Exploring Bloomsbury: one of London’s oldest and exclusive area

Today here at Boutique London Lets it is a very big day as we are thrilled to introduce you our brand new apartments, The Albany Serviced Apartments, magnificent studios and one-bedroom apartments.

The Albany Serviced Apartments

They are located in Bloomsbury, one of London’s oldest and exclusive area, location of the British Museum, the British Library and many more attractions.

Let’s begin our fantastic journey and discover this amazing district.

King's Cross Station

We are in King’s Cross station, a major railway and underground station in London. There are 6 underground lines (the Piccadilly line is the same line which can bring you directly from Heatrow Airport to here in 40 minutes) and also St Pancras International Station for the Eurostar service. Eurostar operate all train services through the Channel Tunnel to Continental Europe. It is also a great example of Victorian architecture and a triumph of nineteenth century architecture inside. 

King's Cross Station is also near many tourist attractions including The British Library and Regent's Park.

Located just 5 minutes from it you will find our Albany Apartments. So, there is no need for a taxi once you will arrive in London! 

Brunswick shopping centre

Right on your doorstep there is the Brunswick shopping centre that allows you to shop, eat and meet in the glorious surroundings of Bloomsbury. It has all you need just next to your accommodation. 

Heading to the British Museum, we passed through Russell Square, a great public place, completely redeveloped last year. 

Russell Square

The spring is coming and the café is perfect to enjoy the atmosphere of surrounding Bloomsbury back into the area's biggest central square. There is also a small ground-level water fountain and a statue attesting to the permanent status of the Russell family. 

Café in Russell Square

We also found this small green huts called cabman's shelter. The Cabmen's Shelter Fund was established in London in 1875 to run shelters for the drivers of cabs. By law, cab drivers could not leave the cab stand while their cab was parked there. This made it very difficult for them to obtain hot meals. Most of these shelter were staffed by an attendant who sold food and (non-alcoholic) drink to the cabbies and were provided with a kitchen in which the attendant could cook this food.Thirteen of the shelters still exist and are still run by the Cabmen's Shelter Fund and the one in Russell square is one of them.

Cabman's shelter in Russell Square

Nearby there is also Torrington Square with its great market where, every Thursday, you can find right in the heart of Bloomsbury, a good selection of farm products and hot food to take away. This fantastic market could represent a valid escape from your office or meeting for an hour. You can pop down and grab some fresh food and fresh air. 

Our journey has finished now and we hope you have enjoyed this virtual trip in Bloomsbury and we look forward to seeing you in London! 

by Sara Laccone

The Advantages of Corporate Accommodations

Business-related travel has become more and more common over the last decade, thanks in part to globalisation. It’s possible for companies to have international partners, suppliers, stakeholders, and consumers--and for managers to need to fly to another part of the world to discuss a potential business venture or check on a project. 

In the past, the typical accommodations provided to corporate personnel are hotels. This is a good option if you only plan to stay for a couple of days, but it’s not unheard-of for a business trip to last for weeks, or even months. For longer stays, a hotel room is not cost-effective solution and the hotel environment does not provide the homey feel that you would crave for if you’ve been far away from your family for such a long time. The better option is to book corporate accommodations like apartments to let. 

A Survival Guide to Checking if a Hotel is Good Enough For The Boss

In every company, there’s an unwritten rule: the boss must be happy. This applies both to greater corporate objectives like achieving sales targets, to small details like making sure that he gets the most comfortable accommodations during his next business trip. If he hates the accommodations, or has a hard time getting around, or worst of all, can’t get a decent night’s sleep, he’ll chew out the HR personnel or secretary who arranged it: “if you can’t get a simple business trip right, how can I trust you to manage bigger things?” 

However, your boss’ comfort is not the only factor. You have to consider the costs, and the need to spend as efficiently as possible, given the budget.  Is there such a thing as affordable luxury? This survival can help you manage all the aspects of finding accommodations for your boss.

The history of the London Underground

London Underground was formed in 1985, but its history dates back to 1863 when the world's first underground railway opened.

It is one of the busiest underground railway networks in the world and the Underground system is also colloquially called the Tube.

Today, London Underground carries more than three million passenger every day in its 11 lines, serves 275 stations and has over 408 kilometres (250 mi) of track, 45 per cent of which is underground.

The tube is an international icon for London, with the tube map, considered a design classic, having influenced many other transport maps worldwide. 

The Metropolitan line opened on 9 January 1863. The first stretch measured six kilometres (nearly four miles) and ran between Paddington (Bishop's Road) and Farringdon Street.

The early tunnels were mainly using the cut-and-cover method. This caused widespread disruption, and required the demolition of many properties on the surface. The first trains were steam-hauled, requiring effective ventilation to the surface. Ventilation shafts at various points on the route allowed the engines to expel steam and bring fresh air into the tunnels.

On 7 December 1869 the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway started operating between Wapping and New Cross Gate on the East London Railway (ELR) using the Thames Tunnel built by Marc Brunel, enabled by the revolutionary tunnelling shield method.

Following advances in the use of this method, electric traction and deep-level tunnel designs, later railways were built deeper underground. This caused much less disruption at ground level, and it was therefore cheaper than and preferable to the cut-and-cover construction method.

Curiosity:

There are about 40 abandoned or relocated stations on the Underground network along its entire 408Km of trackway, some subsurface and some above ground. Some have vanished without trace whereas others are almost intact.

This winter you will have the possibility to explore Aldwych, one of London’s closed underground stations. London Transport Museum is opening the station up to the public for a rare chance to glimpse what happens to a station after the public leave.

And don't forget that next year it will be the 150th anniversary of the London Underground!

Boutique London Lets will be here to keep you up to date.

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