AVON HOTEL, London

The Avon Hotel sits on a quiet square just off busy Sussex Gardens, 200 metres from the main entrance of Paddington Station. This gives direct access to the Bakerloo, Circle, District, and Hammersmith & City Tube lines, as well as the Heathrow Express and Elizabeth line for airport transfers. Hyde Park and Oxford Street are both within a 10-minute walk, and the surrounding streets are lined with cafes, restaurants, and shops. The immediate area has a number of international eateries including Indian, halal, and fish and chip options, as well as a hospital within a short walk. The location works well for both tourists and transit users, though the main road can be busy with traffic and bus noise until late evening.

All rooms at the Avon are en suite and come with a flat-screen TV, electric kettle, hairdryer, and a seating area. The furniture, decor, and bathrooms are dated, with many describing the ensuite as being the size of a caravan wet room - very small, with a shower tray often adjacent to the toilet and a high step. Some rooms overlook a small park, but many face the street or inner courtyard and are exposed to noise from Underground trains, which rattle through every 15 minutes until late and resume from around 5 a.m. There is no air conditioning; electric fans are provided in hot weather. Rooms are compact: a double room fits one person with limited luggage space, and quadruple rooms are tight for four. The building has no lift and rooms are distributed over up to four or five floors of narrow, steep stairs. Ground-floor rooms can be requested but are limited. Daily housekeeping is provided, and beds are made each day. The property also has family rooms and can provide cots.

Breakfast is included for all guests and served in the basement dining room from 07:30 to 09:00. The main offering is a freshly cooked full English breakfast, with options for poached, fried, or scrambled eggs, bacon, sausages, toast, and baked beans. There is also cereal, yogurt, fruit, jam, Nutella, and freshly baked toast. The breakfast is freshly prepared to order, not a buffet, which means the small dining room can fill up, and guests may need to wait for a table during peak times. The breakfast area is in the basement, so it requires negotiation of stairs. The room has no separate ventilation from the kitchen, so cooking smells can be noticeable. For anyone wanting a lighter or quicker option, the surrounding streets offer several cafes within a three-minute walk.