Camberwell is inner-city London yet a place that few London visitors go. This hasn’t deterred brothers Mel and Jose Raido from converting a down-at-the-heels hotel into a B&B they hope will attract “creative people” off the beaten track. The big lure is the price: Rooms cost from $140 (single, sharing a bathroom) to $260 (luxury double with air con and DVD), which is unbeatable value.
WHAT’S THE BIG WOW?
Bold design. The differently decorated rooms have a strong Spanish-Americana theme, with vibrant color washes, hand-painted tiles, Frida Kahlo art, and Catholic iconography; don’t expect pastels or minimalism. There’s also a good, if raffishly masculine, selection of DVDs (Fight Club, Se7en) and books (Hunter S. Thompson, Bob Dylan) to peruse.
LIKED BEST
The very personal service. Although a bit amateurish (after ringing for half a minute, our booking call was answered by a sheepish “Hello?”), the young proprietors are eager to please and even offered to run us to the tube station by car. Sweet. And the breakfast’s no English fry-up: The pastries and other organic produce were excellent. There’s no restaurant or bar attached, though a tapas bar is planned.
LIKED LEAST
The location. Camberwell Green is still a rough neighborhood with few redeeming features and three times the London average for street crime. It doesn’t have a tube station, so getting to and from the rest of London means either braving a 45-minute bus journey through urban blight or paying $15 for a taxi to the nearest tube station (the Oval) or $60 to the West End. Unless you are an urban pioneer who can’t resist the edginess of discovering the next (maybe) hipster hangout, it’s hard to see why a visitor would want to stay there.
WHO SHOULD STAY THERE?
Groups of friends who feel confident using the public transport system.
WOULD YOU GO BACK?
If I had to stay in the area, definitely. But why would I?
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