It was with trepidation after reading the previous reviews that I stayed at this hotel. I needn't have worried, for the price it was perfectly situated and adequate for our needs. If you want a fair priced hotel in the centre of London then stay here. Yes, there are a lot of steps and the breakfast is a little basic and some of the showers have discoloured sealant, (that happens to your own stuff in time) - it is clean!! If you want top of the range then go around the corner and stay in the Langham - and pay their ridiculous prices!! If you want affordable and clean accommodation, this is your place.

1) the position is super! it's very centrally located (10 minutes walk from Oxford Circus tube station) and therefore very convenient for sightseeing and shopping in particular because it is located practically on the main shopping street in London 2) the width of the room (very big!!), we had a triple that was pratically a small apartment including a kitchen, washing machine, cooker, water boiler to make tea/coffee 3) the excellent cleaning of the room and the bathroom. Breakfast is continental, but it is not serf-service (2 slices of bread are served with butter and jam, a small cheese, honey, cereals) and then, not very abundant, but overall good and sufficient.
There is no lift, and we found the room warm when we arrived, but the following day the heaters were not turned on. No wireless

We stayed at the Mermaid for economic reasons having stayed in this area before we thought this would be in line with other hotels in the area. We couldnt have been more wrong. 86 steps to our room on the top floor, supposedly a double but although it had a double bed it was definitely a single person room. There was one cup, only two towels in the bathroom, our room also acted as the fire escape ie "break glass" in the door and the fire escape exit next to the bed so if the hotel was on fire everyone would come running through our room. Coffee and tea were left but there were no spoons just wooden sticks for £306 for a three night stay I would expect a little bit more. The tiny reception was full of suitcases and very scruffy with a surly receptionist. The net curtain was filthy, the toilet/shower room was good and nice and clean, our "wardrobe was 18" wide and about as deep with 4 hangers! there was no where to put our clothes. the bed was actually squahed between a bedside table and the wardrobe - my husband had his face squashed against the cupboard all night. I made sure we paid cash as they even charge 4% for using a DEBIT card - very poor. We would never stay there again. the restuarant which served breakfast was okay but extremely dark and dingy.

My priority was to be in town and have a safe, clean place to go back to for the night since I was on my own.
The location is indeed perfect, just round the corner from Oxford Street.
But the standard of the my room was very very poor. I am usually not so picky - it's fine if there's no shower mat or no shampoo, it was just one night I was going to spend there anyway. However, the furniture was incredibly old and dusty, the feeling was of a place which is hardly ever cleaned. It felt like the whole room had gone stale, it just did not smell fresh. More than a hotel it reminds me of those cheap bed&breakfast for young students. Unfortunately I am past that stage and if I spend £ 98 per night I do not expect luxury but at least hygene. This place should have one, maximum two stars, certainly not three!
Needless to say: no internet connection, no room service, nothing you would expect for that price in a modern hotel. Again, fine with me for one night, but if you are on a business trip and need these facilities just stay clear.
If you pay with card 5% will be charged. Also quite infrquent in modern world.
You may end up in a different building than the reception, you may want to know if you are pregnant/elderly/frail as you will have a flight of stairs in front of you any time you need the reception, and another one if you are staying in a room opposite to reception. I was on top floor, that is three flights of stair every time.
I did not try the breakfast, but the restaurant looked fine from the outside.
One last thing: if you are travelling on your own, you may not like that you cannot lock the door but just use a metal chain which even a child could break.