After the curtain at Piccadilly Circus: hotel companions for W1J and W1D

The Circus, read correctly

The winged figure on the fountain is usually called Eros and is in fact his brother Anteros, cast in aluminium in 1893 as a memorial to the Earl of Shaftesbury. Illuminated advertising has lit the northern corner, in one form or another, since 1908. Below the pavement, the Criterion Theatre plays entirely underground. None of this is quiet, but all of it is five minutes from rooms that are.

Shaftesbury Avenue holds the Lyric, the Apollo, the Gielgud and the Sondheim within a few hundred yards. Haymarket has its Theatre Royal and His Majesty's. Evening performances generally begin at half past seven and finish between ten and half past, and that rhythm sets every booking on this page.

Hotels minutes from the Circus

Hotel Café Royal stands on the curve of Regent Street a minute from the fountain, with its gilded Victorian room for a drink before the show. Ham Yard Hotel hides in a courtyard off Great Windmill Street, three minutes away, with a bar full of orange leather and its own small theatre. The Londoner, on Leicester Square, is five minutes east and tall. Sofitel London St James, on Waterloo Place, is four minutes south down Regent Street St James's.

Companions arrive at all of them as a guest's invited visitor. They are named as landmarks and nothing more; not one of them has an agreement with us.

Stations

Piccadilly Circus station, on the Bakerloo and Piccadilly lines, opens directly onto the Circus, about a minute from any corner. Leicester Square, Northern and Piccadilly lines, is roughly 3 minutes east along Coventry Street. After a show both are crowded for half an hour. A companion booked for after the curtain avoids them entirely and arrives at the hotel.

Timing around a performance

Tickets, seats and the restaurant are the guest's side of the arrangement. The companion's side is to be at the agreed door at the agreed minute, dressed for the stalls, and relaxed about the interval, when most West End theatres let you order drinks in advance and skip the queue at the bar.

There are two ways to book a theatre night. Before: you meet at the hotel or in the theatre bar, watch the performance side by side, and the evening continues after. The dinner date, four hours at £900, holds a performance and a late drink. After: you see the show alone or with colleagues and book company for 22:30 at your hotel, two hours at £500 or three at £700.

For an after-show booking, message the house during the interval or earlier in the day. Confirmation arrives in writing, and a companion usually reaches the hotel 30 to 45 minutes after it. Your room number and full name go to the house over WhatsApp before she sets out, and a standard evening needs its 25 percent deposit, by bank transfer, before the confirmation stands.

Who books near the Circus

Theatre goers, mostly, in town for two or three shows in a week. Visitors at The Londoner or Ham Yard who want the West End at full volume and then its opposite. Business travellers at the Sofitel with a client dinner that ends at ten and an evening that should not. The Circus is the one district on the account where the booking often starts after the guest's own evening has already had its first act.

The theatre night, timed

18:30, a glass at the bar of Ham Yard Hotel. 19:30, curtain up on Shaftesbury Avenue. 22:10, curtain down, and a five minute walk to Brasserie Zédel on Sherwood Street, its art deco rooms below street level, for one drink and the verdict on the second act. 22:30, the dinner date ends there, or carries on if it was booked as an overnight.

Companions who prefer a late start

Theatre and late evenings suit the companions based in Soho and Covent Garden, a few minutes from the Circus. Jasmin, petite and quick, welcomes after-theatre hours. Molly, wavy haired and confident, is at her best on bookings that start at ten or later. Nancy, golden blonde and easy company, and Tina, who dresses better than most of the room, both come from Covent Garden. For a booking that includes the performance, Lea, from Belgravia, is quietly theatrical and ideal company for a curtain time.

Around the Circus

West, the mile of Piccadilly leads to The Ritz. South, Haymarket runs down into St James's. West of Regent Street, the lanes lead into Mayfair and on to Bond Street.