I wish I could reccommend this hotel, but I just can't, and it is a shame. The public areas and lift are lovely, I thought I may have found a gem at £125/night, and the proximity to Sloane Square is a big plus. Indeed I was quite excited in the lift that I may have found a new regular place for my semiregular London trips, but no.
I stayed in a double, top-floor room overlooking the main road. Not noisy though. It had polystyrene "fire trap" tiles on the ceiling, I can't believe it can even be possible to get a license if the fire chief saw those. They're the kind everyone removed 30 yrs back with reason - one small flame and they will drip burning plastic all over the room. And the flame would probably climb up the bed valance(?) thingy, which was cheesy and dusty.
Bathroom was a corner bitten out of an otherwise reasonably sized room by London standards. General repair was poor, peeling paper, etc., with high windows into the main room. It has sliding doors, a bath, sticky-backed plastic shelves, an electric shower (with not much water pressure of course) and a toiletries cabinet I elected not to use. It did contain a dozen or so mini soaps, though.
But those weren't the last soaps i'd find - 43 in all, in various drawers in cheap, dying furniture. Soaps I don't really mind so much. The drawer full of old carrier bags was odd, but could be seen as useful maybe. The old hair roller (with hair!) was less what I was hoping to find in my bedside drawer. Plenty of mirrors, though. 9, if I remember correctly, which is certainly enough for anyone.
Free bottle of water in the room is a nice idea, but it was a plastic bottle refilled from the tap. Not a problem in itself, tap water is certainly ecologically a good plan, but then why not use a bottle designed for refilling, not a used Volvic one which can breed nasties.
Breakfast was simple but enjoyable at the shared mirrored table downstairs, back in opulence after grottiness. And the pop-up dumb waiter was a great reminder of what this hotel could and should be right through. But it isn't, and it's a crying shame. Instead, I am back to staying in a tiny room in a spotlessly clean hotel in Holborn for £45 less per night with a great breakfast, at £80 instead of £125 I paid for this place. Maybe I got the dud room and the rest are lovely or something, but if so, it has been dud since the 1980's, so there is no rush to improve it.
I don't want an identikit chain hotel, I will forgive a LOT for character, but used hair rollers and fire-hazard ceiling coverings are a step too far. Ideosyncracities are fine, dirty lazy housekeeping and maintenance is another altogether. Get a real cleaner, spend £500 on sorting out the room, and this could be something so special.
