Mission #24: The Forgotten Hotel
- Thread starter paolo
- Start date
teuchter
je suis teuchter
I wonder if the advent of multichannel TV contributed to the downfall of the institution.
I never stayed at this 'hotel' but I was once asked to seek hotel accomodation for some managers who were having a meeting in the Elephant & Castle area. I found this hotel listed somewhere and went along with a colleague to take a look. I can confirm that it is exactly how everyone has described and the photos are are a very accurate depiction of how the place was. We met Mr Driscoll who was immaculately dressed in a suit that Simon Cowel would approve of - it was so high waisted (and old fashioned, almost from another century). He also carried an old-fashioned watch on a chain. He showed me and my colleague round his 'hotel' and we could keep a straight face. The rooms were very grim. Very sparce and what furniture there was was mostly broken. He told us about the male/female segregation and how no men were allowed on teh women's floors. He also told us all about his guests from around the world and showed us postcards he received from them. He also took us to the dining area which reminded me of an old boarding school canteen - like those seen on tv. On the serving ledge, there were 3 fruit and jelly deserts, which looked as it they had been sitting there for days! I really wanted the managers to stay at this hotel just so that I could hear their stories about the place but when I described what it was like to my boss, she decided that there was no way any of them were staying there... what a shame!
ymu
Niall Ferguson's deep-cover sock-puppet
No... I think it had been closed for about a year by the time I popped in.
teuchter
je suis teuchter
Was wondering because it looks like the little TV monitors are switched on in this one -
What amazes me is that this place ever stayed in business! When i went to look round, everything was so dirty, old and grubby. As I said in a previous post, all the furniture was mostly broken (I clearly remember the front of draws in many rooms hanging off or just missing) and there were no double beds in any of the rooms. In fact the beds were the worst beds I have ever seen or could imagine seeing - I am sure the worst hostel in the world would have more comfortable and cleaner looking beds! Apart from being surprised that anyone ever paid to to stay there and that the place remain in business for so long, I was also very surprised that H&S inspectors did not close it down because it was so dirty, poorly maintained and as I also mentioned in a previous post, food that looked as if it had been prepared days ago was still left out on the serving counter. Having said all this, the Owner was a real character, he was extremely proud of his hotel and clearly devoted his entire life to running it! Does anyone know if he actually lived on-site?
Was wondering because it looks like the little TV monitors are switched on in this one -
They're for security. Who wasn't in to show us around.
not-bono-ever
meh
Russian security men ?
not-bono-ever
meh
theres a russian flag above the door.....nice pix !
Aha! Alot of their international visitors were from Russia and other soviet states, so probably because of that.
