First of all you are greeted by warm and friendly staff who make your check-in so swift and pleasant. Room service is excellent. The staff help you in organizing your local tours/shows. Breakfast is yummy and pleasant. They have a attractive bar and a beautiful garden. Bedford is very centrally situated and besides having many coffee shop, restaurants, tourist shops on the same street is walking distance to all the major attractions (streets, shops, theatre, pubs etc). Good value for the price you pay for your stay.

I stayed in London from June 8 to June 15, 2011. I found it very hard to find reservations anywhere in London for this week until I found the Beford and it's five sister hotels. All of the hotels in the Imperial London Hotels group had vacancies. The Bedford is about three short blocks from the front of the British Museum on Southhampton Row. Five minutes to the British Museum and a little longer walking to most of the London museums and tourist sports. I had a single for 82 or 84 lbs. per night including breakfast. The room was a delight, recently renovated and spotlessly clean and even with room to move around in the room and a desk and chair. The bed is the usual single, but very comfortable. The bathroom was also renovated and extremely clean and well cared for. Breakfast was buffet style "full English breakfast" with excellent food! The usual ham, eggs, sausage and cereal, but also prunes and orange juice every day! The food was self-server and plentiful. You could eat until you burst. Only coffee and tea was poured by the very efficient waiters. Seriously, this breakfast was great! Quality food and well cooked with quality service. I have nothing bad to say about the hotel, but a caution if you are a light sleeper. The hotel fronts on a busy main road and you have to open the double windows to get air in the room. Very noisy night and day, but I did learn to sleep through it except for the occasional police car screaming down the road. Ask for a room facing the back, which reminds me that there is a very nice garden and quiet area in the back where you can relax. Wifi in the rooms, but my laptop broke so no experience with it. A pay as you go internet terminal in the lobby. This is a "no-frills" hotel done right.

Stayed for 7 nights. Had a nice room on the fifth floor at the back of the hotel, overlooking the garden. Beds nice and comfy. Flat screen TV. Not very many channels though. Breakfast was excellent. Great location for exploring. Would stay again.

When we arrived at the Bedford I must admit that the outside did not bode well for it as it was very dated and dingy looking. However, once we entered the lobby we were pleased to see that it was very clean, bright, and the staff very welcoming.

Our stay included a continental breakfast which consisted of toast, juice, coffee, tea, cereal with milk, and fruit (prunes, grapefruit slices, orange slices). The expanded breakfast (minimal extra cost) included eggs, tomatoes, beans, and ham (Canadian bacon). The menu did not vary but it was always substantial and tasty.

Our room was a triple, which consisted of two twin beds and a cot, which were all surprisingly comfortable (I have some back issues). The toilet is in a separate room from the sink and tub. Our room had nice big windows that faced the back courtyard and it was very quiet and relaxing. We must have had considerate neighbors because even though the walls were somewhat thin, we never had to deal with noise. The room was very clean and bright and the staff did an excellent job of refreshing it every day.

The hotel is on a very busy main street, but our location was ideal for getting around town and we became quite proficient at using the Tube system, which is easy to figure out. Around the corner from the Bedford are the British Museum and the Dickens Museum. If you want to avoid the Tube and expense of a taxi, you can take a bus or just take a longer walk to many places such as Trafalger Square or the bookstore mecca of Charing Cross Road. There are restaurants, gift shops, coffee houses, patisseries, camera stores, pharmacies, small groceries, and a post office all within one block of the hotel.

We used the services of the porter to make reservations for a bus tour to Bath, Stonehenge, and Windsor, all of which we enjoyed. My husband usually avoids bus tours but Evans Evans turned out to be a winner with a terrific guide.

Although London is known for small hotel rooms and high prices, we had sufficient space in our room and the lobby and breakfast room were decent sized. The staff at the Bedford were always polite and helpful, and I can easily recommend this place to anyone looking for a moderately priced hotel (for London), with a good central location.