Very poor customer service. We got given a put-up broken metal framed bed shoved into a room because there wasn't enough beds for that room. There was mould on the bath and 2 thread bare dirty towels (and there was 4 of us)

After bringing the problem to the attention of the staff they tried to charge us extra for a room change.

A very poor excuse for a hotel and I would not recommend it. Rude inconsiderate staff, substandard accommodation and bad service.

From the outside(minus the scaffolding) and even in reception my veiws on this hotel were average and I was happy enough, the trouble came when we reached the front desk and were asked to pay extra on top of the price we had already paid when booking. To then be sent to a room that was supposed to be for four people only to find the smallest double bed known to man kind, one single and a put-you-up that was beeing held together by TAPE! and a rather large gap where the join/fold of the bed was that vwas covered with a matress the thickness of a quilt. And I have to say the bathroom wasn't up to much either, we were given TWO thread bare dirty towels, and the bath siding was falling of due to mould.
When we called down to reception the staff were no help at all, we were told that two of our party were meant to share the double bed (we're all female work colleagues) while one of us had the old put-you-up from the 1930s.
After a lot of arguing our point in reception with general staff who were all extremly rude as there was NO MANAGER! we we're eventually given two twin rooms which were much more thought out in they're appearence despite the thick layer of dust on the surfaces.
On the day of check out we asked to speak to the manager again and were told that he/she was not in until Monday morning around 11am and that we could only leave a comments form that they would pass on (that's not likely to happen).
My advice to anyone looking at this hotel is you would get better customer service and a nicer room at a hostel!

I booked one night at the Tavistock with some trepidation having read some of these reviews. I was quite pleasantly surprised. The Tavistock is very much a hotel for business folk. Yes, the decor is a little jaded but my room was spotless, my bed comfy and I asked for and was given a quiet room away from the bar. I ordered breakfast in my room (at a very small surcharge) and it was a generous, giant feed (tip to chef: please use fresh tomatoes!).

Frankly this is London and Central London at that and The Tavistock is in a terrific location minutes from transport. By London standards the Tavistock is averagely priced. Good for a stopover.

Anywhere in North America this would be a $49.00 room. Here's why:

-Deadbeat staff except for a few of the underlings who serve at the buffet breakfast.
-Creepy doorman who checks your valid breakfast paper (we called him the Undertaker) got into a nasty verbal spat with a female breakfast server right behind us.
-male bartender from perhaps Malaysia should not be working around people, he might make a good garbage collector. Just for asking for a sample taste of a beer it was like I'd asked him for his right arm.
-worst beds ever with maybe 1/8 of an inch of cloth (no padding) between you and the bedsprings. I got to know each coil spring intimately each night, barely slept 2 hours each night.
-bathroom has no shampoo, no facecloths, no hair dryer, the bathroom air vent system doesn't work. Bathub is 2 ft high and very narrow - definitely unsafe for any older or slightly artthritic or disabled persons.
-bathroom sink has old style separate faucets for hot & cold meaning to wash you face you have to fill the sink and then clean it afterwards to get rid of the soap scum.
-to use their phone (which did not work properly) you have to give a 20 pound deposit - everyone is considered a potential thief here.
- room was not attended to until the 3rd day there. They just left new towels and removed old ones.
-no kleenex provided
-no alarm clock/radio
-back side room was quiet other than hum of HVAC system outside.
-new window was good and could be opened to refresh room
-breakfast was OK but ham slices were the saltiest ever.

Don't stay here. There must be better places.
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