Driscoll House, New Kent Road

It would be wonderful if they had an opening tour before opening officially! So pleased it's still there.

Great news!`

This is good -- should bring some nice 24/7 footfall to a rather desolate area at present.

I would love to see the motor vehicle repair/oil change and brown-brick warehouses removed and replaced with flats and/or shops on both sides of the road in the future -- anything with ground-level retail that faces the street.

Maybe, ultimately, get rid of the gas station, too.

I just had a look around in the new Driscoll House, thanks to a chap called Zahar who seems to be in charge. It's like one of the big modern hostels I have stayed in in Scandinavia, and looks very nice.

They have kept some quirky touches of the old Driscoll House decor, for example the lovely old red and pale green tiles, and I noticed one of the old TV rooms (now a self-service restaurant) still has the "BBC2" sign on the door. Driscoll had different rooms for different TV channels.

It's a soft launch, still a work in progress, and no bar or restaurant open yet, and not many guests. Singles are £40 a night, doubles £50, and there are also dorm style rooms. Some have ensuite.

I put in a word for meeting or function rooms that locals could use or hire, and Zahar said it's a good idea.

The website spells accommodation with only one m, but I will let that go.

http://www.restup.co.uk/

I have updated the Wikipedia page accordingly!

Well impressed you also updated the wiki page as well!

Oh Well Done Andrew H...good thinking about the hiring out of rooms for meetings etc.

Next year will be the centenery of the building. It opened as a women's hostel called Ada Lewis House in 1913. I hope something is planned to mark the centenary.

Andrew H wrote:

Next year will be the centenery of the building. It opened as a women's hostel called Ada Lewis House in 1913. I hope something is planned to mark the centenary.

The lowdown on Ada Lewis House can be found on the English Heritage page here.

That was very informative; I know Mr. Driscoll took great pride in providing housing to elderly females and international students, later international visitors to London. He also provided a great breakfast and dinner; I remember dinner was served at 5.30 pm promptly and there was always a line of people waiting! Thank you for the link Merlin Rouge.

Terrific update Andrew, thanks. And I'm going to pop down and have a shufty asap.