By Denis Sheehan, FIH: Litmus test of Citadines Trafalgar Square.
If like me you are based outside of London, and most of your business contacts are in London, scheduling meetings, travel, and stays requires much planning. The equation to achieve optimal efficiency of course is a moving feast, and one that has too many nuances to fully explore here. The outcome of such trips being the real litmus test of effective planning.
Being able to temporarily locate in central London and not trade too many home comforts in doing so is an option I recently explored. The results will fundamentally change how I manage my time in future.
For me, and many in our industry I am sure, minimising cost is a big part of business. On occasion without factoring how increasing cost in one area could potentially lead to reducing it more so in others and thereby increase the return on investment by doing so.
I try as much as is practical to schedule meetings in a way that gets as many as possible done in as compact a time frame as possible. That often precludes early mornings, late afternoons and early evenings as travel time to and from London is about two hours depending on exactly where meetings take place. Most are in central London, so due to an unusually busy meeting schedule over three days I decided to try out staying at a hotel apartment at Citadines Trafalgar Square on Northumberland Avenue for two nights.
The location of Citadines Trafalgar Square offers a two minute stroll to Charing Cross Tube connecting you to London’s central underground network. Over three days I ventured by tube to Knightsbridge, Kensington, Belgravia, and Hammersmith, and was also able to walk to other meetings in nearby St. James’s.
My meetings started earlier than I often schedule, fuelled by an excellent continental breakfast at the hotel apartment. Others took place over dinner with the luxury of a short tube journey or walk back to my temporary home, Citadines Trafalgar Square.
The apartment I stayed at was the least expensive option, a studio apartment. It was stylish and modern, aptly furnished with all the amenities and services required for a short business stay.
The studio was fitted with a fully-equipped kitchenette, giving me the option of cooking and preparing my own meals, and cleaning them up via the built-in dishwasher. I didn’t take the option due to eating out, but it was viable. There is also a Tesco a few hundred yards away for anyone that wants to cook for themselves.
There was a very comfortable double bed, an en-suite bathroom, a television and excellent wireless Internet service.
If you are reading this and already operate similarly you may think I should have woken up to working like this years ago, I agree. If you haven’t tried it, I suggest you do, as you may just like me not only achieve more but get back home feeling far fresher than old travel habits allowed.
Citadines Trafalgar Square certainly passed my litmus test, and I shall be returning soon.
More information is available here.