yay, francis, i'm glad to see someone else do what i do all the time: literally translate slovak idioms into english just to puzzle the hell out of everybody. i no longer know which idioms are slovak and which are english. i use them all, then explain at length...
I stayed at that hotel when I was last in London (as did c.i., I think).
Run down - yes, tiny rooms, yes - but cheapish (for London) and really well located. I could walk to and from my dinner with Prince G....