If you want to feel like a London "belonger"' Stephen's place is perfect. He has the check in process down to a fine art and he allowed us tocheck in as soon as the room was clean (and I do mean clean!) I was told that some years ago, it was a very dodgy neighborhood. That is not so today. It is very cosmopolitan. The people are very friendly and helpful with directions and bus # and times. The tube is a bit of a walk if you are our age ( mid 60's) but the bus is is a breeze. There are restaurants of all kinds (Stephen's guide is spot on) with in an easy walk and the famous Elephant and Castle area is going thru a lovely renovation that means the "hood" is just getting better.