Ten square metres with views across London

TravelMole’s Diane Evans stayed at the Tune Hotel in King’s Cross

Where else can you buy an overnight London view of the Shard, St Paul’s and ‘the Gherkin’ without paying a premium?

I did just that staying overnight in a pod style room measuring between 8-12 metres squared but boasting a huge round window with a backdrop to die for.

Despite my hesitance at heading off to a ‘no frills’ hotel in King’s Cross, I left the Tune Hotel with nothing but admiration for the concept.

A very short stroll from King’s Cross and let’s face it, easy access both in and out of London, the hotel offers 218 bright, clean and bijou rooms.

They may seem small – and they are – but with most of us staying in London for sightseeing and nightlife, what do you need other than a comfortable bed and a power shower in the morning? Save your money for the shops.

My fellow guests were a mixed bunch. Lots of Europeans waiting for London tour buses as well as some upmarket corporate types but I only heard them in the morning when the lobby was bustling – apparently they’ve been enjoying 90% occupancy of late.

At the moment the mix is 80% leisure and 20% corporate but there’s room for growth in the latter. 40% are British with the rest from Europe, mainly Scandinavia, Spain and Italy.

The brainchild of low cost airline AirAsia founder and QPR football club owner Tony Fernandes, there are 21 Tune hotels across Asia.  London has four – King’s Cross, Liverpool Street, Paddington and Westminster – plus one set to open in December near Edinburgh’s Haymarket station.

"He was always told by his passengers that the flights were fantastic value but prices when they got there were scandalous," said general manager Stuart Clay.

And so the concept was born for basic serviced rooms with the focus on comfortable beds, good showers and convenient locations – a few minutes walk from a train station.

Just like the low cost airlines – you can pick and choose what you pay for here. Windowless rooms are the cheapest with prices starting from £35. On top of that you add whatever you want – towels, hairdryer, TV, safety deposit box, Wifi – or pay the £7 comfort package for the lot.  You can also pay extra for early check-in or left luggage.

This King’s Cross hotel opened on 9^th July by Queensway who own the franchise rights within the M25.

The beautiful building has been carefully converted from the old Iron and Steel Trades Confederation (union) headquarters to include 163 rooms with windows and 55 without.

Architect plans from days gone by are featured on the wall along with stories of former Prime Minister Tony Blair presenting to members in the amphitheatre.  This made the visit more poignant for me as I discovered my father-in-law, who was once general secretary, had his office on the second floor.

As I came and went the reception staff were friendly and helpful – even helping me with the card key lock that always seem to foil me. The company philosophy is on customer service whether an applicant has hospitality experience or not, and you can tell.

There’s no restaurant as such but you can get 24-hour refreshments including coffee and snacks in the morning plus there’s a pub a few doors away that I was told does a good cooked breakfast.

All in all it does what it says on the tin without leaving you with the ‘fleeced’ feeling you can get in London. What a breath of fresh air – next time I can return without the reticence!

For more information see http://www.tunehotels.com/uk