Welcome to 13 Theobalds Road
Address: Apartment 2, 13 Theobalds Road, London WC1X 8SL
Located in the heart of London, this apartment borders the
hustle and bustle of Covent Garden and the tranquil
boutique shopping and dining of Bloomsbury.
In the next few pages, you’ll find information to help with
the most frequently asked questions.
Wish you a wonderful stay and hope you make yourselves
at home! If you have any questions/concerns, please let
me know.
Cheers!
Getting here and settling in
The building entrance is the Red door (No. 13) next to the Brew Bar. See picture below.
Arrival & Departure
London has too many travel options to list one by one. Please look at
https://tfl.gov.uk/travel-information/visiting-london/ to plan your
journeys. The website is available in over 130 languages and will give
you the most up to date travel options and costs.
I will, of course, answer any questions you have about travel.
For discounted train tickets (national and throughout continental
Europe) visit http://www.thetrainline.com/
Taxi service
If more than three people are travelling to/from the airport, I usually take a taxi. A taxi to the apartment will
cost about £50-80 depending on the time. It is best to book in advance and use a taxi service.
I use ‘Addison Lee’ (https://www.addisonlee.com/), 247 Cars (0208 841 4444, http://www.247cars.co.uk/),
London Heathrow Cars (020 8814 2727).
If you plan on using taxis, Uber is your best friend! However, London has quite drastic price surges at peak
times, so don’t assume it will always be cheaper.
If you prefer to take black cabs, they can also be hailed from an app. Try the Gett app which is basically
Uber for London Black Cabs.
Currency exchange
The Post Office (http://www.postoffice.co.uk/ ) often has the best exchange rates. The closest Post Office to
the apartment is at 86 Southampton Road, WC1B 4BB
Medical Emergency or Accident
The nearest accident and emergency hospital is the University College Hospital 235 Euston Road, NW1 2BU
https://www.uclh.nhs.uk/our-services/our-hospitals/university-college-hospital)
Call 112 or 999 for the emergency services (police, fire and ambulance) in London. To report non-urgent
crime, call the police on 101 from within the UK.
House Rules
Note that this is someone’s home. Please treat it with respect.
This means…
● Please let me know if you accidentally break a glass, plate or anything else in the apartment.
Accidents happen and I do not charge for small things. If you let me know immediately, I can replace it
sooner.
● Please don’t wear shoes on the bed or the sofa. Any dirt or shoe stains on bed linen, mattress or
the sofa will be charged.
● This is a residential building. The most common complaints I have had from neighbours is that: (1)
guests buzz other apartments in the building at random, and (2) that guests are being loud in the
building hallways.
● No smoking in the apartment please.
● You do not have to clean the apartment at the end of your stay or take out the garbage. But
please be mindful of the state in which you leave things.
Getting comfortable
Check-In/Check-Out
Check in and check out is automatic via key pad and key safe. When you are at the building door, look for the key
pad to your right and key in 1971. Wait for a second to hear the buzz and push open the door to enter the building.
Once inside the building make your way to the second floor where apartment 2 is located. You will find a key
safe on the wall to the right of the apartment door. Adjust the number dials to 5883 and then pull the small lever to
the left of the number dials to open the key safe. There will be a set of keys in there. Once you are inside the
apartment, you will find another set of keys.
When you check out, please make sure to leave one set of keys inside the key safe and the other inside the
apartment. The cleaners do not have the keys to the apartment so if you do not leave a set of keys when you check
out, both the cleaners and the next guest cannot get in.
Luggage Storage
If you need early check in and/or late check out, I’m happy to accommodate your times as long as your times do
not clash with the times of the guests on either side of your stay, if any. If you need to store your luggage somewhere,
I can recommend https://usebounce.com/ , https://radicalstorage.com/ , or https://stasher.com/. There are several
locations near the building.
Internet
There is unlimited Wi-Fi in the apartment. The Network is SHELL_1E9691 and the Password is tRr7zY7He22xGpcb. You can
connect an unlimited number of devices to this connection which typically has a 24 mbps download speed and a 4 mbps
upload speed.
TV
The TV can be turned on and off with the remote which should be on top of the coffee table. Please make sure to leave the
remote here when you leave.
Heating
Heating needs to be turned on via the boiler. The boiler is located behind the cupboard above the washing machine. The
heating control is clearly marked and you just need to turn in clockwise to turn on heating. There are radiators in each of the
rooms. All of them can be turned on and off via the control on the bottom-right.
The bathroom has its own heater/towel rail which is only controlled via the boiler. During the colder months this will be
constantly on at a lower temperature to keep the bathroom dry for you.
