The name of the hotel, Arosfa, means “a place to stay” in Welsh. We might suggest that another Welsh word, one meaning “gorgeous and lovely place good for value-hungry visitors” be applied as a replacement.
Yes, we’re fans. The 17-room Arosfa is a gem, cheaper than the Arran House next door and offering rooms a clear cut above others in the Gower Street guesthouse tangle. The magic begins in the hotel’s sitting room, a “Hollywood-meets-New York” vision with a chandelier, modernist black leather couches and chairs, mirrored chests of drawers, and multiple images of Audrey Hepburn. We were a bit taken aback by the room’s splashy nature.
Rooms are not quite so lavishly appointed, though they are very nicely put together. Recently renovated rooms include flat-screen televisions and lovely matching leather-and-wood bed frames and low bedside tables. Walls are mostly empty and white, broken up with a large canvas of modern art. Less recently renovated rooms are also quite nice. Though they’re less comprehensively put together, they’ve got plenty of nice little details: artful vases, marble ledges left over from boarded-up fireplaces, and smart wooden bed frames.
At least one unit has an attached kitchen. Lounge lovers, know that Arosfa’s exquisite sitting room is only open until 10 p.m.
Guests at Arosfa come primarily from the U.S. and Europe, within which Norwegians are particularly, and curiously, well represented. Guests include family, couple, and friend configurations.
» Alex Robertson Textor
Note: This hotel was visited by a EuroCheapo editor and is recommended based on cleanliness, location, price and overall quality. EuroCheapo did not charge this hotel to be listed.
About the Arosfa Hotel neighborhood
Situated north of Piccadilly Circus and the West End, leafy Bloomsbury is famous as the former headquarters of the bohemian writing clique known as the Bloomsbury Group. The charming neighborhood is centered around Russell Square and boasts the British Museum, University of London, and Georgian townhouse-lined streets. Budget-friendly B&Bs line Gower Street, just west of the University, easily accessible to the rest of the central city. This is London at its most charming and, arguably, most literary.
more about Bloomsbury