Fleet River Bakery Rooms

Presume you have read the Tripadvisor reviews? Sounds like they are very popular and therefore difficult to book. Have not stayed there but worked in the area some years ago (Chancery Lane) and really liked the atmosphere. Walking distance to the Strand/Aldwych, Fleet St and Covent Garden and near High Holborn Tube station. Lincolns Inn Fields was a great place to eat lunch on a fine day. http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Hotel_Review-g186338-d1847171-Reviews-Fleet_River_Rooms-London_England.html

We are booked to stay there in September, but I guess that won't help you.

Thank you, yes I read the reviews and it sounds nice. "Walking distance to the Strand/Aldwych, Fleet St and Covent Garden and near High Holborn Tube station. Lincolns Inn Fields was a great place to eat lunch on a fine day." It all sounds good! But can I ask, what is Strand/Aldwych, Fleet St or what is around them that I will like? I know about the Holborn Tube. And then Lincoln Inn Fields is a park?
Don't know much about London, but luckily I have lots of time to learn!

Lincolns Inn Fields is the largest square in London and said to be the inspiration for Central Park in New York. It is so big that it does look like a park and at lunchtime office workers in the area use the sports facilities and eat lunch sitting on the grass. It is in one of the oldest parts of London and is where where traditionally the legal profession in London has its "chambers" (offices) and the area is home to the remaining "Inns of Court". You may see lawyers in their wigs and gowns walking to one the two main Courts in London ie the "Law Courts" (Civil) on the Strand (a street) and the "Old Bailey" (Criminal) up by St Pauls Cathedral. There are references to locations in the area in the novels by Charles Dickens (and others eg "The Da Vinci Code" and "Exodus" by Leon Uris). Although the area has been developed over the years there are still many little pockets of old London eg the Tudor buildings in Lincolns Inn (one of the remaining "Inns of Court") next to Lincolns Inn Fields. As well as old pubs in some of the narrow streets and lanes in the area eg the Cheshire Cheese just off Fleet Street. The Aldwych is a crescent shaped road which is a transport hub for buses and is next to London's theatreland. Take a bird's eye view using Google Maps to get a feel for the location and maybe even "walk" around the streets using Streetview? http://maps.google.com/maps?q=london&ll=51.516328,-0.116365&spn=0.008613,0.012863&hl=en PS The highly regarded London Walks company has a guided tour of the area *The Inns of Court". http://www.walks.com/

The Strand is the main road nearest the River. It runs from Trafalgar Square and Charing Cross towards the City and St Pauls. After Aldwych it becomes Fleet Street which is where all the newspapers had their offices. At Aldwych is the RAF church St Clement Danes which was rebuilt after the blitz with help from Americans. It is from here that the "Bells of St Clement's" ring out with their Oranges and Lemons. See the Wiki at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oranges_and_Lemons

I was attracted by the fact that it is fairly close to the British museum, which we like to vist an hour or two at a time. Also, we have yet to see St. Paul's, so that is on the list,Malone with the Inns of Court and Blackfriars pub.

I've stayed there and can highly recommend Fleet River Rooms & Bakery. I stayed there in May 2012 and am booked there again in March 2013. There are only three rooms and they book up far in advance, so book early! The rooms are spacious and comfortable, you get great coffee and breakfast in the downstairs bakery, and the location is terrific. The wonderfully quirky John Soane's Museum is just around the corner - don't miss it! You're in the heart of "legal London" and it's easy walking distance to Bloomsbury, the British Museum, and the West End theatres. It's a safe area and only half a block or so from the Holborn tube station. Since Holborn is on the Piccadilly line and does not require any transfers coming in from Heathrow, I take the tube to/from the airport when staying there.