Victoria, SW1V and SW1W: company for the traveller just arrived

Victoria has changed a great deal. The glass of the Nova development brings restaurants and bars to the corner of Victoria Street, the Victoria Palace Theatre and the Apollo Victoria host some of the longest running musicals in town, and the striped red brick tower of Westminster Cathedral rises above the rooftops. A few minutes south, the calm white terraces of Pimlico begin; a few minutes west, the squares of Belgravia.

It is a practical district, but it has a softness at night. Once the commuters have gone, the streets are quiet and the hotels feel like a warm place to land.

Timing is everything here. Trains from the south coast and the airport keep arriving late into the evening, and the coach station sends out overnight services while the rest of SW1 sleeps, so a knock at a hotel door near midnight is simply part of the rhythm of the place.

The Clermont London, Victoria, the grand Victorian hotel built alongside the station itself. The Rubens at the Palace on Buckingham Palace Road, facing the walls of the Royal Mews. Park Plaza Victoria London on Vauxhall Bridge Road, modern and convenient. The Goring, a five minute walk away on Beeston Place, for a quieter and more traditional stay.

These names are landmarks for your journey, not partners, and no deal of any kind exists between them and London Babes. Our companions are simply your guests, whether you are at a hotel, a serviced apartment or a rented flat nearby.

Victoria station is right here, about a minute from the hotels, with the Circle, District and Victoria lines, National Rail services and the Gatwick Express, which reaches Gatwick in roughly 30 minutes. A 5 minute walk along Victoria Street brings you to St James's Park, served by Circle and District trains.

On a late train you can message the desk before you pull in. Send the companion's name, the hotel, a rough check in time and the hours you would like. Once you have a room number, the desk verifies it together with your full name, and a transfer of 25 percent holds a standard hotel visit. Overnights or a trip together are held with half the fare, the travel component of which is not refundable.

From confirmation, a companion usually reaches a Victoria hotel in about 45 minutes. If the train runs late, just tell the desk: a 15 minute margin sits around every agreed time, and past that a new time is simply set.

Nine o'clock, a shower and a change after the train, then a knock at the door. Half past nine, a relaxed drink and something to eat at one of the bright restaurants of Nova, a few minutes' stroll away. Half past ten, a walk past the striped tower of the cathedral, quiet and lit against the sky. Eleven, back at the hotel for a long conversation and no alarm set for the morning.

For an evening like this, two hours at £750 or three hours at £1,050 are ideal. An overnight at £2,400 means company until breakfast before the train back out to Gatwick.

Travellers who have just come in from Gatwick and want a warm welcome rather than an empty hotel room. Theatregoers staying nearby for a musical at the Apollo Victoria or the Victoria Palace. Business visitors who sleep close to the station for easy departures. What they have in common is timing: they want everything arranged ahead, quickly and without fuss.

Two companions live just south in Pimlico, a few minutes away. Lucy has long dark brown curls, a fascination with the night sky and a proper espresso habit. Roxi, with long glossy hair and energy to spare, keeps fit in the boxing gym and heads for the surf whenever she can. Close by in Belgravia, Lea, Patricia and Violetta are only minutes from the station.

Everyone else on the girls page is happy to come to Victoria as well, with travel included.

Victoria sits between Belgravia to the west and Westminster to the east. Sloane Square and Chelsea are one stop along the District line, and Knightsbridge is a short taxi ride up past Hyde Park Corner.