Hotels in Leicester Square
Photo from Flickr by KJGarbutt
Leicester Square nestles in the heart of the West End of London. It lies within the area bounded by Charing Cross Road, Lisle Street, Whitcomb Street and Orange Street. Although there are a limited number of hotels, Leicester Square is close to many more hotels that are but a short walk away from the Square itself.
Although Leicester Square hotels are some of the finest and best value hotels in the city, it is the Square itself that must feature in any itinerary of London wherever you might decide to stay.
In the centre of Leicester Square you will find a small gated park that features an interesting statue of William Shakespeare. The gates themselves have busts of Sir Joshua Reynolds, Sir Isaac Newton, John Hunter, and William Hogarth and there is an inscription of the distances between the square and the far flung outreaches of the onetime British Empire.
But what Leicester Square is really all about is movies. It is the heart of London Cinema and where most film premiers in the city take place. A frequent sight is a patch of red carpet surrounded by railings themselves surrounded by photographer from the press and fans eager to catch a brief glimpse of their Hollywood heroes. Also in true Hollywood fashion you will find numerous paving stones that are embossed with the names of famous film stars along with their hand prints.
The many cinemas that surround or are located close to the Square include the Odeon Leicester Square where most premiers take place and which has 1,680 seats; the Odeon Mezzanine which is a complex of small screens for showing mainly art house and specialist films; the Empire which is also a popular cinema for premiers and which can seat 1,400 people in the main screen and which also has eight smaller auditoria; the Odeon West End with three screens and which is used for small movie premiers; the Vue multiplex; the Odeon Panton Street which has four screens and is located a short walk away from the square; similarly the Prince Charles Cinema which is mainly used for showing art house movies; and finally Cineworld.
Leicester Square dates back to 1635 when Robert Sidney who was the Earl of Leicester built a grand residence there, hence its name, but from the nineteenth century it has been considered to be an important venue for entertainment and as a result several hotels were built there. For over two hundred years visitors have flocked to Leicester Square for their entertainment and they will continue to do so for the foreseeable future.