Kitchen
The kitchen is fully equipped: utensils, pots, pans, plates etc. There are also salt, pepper, olive oil, ground coffee, tea and sugar.
Feel free to use any items. Kitchen towels, cleaning products, laundry detergent, dishwashing liquid and garbage bags are in
the cupboard under the kitchen sink.
Hair Dryer, Iron, Ironing Board
The hair dryer and the iron are inside the wardrobe in the bedroom. Please keep them there when you leave.
Bedroom
Bedroom is set with fresh towels, sheets, a duvet and two pillows. For extra bedding, there are duvet, sheet and two extra
pillows inside the sofa bed.
Sofa Bed
The sofa bed in the living room has a pull-out double bed (140cm x 200cm). Take out the 3 cushions and pull out the sofa bed
as seen next.
The Neighbourhood
Both Holborn and Bloomsbury are two of the oldest and most
central neighbourhoods in London. In fact, they were developed
well before the Crown court moved to Buckingham Palace. As a
result, the area hosts some of the oldest and grandest
architecture in London as well as some of the earliest city
planning. You will notice that unlike most of Central London,
which is Victorian, this area is much older with Jacobean and
Georgian characteristics.
The neighbourhood was also heavily bombed during the Second
World War. As you walk along the streets, take note of the
buildings with ‘modern’ architecture. Vast majority of them were
built on the sites of original buildings destroyed by bombs. For
instance, if you walk west on Theobalds Road from the flat, you
will notice that the north side of the street is all modern, tall
buildings. The south side is all three-story early Georgian buildings.
Guess which side was destroyed by bombs and rebuilt?
Today, Holborn is known as the Legal Quarter of London as well as a central transport and education hub. The Royal Courts of
Justice as well the four Inns of Court are based in the neighbourhood. All of them have grand buildings, lovely garden squares
and amazing libraries. If you have time, we definitely recommend strolling through them. The closest ones to the apartment
are Gray’s Inn and Lincoln’s Inn – both have amazing courtyards and both have been used for filming movies. London School
of Economics and King’s College of London are also based here.
Bloomsbury is known for its garden squares and is the centre of education, medicine and history in London. Some of the best
and largest garden squares as well as some of London’s earliest cemeteries (now open to the public) are located here. UCL,
SOAS and most of the top medical, dental, nursing, design and fashion establishments are based here as well.
Bloomsbury also hosts the British Museum which is less than a 10 minute walk from the flat. The Senate Library has one of the
four surviving original Magna Carta documents. All the major museums in London are free of charge except for the special
exhibitions held from time to time. The 100s of boutique museums, majority of which are located within a short walk, may
charge entrance fees.
I love the following boutique museums within a 20 minute walk of the flat – Foundling Museum, Charles Dickens Museum, Sir
John Soane’s Museum, Somerset House, Hunterian Museum, Museum of London, Cartoon Museum, London Transport Museum,
London Postal Museum and Petrie Museum. As you will soon notice, there will be a museum to cater to any taste!
Getting Around
London Underground (Tube)
This neighbourhood is one of the most central in London. You will have access to 8 of the 12 underground lines in London as
well the Eurostar terminal. Below are walking times, according to google maps, to the tube stations from the apartment.
Holborn Station – Central and Piccadilly Lines – 5 minutes
Chancery Lane Station – Central Line – 5 minutes
Russell Square Station – Piccadilly Line – 10 minutes
Farringdon Station – Elizabeth, Hammersmith and City, Circle and Metropolitan Lines – 13 minutes
Covent Garden Station – Piccadilly Line – 15 minutes
King’s Cross Station – Piccadilly, Hammersmith and City, Circle, Metropolitan, Northern and Victoria Lines – 20 minutes
St. Pancras Station – The Eurostar station for trains to Europe – 20 minutes
Euston Station – The Overground, Hammersmith and City, Circle, Metropolitan, Northern and Victoria Lines – 20 minutes
Bus
Theobalds Road, Gray’s Inn Road and Southampton Row are major bus stops in Central London so you will have access to a
wide range of bus routes within a 5 minute walk from the flat. Use https://tfl.gov.uk/plan-a-journey/ to plan your bus journey
and locate the bus stops.
River Boat/ City Cycle Hire
The river boat system is a great way to see the riverside of London as well as some of the
major tourist attractions (houses of parliament and London Eye etc.) from a different
perspective. The closest piers are Blackfriers (20 minute walk) and Embankment (25 minute
walk). Make sure to skip the office-commute rush hour as quite a few people take the
boats to work.
You have a City Cycle dock just outside the building. You can see it through the windows! It’s a great way to explore the city
from a different perspective and can be done free of charge or cheaply depending on how you use them.
