Goodenough Club

The Goodenough Club is attached to the Goodenough College in the Bloombury district of London. The Goodenough College provides housing for foreign students and the Goodenough Club provides housing for visiting academics. Be sure to tell them if you are associated with a college or university to get the (albeit small) discount.
The location is quite good. It is about a four block walk to the Russell Square tube station, about a 20 minute walk to the British Library, Kings Cross, St. Pancras and (in the opposite direction) to the British Museum. Across the street from the hotel is their private garden which you can access by getting a key from the front desk. Within the same section is also an open garden.
There is a negative review here that I suspect was someone staying at the William Goodenough House, which is for students. The Goodenough Club is quite different.
There are two locations for breakfast, in the basement of the Goodenough Club and at the Goodenough College building next door. The college breakfast is a full English breakfast, but is intended for students. It wasn’t high quality in my opinion. The breakfast in the Goodenough Club is yogurt, cereals, rolls, cheeses, sliced meats, fruit, and hot drinks. We preferred this breakfast to the student breakfast.
If you can get the academic discount, I recommend this.

I stayed here with a study abroad group for three weeks over summer. They ran out of hot water constantly, only allowed the complimentary breakfast if both roommates were in the caf at the same time, and generally were very unhelpful. My room had two twin beds that were pushed together to form one big bed. I’d never met my roommate before… awkward.
The cleaning service complained about our whole group and threatened to call our University if we did not clean up after ourselves. Strange, that the MAIDS would say that when it is their job to clean the rooms. After that, we all asked for more hangers and trashcans, to try to accommodate, but the front desk said they did not have extras to hand out, and that we would have to take out our own trash.
One morning, at 7:30 am, the cleaning crew walked into our room. They did not knock and give us a chance to respond, but three strange men just walked in while my roommate and I were sleeping. I said that was unacceptable and DANGEROUS, and asked if they could come back in a few hours. These men agreed. Then, at 8:00 am, the head housekeeper walked in with the same men and lectured us. She said they came in early because we had the ‘No Cleaning Service’ sign up for too long. I told her that we were aware, and when we wanted service, we would take it down. What kind of hotel denies the request of a guest and sends cleaning crews anyways! I felt like I was a teenager getting reprimanded by my mother, who was sure I was on drugs. It was absolutely ridiculous. I even pointed out to her that the book with hotel information stated that cleaning service would come between 9:30 and 3 pm, and they simply walked in at 7:30 AM!
My roommate’s shoes broke one day, so she put them outside for maintenance to throw away. They sat there for a week and they refused to do anything. Again, we called the front desk, and this time they denied any knowledge of that. There was a huge lack of communication between the maids and upper management.
I do not recommend staying here. It seems like a good deal, but unless you want to be treated rudely by an entitled staff and not get everything you paid for, it’s not worth it.

Stayed here on a school trip from 27−12−11 through 11−1−12. As noted, rooms are clean, though not large. Located a few blocks from King’s Cross/​St. Pancras station it provides easy access to most of London (and beyond).
The food at Freddie’s is for the students meaning it is filling yet unremarkable. The staff is friendly & attentive. Wi-​fi is available at the Club & the college.

The Club is connected to Goodenough College, and provides temporary, hotel quality accommodation for academics visiting London. The building itself was designed by Joseph Kay, and built in the early 19^th Century, after the land to the east of the Foundling Hospital was sold off. The design is supposed to look like a palace façade, and was immensely popular with wealthy Londoners, to whom the terraced housing was sold almost immediately.
The building was taken over by Goodenough College in the 1930s, and became a home for nurses during WWII, only to be handed back to the college in a rather dilapidated state in 1989. The building was then renovated and became Goodenough Club, with a variety of rooms and apartments, suitable for short stays in London.
Keeping the original terraces largely intact, the Club is a rabbit warren, of different sized rooms, all with their own bathroom. It also has a few modern rooms built in what was once the back yards of some of the houses. The rooms are clean and well decorated, but not necessarily spacious. The staff are friendly and helpful, with many of them working for both the Club and Goodenough College, on either side of Mecklenburgh Square. Food is served in the extremely grand London House dining hall, where the residents of the college eat. As such, the food is filling and well priced, but not particularly high quality.
The Club’s facilities include, a laundry, a garden with tennis court and children’s play area, and an opportunity to take part in the social life of Goodenough College. A great central place to stay if you are in London for a conference, or with a family.