Review of the Windmill Guest House in Cricklewood, London

I went on a business trip to London. To save my company money (and to make it possible for them to say "yes" to me visiting this fantastic city), I booked a Bed & Breakfast in a residential area some distance from the offices in Central London.  This is called the Windmill Guest House.  This guest house was 40 GBP/night while the company-approved hotel in Central London was 141 GBP/night.  I was popular with my bosses.

Cricklewood Broadway is a lively residential area with tons of small restaurants, pubs and food & wine stores

The basic room is 40 GBP (about $60) and suited me fine. No frills, though! Keep in mind that most people in this area live in flats that are maybe 400 square feet, so this 130 or so square feet is on par.

The Windmill is a small B&B/hotel above a nice pub.  It was never rowdy or loud and I ate there a few times.  The food was good, but some of the dishes weren't my style.  That's it, not to my taste.  They weren't weird or creepy.  I'm a basic meat and  potatoes guy and that's my problem not theirs.  Pubs close at 11p in London (I mean... wow, for the undeserved reputation for drunkeness England has, this was shocking news... I figured they'd be open 24/7).

I first arrived by cab, having flown into Heathrow then taken the Heathrow Express from the airport to Paddington station, square in Central London.  I didn't know my way so I hailed a cab from the dozens parked in waiting.  For 20 GBP he took me the 4 or 5 miles to my hotel, all the while wondering what in the world I wanted to stay in Cricklewood for.  The drive up was interesting, with a healthy holiday crowd (it was the day after Easter Sunday and most of the UK was on Holiday still) mixing on the streets and sidewalks.  There were tons of shops, especially as we drove through Kilburn.

On the way, I asked the driver if he took credit cards and he said no, just cash.  Then he flashed a panicky look at me and asked "Do you have English money?"  I had hit an ATM at Heathrow, so I told him yes.  Finally we made it to my hotel and he dropped me off.  So, there I am with two big bags that say "I'm from out of town!" to all the locals milling about and I can't find the door to the B&B, since it looked more like a pub.  There is a call box on the outside door, which I tried and found locked.

The lady on the other end was French and we had trouble communicating.  I discovered that I need a code to get in, but we couldn't get it understood what the code was.  The outside door turned out to be unlocked, though stiff to open, and I made it off the street at least.  Then I was rescued by an Englishwoman who gave me the code and shepherded me inside.

I booked in and found my room surprisingly small.  After about 10 seconds I was okay, though.  I didn't need much more than a bed, a shower and the Internet.  After 15 minutes of punching in a password to the wifi, I went and asked about the Internet.  After an hour or so, they reset their router and finally I got on.  I was a little stressed from 24 hours awake, no phone to call my coworkers (the room had no phone, the pay phone near the front entrance was not working and the desk was not manned for awhile) but I used the front desk phone and called a friend and got it all worked out in the end.

I explored a bit, walking first to the local Tube station and inquiring about an Oyster card, which gives you access to the Tube (search Tube on my web site and you'll find other blog posts about the Underground and London in general).  A map in hand, card in pocket and google maps on my newly connected laptop and I was secure in how to get to work the next morning.

Against my better judgement, I took a nap. It was a beautiful, glorious nap, in a comfy bed on a cool day with the windows open on my second-floor, street facing room.  Traffic and pedestrian noise bustled outside.  I skyped with my family when I awoke (they were just waking in the morning) and went off on a walk to Gladstone park and back, along residential streets unlike anything I'd seen before.  Rows and rows of houses squished together with tiny cars parked up near the doors.  The neighborhood seemed nice and clean and the people in the park were happy. There was nothing wrong with it, it was simply different.  And, it was the reason I wanted to stay in that area, instead of in a more common tourist spot.

The Windmill had a basic morning breakfast in the pub.  Cereal, toast, coffee (Excellent coffee, actually) and tea.  It wasn't my usual, but it did the job, since I'm not a big-breakfast-first-thing guy anyway.  There are tons of coffee and pastry shops everywhere, and full on English breakfast places.  The Windmill would also cook to order (for a small price) a normal English breakfast.

The main problems with the Windmill Guest House was the spotty wifi, which didn't work at all most of the nights I was there.  That sucked and left much me mucho lonely and homesick.  I think that a business traveller like me probably was expecting a little too much from it, but a solid Internet connection would be great thing for them to improve.

The only other issue was the street noise on my side.  There were rooms on the other side that probably weren't noisy.  The building itself was older but very well kept and solid.  No noise from within.  It was simply out my window.  I live in a small town and in a back bedroom in a quiet residential area, so this is also something that may be more me than the Windmill.  Everyone else who lived or stayed on that street was probably used to it.  One night in particular stood out, noise-wise (a Saturday night with a lot of sirens) but the rest of the time I was not overly bothered.

The people were friendly when I saw them, though another small issue was the desk was attended only sporadically (so I couldn't even mention the wifi problem for a few days... I didn't see anyone).  Again, this is a small B&B, not a fancy hotel, so adjust expectations. It was just a small issue.

This is not a bad part of town, but you need to be cautious being out alone and on the Tube.  I just was aware of where I was and who was around me and was fine.  This is the way I act in my own town, though, so it was in-character for me.  I don't hear well so I use my eyes to help my ears.  The area to the north (Brent Cross) and just south (Kilburn) have an old reputation of being a little rough, but a friend/coworker says that reputation is unearned or outdated.  I had no issues but tried to blend in a bit.

The hotel was low-price and the rooms were extremely basic. I liked it, though. It's a different country and a big city where flats only three times as large as that room go for a thousand pounds or more per month.  The mattress was comfy, they cleaned the room daily.  There was no room phone.  The room was access by a key, not a card-swipe.  The front-door had a code (easy to memorize).  It was about a 45-60 minute commute to my offices near Holborn station in Central London.  I got on at Kilburn Station.  That's Kilburn Station on the Jubilee Line, not Kilburn Park or Kilburn High Road station on the overground, BTW.

Would I stay here again?  Yes and no.  Yes if it were my first time in London again, no because it will not be.  I want to stay in other places.  On this particular trip (extended longer than it should be because of the Iceland Volcano), I've already stayed in four different hotels.  I wouldn't pass up a chance to be at a place like the Windmill because it means I understand a little more about what it is like to live in London, not just visit the sites.  That's me, though.  I am a bit snobby about travel and want to be educated about how people live more than I'm interested in seeing Big Ben or Buckingham Palace.  Nothing wrong if you are the polar opposite.  We're just different and we're both right.  And like I said, I'm a bit snobby about the whole thing.  I want to see this other side of London.