TO CELEBRATE World Book Day on Thursday, two guests are as a result of spend the night in St Paul’s Cathedral, and bask within the literary paradise of the recently restored library — a “charming and enrapturing space”, Airbnb guarantees.
The homestay rental company is offering two adults a “once-in-a-lifetime” overnight stay within the “bedroom section of the Hidden Library”, for a fee of just £7 (reflective of seven March). This includes dinner at a restaurant near by, breakfast the following morning, being greeted by the Dean, and a tour of the dome.
Simone MorcianoThe ‘romance nook’
The guests — who’re to have access to the library through the Dean’s door and the geometric staircase — are to be the primary people officially to sleep within the cathedral since members of the St Paul’s Watch stayed there to guard the constructing from incendiary bombs in the course of the Second World War.
The stay is being hosted by the influencer Abby Parker, of Book Tok — a subcommunity of the net platform TikTok — which is dedicated to reading.
The booking description for the accommodation says that it’s without TV, WiFi, and kitchen facilities, but that towels, bed sheets, and bathroom paper are provided. Guests, who needed to have a verified Airbnb profile, were able book in the standard way. It is known that they’re to be chosen on the premise of first come, first served.
The cathedral’s director of visitor engagement, Sandra Lynes Timbrell, has described the partnership with Airbnb as “a real celebration of readers in essentially the most magical of how. From exploring the key corners of the cathedral and summiting the famous dome, to reading their way through Penguin Random House US’s upcoming releases, this once-in-a-lifetime experience is the stuff of fairy tales.”
She told the Church Times on Wednesday: “We’re hugely excited to supply two lucky guests the possibility to rejoice World Book Day in such a singular manner inside St Paul’s hidden library. This stay is actually a certainly one of a sort, and can only be available for one night. Two fortunate guests can have the possibility to remain, but we hope this one-off event inspires many other people to go to the newly restored Library and gain a deeper insight into the cathedral’s history and the Christian faith.”
The library reopened last October after a five-year restoration project, during which the 22,000 books and manuscripts in its collection were cleaned and recorded, and their accommodation was refurbished and updated (News, 20 October 2023).
