The Clarendon is part of a chain of hotels in the same street, situated within lovely Georgian houses. The staff go backwards and forwards between hotels. The location is truly great especially if you are a visitor to London; there are a lot of major sites, theatres, museums and restaurants within walking distance. There is also the lovely Bloomsbury Square to sit in while planning your trip. Buses are plentiful and Holborn station is just round the corner.

The decor in the hotel is desperately time warped, a great deal of cream and red with dark wooden furniture, and a mass purchase of pictures by the yard! However saying that it is comfortable and clean. Take care in the bathroom as the floors are black, very slippery tiles. The overhead shower is annoyingly set at warm and can't be altered. There are nice products but no hair conditioner. I would also advise that you ask for a room that is not in the basement. It is very hot and stuffy with a tiny staircase up to reception. Not a good place to be if you suffer from claustrophobia!

I didn't have breakfast so cannot comment but was told it was O.K. If you go, negotiate the price as it does seem to vary considerably, also get breakfast included as they charge £18 per head if it is added. Also watch whatever price is quoted is inclusive of VAT. At the right price this is a good hotel.

I love the location, somewhat oldfashioned and traditional, but at the same time very practical both for business, entertainment, public transport, shopping, actually anything. The staff is worldclass, they make your comfort their very personal business, and go out of their way to please you and make you feel good. Normal rooms a bit small, but clean and comfortable. Deluxe rooms very nice, large and well furnished. Only minus is overhead shower, hate that, would like a handheld. Cloud use better tv, and better channel selection. Also steer clear of rooms on the lowest floor, it is almost basement, and not nice at all. We have stayed at this hotel twice, once had to change room from "deluxe basement" to third floor. After that a perfect stay. Will absolutely go again.

This hotel should be great. Bloomsbury is a fantastic location, close to the British Museum and a short stroll into the heart of Soho. The rooms are large and comfortable, and the staff are friendly and helpful.

However, it doesn't live up to its four star billing. The shower gave out a trickle of lukewarm water, which turned cold after a few minutes. The temperature in the room couldn't be altered, and it was pretty chilly for most of our stay. The television was also set to a (quite loud) volume, and the remote was on the blink.

If these details were sorted out, I'd be delighted to return. For the moment, the hotel needs a touch of tlc to make it a truly pleasant stay.

Booked this hotel on www.lastminute.com's Top Secret option and was very happy with the outcome. I had stayed some time ago at the Grange's White Hall Hotel on Montague St. and found it to be a fairly good hotel as well. The location can't be beaten if the West End and Theatreland are the areas you wish to be close to. I had a morning fight and arrived two hours earlier than the 3 PM Friday check-in time but the receptionist kindly rescued me from the London mist and accommodated me immediately. Having read earlier reviews which reported noise problems, I had requested an upper, quieter room and my request was honoured. The hotel is Georgian in design so the single-glazed old sash windows didn't exactly instill a feeling that noise reduction could be effective but I had a peaceful stay even though the room faced on to the street. I would question the safety aspect where smaller children might be staying as unlike many other hotels, windows can only be opened by a few inches. The room, while not massive, was tastefully decorated with nice inlaid furniture, clean warm carpet, very comfortable bedding, good storage/lighting and more than enough TV channels to entertain during the scarce lull moments in this great city. It was good to be able to chill with a tea/coffee in the room after the day's sightseeing. The presence of a CD played was a nice touch also. The bathroom was equally well maintained with a good bath/shower and quality toiletries though the bath was high and might not suit the arthritic. One must bear in mind that these hotels are older buildings, probably not custom built for their present use and when sympathetically converted work quite well. I think the Clarendon has achieved this. It has compact but comfortable general areas, pleasant staff, a good standard of cleanliness and a peaceful location in what can often be a noisy city. You might come away after your stay feeling that you've seen enough narrowish corridors and fire doors to last you a lifetime but it's a minor quibble when everything else is pretty well done. The hotel has that charm which is often absent in the bigger chains. My rate (€192 for two nights) didn't include breakfast so I cannot comment on the food but I was more than happy with the room price. Would definitely use this hotel in the future.