For a low price hotel in central london I was very happy with this hotel. The room was large, clean and comfortable, with complimentary toiletries, magazines and a copy of the Independent outside your door each morning. Most rooms have shared toilets but they are exceptionally clean and there is a male and female toilet between 3 rooms so you aren't exactly sharing with masses of people. Breakfast was plentiful with decent coffee which is a nice change from some other hotels. The only faults I found were no free wifi and no lift, but there are only 3 floors so it is just a bit of free exercise! Overall, I had a great stay, I would definitely recommend it...brilliant location as well!

Pretentious and very overpriced. Trust me, I wouldn’t be writing this review were it not for the fact I paid $200 a night for a hotel that promises to be MUCH more than it is.

The only pros that I could come up with were that the location is decent, the rooms weren’t especially dirty, the bathrooms aren’t bad, and the staff was not unfriendly. In other words, a place I might be willing to pay $80 a night for. Other than that…..it’s an overpriced pretentious little rip-off place.

1) There is NO internet access in the rooms and NO WIFI access anywhere in the hotel. This for a hotel that claims to be suitable for the “most discerning business traveler.” But if you want to connect to the net, you do have two options. You can use the wired internet in the lobby with no privacy (and the screen facing the lobby)…..or I kid you not: you can pay the staff 10 pounds a day and they’ll connect you to the wireless access from THE HOTEL ACROSS THE STREET with some kind of secret code they have – they type it into your computer and won’t let you see what they type. Dodgy at best. Incidentally, even with this connection from the hotel across the street, it only works in the lobby also.

One has to laugh reading the note from the MD in the hotel guide book that says the rooms have the “latest technology.” I guess he must mean that they do, indeed, have flush toilets because that is the only “technology” I saw that was the latest.

2) A number of rooms are in what they call the “sub-basement” which is a horrible little area below street level. Naturally, my room was there. I can’t think of anybody that would knowingly spend $200 a night for a BASEMENT room. Since the rooms at this level are generally airless and hot, you are forced to open the virtually viewless window – and therefore concurrently suffer the indignities of people looking directly down into your room – only a few feet away from the street. And since it’s so close, you also have to listen to mostly drunken conversations periodically all night long.

Getting your bags to this “sub-basement” is another ordeal. Of course no lift; nobody to help with bags; and you have to navigate a very dangerous, steep, curving, and narrow set of stairs to get to that level. No handle for the first four or five stairs on the top either. Bit scary actually.

3) The rooms are tiny. I suppose about 140 square feet with absolutely NO place to put a suitcase (because there isn’t even room for a suitcase stand). Remember you’re paying about $200 (129 Pounds a night) for this - terrible value – even by London standards. Very claustrophobic – and even more so because of the view from the sub-basement.

4) There is a direct dial telephone in the room, but as you might expect, usury rates. About $6.00 for a 5 minute national call to the UK. A real rip off.

5) Breakfast is not included in the rates – or at least wasn’t in my rates. A very simple cold buffet goes for about $18 and an “English Breakfast” for about $25.00. This is not gourmet dining…..but simple, ordinary, and tired fare. Not bad food, just another rip off from this rip off hotel. You’d do much better (and get at least comparable quality food) going to even McDonalds.

6) The TV is about 20 years old (or so it seems) – maybe a 15 inch screen – 6 or 7 channels from which to choose – and in my case, a remote control that did not work.

7) The in-house hotel guide promised free newspapers (and magazines for that matter) in the rooms. Of course during the whole time I was there – none. Asked for a newspaper – and was directed to a nearby newsstand by the gal at reception. Had to laugh. Not her fault, of course.

London is notorious for vastly overpriced hotels. This one is one of many. Highly suggest you find another place that isn’t so outrageous. Lots of hotels nearby that are equally lousy, but at least they aren’t as pretentious (claiming to be what they are not), and most are about 50 or 60% of the price of the Lancaster.

Good example is the Tavistock about 5 min walk away. Rooms are equally dreary, but 2 big differences. First is the price is about half. Second is that price includes a pretty good all you can eat hot breakfast. Another added plus is free internet in the lobby. Its as least as good as the Lancaster – and you’ll save a lot of money.

After reading some poor reviews I was a bit nervous about booking this hotel, but once I got there I was pleasantly surprised by the room, the high standard and the staff.
I got there and the booking in process was simply and fast, the staff were very polite, and very helpful.
I stayed in the Superior Suite, which had an on suite bathroom, and the room was immacualte.
The bed was lovely and comfortable, the room was clean and it was quiet, I had one of the best nights sleep I've ever had in a hotel.
So I am giving this hotel a 5 star rating, as I cannot fault it.

I would recommend anyone stay at this hotel. The staff were extremely rude, hygiene did not exist in the hotel. I will be loading pictures of the mattress and bedding at a later date. The necessary authorities will be contacted/informed