester Road station in 2022. We liked the apartment and location, and wanted to grab it while it was still available. We can cancel it and/or the first one I booked without penalty. The first apartment was on booking and the second one on Airbnb.

The City, around St Pauls etc is pretty quiet in the evening and at weekends. Still a few characterful old pubs and such within walking distance. It might be what some people would prefer after a busy day. The riverside is perfectly safe to walk at night and is easily accessible from there. It's a decent area, but not as residential as you'd find up by Gloucester Road. I think you'll be happier there.

Soho is fine for going for dinner or catching a show, but I think you'd need to be ready to embrace what you might see of the underbelly if you're staying in a flat there for a few days. I had a nice time sitting in Soho Square at lunchtime one day last summer. I discovered that you need to make sure you're out of the pigeon poop zone if you're near the trees on the perimeter.

edit: I'll link to a couple of videos about Soho on Youtube from one of my favourite creators, John Rogers.

https://youtu.be/1H9uBT8nVxE?si=wR8jxs4PvUsLTCI3

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RMGIVt5fVJ8

GerryM, thanks for the links to the YouTube videos. I recognized some streets from the second one. I’m thinking that we might explore the area a bit more than we have in the past, but I’m feeling better about booking the apartment near Gloucester Road. We spent over a week at that apartment in 2022 and feel comfortable in the neighborhood. Of course we have felt comfortable in the other London areas where we’ve stayed. We are looking forward to spending the last week of our 11 week trip in London.

I just watched those videos again since I posted them. Lots of great info in them, historic and current.

I first went to Soho as a (young) adult about 30 years ago when it was packed with record shops selling dance music, house, techno etc. All the shops I remember from back then are gone, there's only a fraction of record shops in London as a whole compared to what there was then.

I think the first time I was in Soho was when I dragged my dad along to find a shop in Carnaby Street named "4 Star General". They sold all the hip hop clothes and sneakers, imported from New York, at a time before shopping like that was globalised by the internet etc. That was when I was 13 or 14.

When I worked in advertising a lot of the material for the newspaper came from M&C Saatchi in Golden Square. They held accounts for many of the big retailers like supermarkets and DIY stores. I always thought Golden Square was a great name. Sort of fantastical.