Alarm bells went off when we saw the cracked plastic sign over the street entrance on Upper Berkeley Street, and our apprehension only deepened on ascending the ratty red carpet up to the reception. We were shown three rooms, one more dismal than the next, and --because we were prepaid and couldn't escape--we finally settled on the least objectionable and quietest. Still, the bathroom was filthy and its walls afflicted with a thick black mold, the wallpaper in the bedroom was pocked and peeling, the curtain on the back window torn, the coffee-colored and obscenely stained blanket full of cigarette holes, and the bedsprings--evidently from Dickensian times--creaked ominously. During the entire four nights we spent there, certainly a Guiness record in wanton masochism, the room was cleaned not even once, and the sheets changed only on the last day. When the temperature plunged at night, we turned on the prehistoric heater, only to be met with a blast of stinking air; evidently the mold had invaded its innards.
We are seasoned tourists, and this grim and grubby facility (to say hotel would be a ridiculous exaggeration) was by far the worst we have ever experienced. Fellow travelers beware!
P. S. To its credit, this establishment does evidence a playful kind of gallows humor, as they have put a sign reading "Rated on Tripadvisor.com.uk" on their front window!
- Berkeley Court London
- London Hotel Berkeley Court
