Hotel near the Royal Opera House

Royal Opera House,Covent Garden, WC2E
Nearest Tube: Covent Garden

Londons answer to La Scala sits on the corner of Covent Garden's main plaza with nearly 400 years of history behind its lavish white porticos.

Everything about it is regal, from the £178m interior filled with bars, eateries and expansive luxury to its resident companies, the Royal Ballet, Royal Opera and in-house orchestra, providing classical entertainment on a par with any other performance house in the world.

All this eminence was but a glimmer in the eyes of John Rich, founder of the then-Theatre Royal in 1728.

The area then an exotic fruit market and vestige of prostitutes and pickpockets flanked by the worst kind of London slums, the theatre began life in fierce competition with Drury Lane, as the only two London playhouses legally allowed to present drama.

Despite its insalubrious surroundings the theatre thrived, and Handel became an early musical director of the Covent Garden Company, presenting his Messiah to a royal audience in 1743. Handel's organ went up in flames along with the rest of the theatre in 1808, and its second incarnation was greeted with riots in protest at actor-manager John Philip Kemble's new pricing policy; the riff-raff got their way after three months of unrest, and affordable performances of opera, ballet, clownery and Shakespeare were soon back on the playbill.

Soon renamed the Royal Italian Opera, after another burning down incident - next time you're in a West End theatre pray for thanks that gaslit auditoriums are a thing of the distant past - the new theatre of 1858 became the undisputed centre of opera and ballet in London.

Major improvements in the 90s added some more lustre to the interior, and there's a constant programme of heavyweight opera classics in production as well as favourite ballets like Swan Lake and Giselle, always of the highest possible quality.

They're also first to try and break the myth of opera and ballet as an 'elite' art form - in the past opening nights have been screened live in cinemas around the country, and a recent promotion saw Sun newspaper readers receive the best seats in the house for as little as £7.50.

UNDERGROUND: Covent Garden tube station on the Piccadilly Line

BUSES: 1, 4, 6, 9, 11, 13, 15, 23, 26, 68, 76, 77a, 91, 168, 171, 176, 188, 501 (southbound only), 505, 521, X68 all go to the Aldwych, which is close to the Theatre.

PARKING: There is no designated parking at the Royal Opera House. The nearest NCP car parks are five minutes walk away at Drury Lane and Shelton Street. There is a drop-off point outside the Bow Street entrance. A limited number of orange badge bays are available in the vicinity, but are not reserved for the use of Royal Opera House patrons.

The Box Office, Royal Opera House Shop, Information Desk and Cloakroom are situated at the entrance level below the Paul Hamlyn Hall. Counter heights at the Box Office, in the bars and at some public telephone points are designed to be accessible for wheelchair users. One Box Office sales position, the Information Desk and bars have induction loops to assist customers with impaired hearing. Menus are available in large print. The Bow Street/Piazza Link Coffee Shop is also accessible to wheelchair users.

Nineteen wheelchair spaces are available at every performance in the main auditorium. These are located in the Stalls Circle, Grand Tier, Balcony and Upper Amphitheatre.

372 Strand, West End, London WC2R 0JJ UK
Covent Garden

The Strand Palace is only a very few minutes easy stroll to Covent Garden, the London Eye and Drury Lane. The hotel is located on the Strand in the West End and is close to many theatres, restaurants and bars. To its north lies Holborn and Russell Square, an area that is home to the British Museum, whilst to the east lies Tottenham Court Road, Trafalgar Square and the National Gallery.

Bedford Avenue, West End, London WC1B 3AS
Tottenham Court Road

Our most popular tried and tested 3 star hotel in the West End of London. The St Giles is only a short walk away from the Royal Opera House