The Nadler - An affordable option in London

I'm one of those crazy travelers that you read about in books. The type that stayed in dinky guesthouses in remote parts of China, a little room in a farmer's house with an outhouse (toilet's a hole on the ground), pension, hostel, farmhouse, various convents in Europe, 3 to 5 star hotels, cave houses, apartments, slept on a beach in Chios (Greece) etc etc. When I took my newly wedded husband on his first (but not mine) adventure, he was appalled and stayed traumatized by the experience for the next decade. Oh well, I thought it was fun.

Now that I've got a young child to consider and a husband who's not at all keen on "exotic" accommodations, I'm a little more conservative. I'm still not one to fork out ££££ for accommodations only because I'm frugal that way. My only two requirements other than the expense is that it's super clean and located near amenities. For longer stays, it's definitely a rented apartment all the way because I hate 10am housekeeping and I can't live without a small kitchenette (bet all moms can agree on this). I still have my favorites - Etoile St Ferdinand in Paris and The Nadler, a boutique hotel in London.

Sue and I booked into a "Luxury Bunk" room at The Nadler in Kensington a few weeks ago. It was £105 a night. The room was narrow but the bathroom was huge. The room was incredibly clean and tidy and most importantly, there was a kitchenette. Sure, it's small but since we barely spent a lot of time there, there was no reason to cough up more hard earned moolah on the room. We dropped off our bags early in the morning and promptly buggered off till really late at night. The staff had already kindly transferred our bags to the room as it wasn't ready when we arrived earlier in the day (we knew it wouldn't be ready so early in the morning). The service was exceptional. Very attentive, polite and efficient.

The Nadler is located a few minutes' walk from Earl's Court tube station (come out of station, cross the road, walk down Earl's Court Gardens and turn right. You'll see The Nadler a couple of houses away). You have easy access to Circle, District and Piccadilly lines at Earl's Court which means if you can't be bothered to walk, Notting Hill, Knightsbridge, Chelsea and Green Park are pretty much your stomping ground via the tube. For those of you who have to catch a plane from Heathrow, just hop on the Piccadilly line and it's only a few stops away. They do offer discounts for a longer stay so check out their website here.

p.s. I don't normally do reviews on hotels but I was really impressed with The Nadler. And it's not often that I'm delighted with the hotels I've stayed in.