Club Quarters Hotel Trafalgar Square

[RonPaula]

This hotel looks like a nice property. Is this in a good location as far as a few attractions within easy walking distance? It’s my first time to London and I use a wheelchair, so my needs are a bit different from a typical visitor. Thank you

 

[bunnyette]

It might be easier to check TripAdvisor for a review 

[markeb]

What do you want to see and how mobile are you?

 

The location is just outside Trafalgar Square. So the National Gallery, National Portrait Gallery, Nelson’s Column, etc. A lot of sites close by. A short distance to Westminster Palace, Elizabeth Tower, housing Big Ben, etc.  My only concern is that my memory is of some fairly steep and irregular passages, and subway connections from The Strand into Trafalgar Square and I’d have to ask someone if there are lifts or only stairs. All of which “could” limit the convenience of the location. 
 

But yes. Good location. There is no perfect location in London. 

[Post Captain]

9 hours ago, RonPaula said:

This hotel looks like a nice property. Is this in a good location as far as a few attractions within easy walking distance? It’s my first time to London and I use a wheelchair, so my needs are a bit different from a typical visitor. Thank you

 

 

Hello RonPaula ~

 

Well, I'll try to provide a little more information than the first poster gave, although my response comes with a few caveats.  Since you say your needs "are a bit different from a typical visitor," I'm not entirely sure how helpful my comments will be, but here goes.

 

First, are you traveling solo, or with a companion who will be able to help maneuver your wheelchair?  I only ask because I would think that would make a difference when it comes to crossing busy streets and intersections or if you want to get into a particular attraction where an accessible entrance is not immediately obvious.

 

Secondly...  Although I've heard and read good things about the Club Quarters, I've never stayed their nor been inside, so I can't vouch for the quality of the hotel personally.  But I've walked past it a number of times and am familiar with the surrounding area.  (Incidentally, there are two or three other hotels from the chain in London; I prefer the location of the one at Lincoln's Inn Fields, about a mile or so away--a more sedate bucolic setting, near the Inns of Court.  But that's a purely personal preference, after visiting London numerous times over a period of--yikes!--50 years!)

 

Thirdly...  Although the Trafalgar Square/ Charing Cross area is considered the geographic center of London, London is so widely spread out (for miles in every direction) that no one location is close to every "attraction."  No matter what part of London you stay in, you have to accept that not everything you might want to see is "just around the corner."  Also, this area is quite busy, with lots of traffic and crowded sidewalks (especially around Trafalgar Square itself)--so that's something to consider.  Think of Trafalgar Square as the hub of a wheel, with a number of spokes radiating out from the center.  Those spokes are roads.  Traffic from at least five major thoroughfares all meets at Trafalgar Square.  However, the advantage of this location is that numerous bus routes also converge at or near Trafalgar Square.  

 

London buses are wheelchair friendly, although they can get crowded. I believe the driver is supposed to lower a platform at the rear door of the bus and help the wheelchair user on and off. I have witnessed this a number of times, so that is something you might want to look into further. Not all Underground stations are wheelchair accessible, although some are. Check this page on the Transport for London (the agency that operates London's public transportation system) website:

 

https://tfl.gov.uk/help-and-contact/

 

Under the Accessible travel heading on that page, there are links to several other pages that give more information about specific issues affecting travelers who require accessible travel options.

 

As far as attractions "within easy walking distance" of the Club Quarters hotel... I suppose that depends a bit on how you define "easy walking distance."  The nearest major attraction is the National Gallery, just on the opposite side of Trafalgar Square, about five minutes' walk from the hotel.  (The stairs leading up to the main entrance are quite formidable, but there is an accessible entrance at ground level just to the right of the main entrance as you face the museum.  The National Gallery is one of the great museums of its type; if you are interested in great works of art from any period, it is certainly a "must-see."  You could well spend a day there and not take in everything.

 

Right across the road from the National Gallery (to the right, as you face the front of the museum) is the church of St. Martin in the Fields.

 

On Whitehall, around the corner (sort of) from the hotel is Whitehall, where many government departments (e.g., the Treasury, the Foreign Office) are headquartered in imposing buildings.  You can also get a glimpse of 10 Downing Street through the gates about two-thirds of the way down Whitehall, on the right-hand side.  In the middle of the road is the Cenotaph, a monument (designed by Luytens) honoring the dead of the First World War (WWI).  This is where a solemn ceremony is held every Remembrance Day.

 

As you're going down Whitehall, you'll see the Elizabeth Tower (commonly but erroneously referred to as Big Ben.  (To be boringly pedantic, Big Ben is the name of the largest bell within the tower--the one that rings the hour.)  I'm not sure if the tower is still encased in scaffolding; it had been for several years while restoration work was underway.  A short distance away, more or less opposite the Houses of Parliament, is Westminster Abbey (and also a smaller church, St. Margaret's, apparently dating from the 12th century.

 

While I'm thinking of it, there's one other place I personally love that's close to the hotel but that might not be immediately obvious to the tourist:  the Golden Jubilee pedestrian bridge, adjacent to the Hungerford railway bridge that spans the River Thames between the back of Charing Cross Station and the South Bank.  (Or, to be pedantic again, the Jubilee bridge is actually two bridges, one on either side of the Hungerford bridge.)  When crossing the more easterly of the two Jubilee bridges, I never fail to be moved by the views downstream, with the great dome of St Paul's Cathedral rising in the distance...  According to this web page, the Golden Jubilee bridges are fully accessible at both ends:

 

https://www.euansguide.com/venues/golden-jubilee-bridges-london-1000/reviews/a-hidden-bridge-with-a-view-898

 

(When you come out of the Club Quarters, turn right and continue a short distance--the bridge will be right ahead of you.  Apparently the lifts up to the bridge are hard to find if you don't know where they are--I don't recollect ever seeing them, but they're there, and I'm sure someone in the area will be able to give you precise directions if you ask.  In the meantime, for more detailed information about accessibility of the bridge, see the two reviews posted on that page.)

 

Anyway...  I hope you find this helpful.  I didn't mean to go on at such length, and it's well past my bedtime, so I'll end here for now!

 

________

 

Post script (edit):  While I was typing all this, markeb replied with some excellent advice that says much more concisely what I was trying to say in my long-winded way!

Edited September 16, 2021 by Post Captain

[Cotswold Eagle]

3 hours ago, markeb said:

my memory is of some fairly steep and irregular passages, and subway connections from The Strand into Trafalgar Square

I think you may be referring to the numerous entrances/exits to Charing Cross Underground Station, which are indeed often used as pedestrian underpasses. 
 

There are surface level, lights-controlled pedestrian crossings on all the roads surrounding Trafalgar Square, so no need to go underground. A recent boon has been the pedestrianisation of the side of the Square in front of the National Gallery. 

Edited September 16, 2021 by Cotswold Eagle