You know what caught me off guard about ARCORE Premium Apartments? The location is honestly perfect if you’re one of those travelers who wants to feel like they’re actually living in London rather than just visiting it. John Street isn’t one of those touristy strips – it’s this quiet residential road where you’ll see actual Londoners walking their dogs and popping into the corner shop. But here’s the thing: you’re literally a three-minute walk from Russell Square tube station, which means you can be anywhere in central London without dealing with the chaos of staying right in the thick of Leicester Square or Oxford Street.
The apartments themselves feel properly lived-in, in the best way possible. I mean, these aren’t those sterile hotel rooms where everything’s bolted down and you’re afraid to touch anything. The kitchens are actually functional – like, you could genuinely cook a proper meal if you wanted to, not just heat up instant noodles. The living spaces have that satisfying weight to the furniture and decent-sized windows that let in proper light (which, let’s be honest, can be hit or miss in London). What really sold me was the attention to small details – good water pressure in the showers, blackout curtains that actually work, and wifi that doesn’t cut out every time someone in the building opens Netflix. The building itself has this lovely Georgian facade that fits right into the neighborhood’s character, but inside it’s been updated without losing that authentic London flat feeling.
Being in Bloomsbury means you’re surrounded by all these little discoveries you’d never find if you stayed in the obvious tourist zones. There’s this fantastic Ethiopian restaurant called Zeret Kitchen just around the corner that most visitors completely miss, and you’re close enough to walk to the British Museum when it opens (avoiding those awful crowds that roll in after 11am). The neighborhood gets properly quiet after about 9pm, which is brilliant for actually getting some sleep – though you’ll still hear the occasional late-night reveler stumbling home from the pubs near Russell Square. Honestly, with an 8.4 rating, ARCORE sits in that sweet spot where you’re getting solid quality without the pretentious atmosphere of those five-star places that make you feel underdressed for walking through the lobby. It’s the sort of place where you can spread out your maps on the dining table, leave your books scattered around, and actually settle in for a few days rather than just crash between sightseeing marathons.