HotelChatter

She said that the soft opening was for “selected and invited guests” only and when we asked how we got selected, she told us we’d have had to register our interest two years ago. They’ll be taking paying guests from 1 March (um, shouldn't the website be saying this, instead of talking about the soft opening date, if we can't book till next month?)

Anyway, on opening night, a double room will set you back £99 (excluding VAT and breakfast) or you can bag a studio room with a sitting area and two TVs for £30 more. There’s also free WiFi throughout. Hallelujah!

The prices sound very reasonable for London, and if you get the right room, you should have a banging view of the Houses of Parliament. Our only quibble is the specific location – we used to drive past this most days on our way to work, and it’s right in the middle one of the busiest roundabouts in central London (it’s on a ratrun to escape the Congestion Charging Zone).

Let’s hope that they’ve landscaped it a bit so that you can get to your room without being flattened by a bendy bus. Oh, and that they’ve gone heavy on the double glazing.