|
Base2Stay is an appealing hotel concept that might just catch on. The method behind the hotel is very simple. It offers a four-star standard with few beyond-the-room extras. There is a concierge and there is a daily maid service, but beyond that there are few of the amenities typically provided by four-star hotels. In other words, there is no restaurant and no bar (thus no room service), no fitness center, and no spa. Breakfast isn’t even included in the nightly rate (rare for London).
In the place of all the above is a streamlined hotel service that provides truly top-drawer furnishings like gorgeous beds, kitchenettes, lush carpets, and crisply modern bathrooms at very reasonable rates. Everything is wrapped up in neutral tones. The effect is modern and, dare we say it, beautiful. These rooms are neat and crisp, from their flat-screen televisions to their uncluttered workspaces. Bathrooms sport stone and tile in unobtrusive creams and browns, along with a stack of fluffy towels.
Base2Stay may offer a sort of deconstructed version of the four-star hotel experiences, but the hotel doesn’t exactly abandon its clientele along the way. A tailored television-cum-Internet information system lets guests know where they can find restaurants and supermarkets, obtain takeaway meals, work out, and arrange spa treatments and laundry services. There’s a kitchenette in every room with a microwave, refrigerator, and kettle.
If there’s a downside at Base2Stay for budget-conscious travelers, it’s in the nightly rates. Though very reasonable for London—especially given the standard at hand, not to mention the roominess of quarters—they’re hardly shoestring territory.
|
