Living In a Box

First though I had to get checked into my new (cheaper) hotel. It was a 'bargain' on Lastminute.com, a 'secret hotel', supposedly four star, in Kensington, and reasonably priced. Certainly Rydges on Gloucester Road was a stone's throw from the Gloucester Road tube station and so very convenient. Downstairs, though small, was reasonably appointed. So far, so good. The room though, 109, was a disappointment. After the space of my hotel room on Regent's Street, this was tiny, less a room than a corridor. Certainly outside of the space for the bed and wardrobe, the room was scarcely much wider than my suitcase. There was a lovely high roof, but being higher than the room was long, it only served to highlight the deficiencies of the whole arrangement. The furniture was nice though and, despite a slight shabbiness (scratches and small tears in the wallpaper), the room very clean. Still next time, I swore, I'd go back to that guesthouse in Balham, the one I stayed in some weeks back. Later when I discovered how thin the walls were, and how loud voiced my neighbours were, my resolve was strengthened.