Easy to find and a short way off the main roads, this hotel immediately gives the impression of having had hard use and has a 'care worn' look to it. Our room key took several tries to make it work and once inside we were presented with a wealth of fresh air due to the missing glass louvre panel in the top window. Closer inspection revealed the missing piece on the flat roof outside and it looked as if someone had tried to reach it by digging the rotten wood out of the bottom of the window frame, leaving a hole in the frame over a foot long and deep enough to take the entire first joint of my index finger.
The bedside shelves were loose and liable to jettison anything put upon them until I had been around with a Swiss Army knife tightening the few screws up, making them just about secure enough for their purpose.
The 'en suite' was little more than a cupboard the width of a shower tray - inside was the shower with a curtain that didn't reach the floor, a hand basin (suitable named because it would hold barely more than a handful of water) and a toilet which flushed noisily and took ages to fill.
I found it impossible to use the basin with the door shut; simply not enough room between the two for me to stand so bending forward means banging your head on the wall or pushing the door open with your bum.
Using the shower was painful. The water pressure was worse than poor and the water was either stone cold or nearly scalding and resisted any attempt to get a usable temperature.
The floor of the 'en suite' (and the room.....and the rest of the house, actually) suffered badly from squeaky floorboards making transition from place to place unavoidably noisy.
Upon retiring, the bed was hard and who, in the 21st century still uses blankets - especially blankets that only come up to your armpits? At least the room was reasonably quiet, that is until someone rang the doorbell or moved in the next room.
Breakfast was not bad although there was no choices of tea, and coffee is instant or nothing. Toast came on a plate and was cold and soggy by the time I go to it (toast rack, maybe?). Not a bad choice of cereals to choose from and the cooked breakfast was not bad, I'm informed although the hash browns were a bit grey and soft, not brown and crisp.
The staff were friendly and willing to help with the few requests we presented to them.
- Grange Hotel London