For all transport information, maps, ticket prices etc., please check out www.tfl.co.uk and make sure to pick up the maps from
any train station.
Feel like Cooking?
Sainsbury’s Supermarket (Victoria
House, Southampton Row, London
WC1B 4DA) – 5 minutes Sainsbury's
Local,
The Co-Op Supermarket (39-43
Gray,s Inn Road London WC1X 8PR) –
3 Minutes
Waitrose Supermarket (Weston
House, 246 High Holborn, London
WC1V 7EX) – 4 minutes
Sainsbury’s Supermarket (129-133
Kingsway, London WC2B 6NH)
– 5 minutes
Marks and Spencer Food Court
(Heron House, 323-324 High Holborn,
London WC1V 7PD) – 5 minutes
Waitrose Supermarket (The Brunswick, Bloomsbury WC1N 1AF) – 8 minutes
Marks and Spencer and Waitrose are upmarket supermarkets. Go here if you are after
something niche or luxurious and be prepared to pay more than you would have other
supermarkets. That said, they both stock day-today essentials and household items at
reasonable prices. I just always get distracted by the fancier stuff!
For meat, I highly recommend the local butcher ‘Mckanna Meats’ on Theobalds Road
(http://www.yelp.co.uk/biz/theobalds-mckanna-meats-london ) which is just a few doors
from the apartment. McKanna supplies meat to many restaurants in the area and they are
lovely people with reasonable prices.
Lots of Shopping
Apart from the world famous department stores like Harrods, Harvey Nicholes and Selfridges, London is also
known for great boutique shopping. Even better, they are usually arranged into themed areas or streets
making it easier to shop. Assuming that you have already done your research, let me note a few things that
you may not have heard of…
Liberty and Fortnum & Mason are great for gifts to take back home if you want to impress. Liberty is great for
prints and Fortnum & Mason is great for little kitschy objects or household items. They can be expensive
though.
Lamb’s Conduit Street is seconds from the building and is known for niche men’s fashion. Some of the
best tailors and men’s shoe makers have their boutiques here. Also, unlike other shopping streets, it is
relatively calm and clean making it a great street to stop for a quick coffee or a bite.
You may already know about Oxford Street (10 minute walk from the apartment) for shopping. But just off
Oxford Street, Carnaby Street, St. Christopher’s Place and Berwick Street offer a much more interesting mix
of boutique and high street shopping that range from breath-taking to madness! Even if you don’t find
anything you like in your price range, the energy and the atmosphere of these streets won’t disappoint you.
If you go to Chelsea or King’s Road, make sure to check out Duke of York Square and the Chelsea Antiques
Markets. They won’t disappoint.
If you go to Covent Garden to shop, you may usually go to Long Acre. But also check out Floral Street, St.
Martin’s Courtyard, Neal’s Yard and Seven Dials for shopping. They host a mix of high street and boutique
shopping.
London Markets!
As for sightseeing …
There are ample tourist attractions within walking distance (British Museum, National Gallery, St. Pauls, Trafalgar Square,
Buckingham Palace, Oxford Street, Covet Garden and much more!).
● Museum entrances are (usually) free. You will only have to pay for
special exhibitions.
● For discounted theatre tickets visit the Tkts booth (see picture to the
left) in Leister Square early on the day you would like to see a show
(see: http://www.tkts.co.uk/ ). Do not buy theatre tickets from agents
as they are usually more expensive.
● On some Thames boats, you can use your Oyster Card for a
discounted price
● Walking is the best way to see London. There are a few companies
which provide free walking tours. See:
http://freelondonwalkingtours.com/)
Coram Fields, a special place to play for families. Coram's Fields is a unique seven acre playground and park for children. It is
very close to the flat, only a 5 minute walk all the way down Lamb’s Conduit Street. It includes a Youth Centre, Children's
Centre, Community Nursery, Sports Programme, a city farm and a cafe which is open from March until October.
http://www.coramsfields.org/
Little Venice. Notting Hill & Holland Park. I used to live on the West side of London and one of my favourite day’s out was to
have a coffee and tiramisu at Lavilles (http://www.cafelaville.co.uk/ ) in Little Venice, a beautiful terrace café that overlooks a
miniature of Venice. I recommend you make a reservation in advance in the outside portion of the café. After a coffee and
dessert, I walk (or bus) to Notting Hill for the famous Portobello Antique Market (http://www.portobellomarket.org/ ). A few
small purchases later, I start walking to Holland Park, by far the best park that I have been to in London (better than Hyde
Park!). There are peacocks walking the pathways, Japanese & rose gardens as well as beautiful structures left by the former
owner ‘Lord Holland’.
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