We have used Oakwood three times in two years and it is convenient for taxis from the rail station and to Heathrow. The lady receiving us was always very helpful, finding me a hairdryer and recommending the fabulous Chinese restaurant nearby. For an overnight stay, the rooms are clean, functional and fairly priced. Breakfast was excellent. Well done, Oakwood, we will be back.

Well what can I say...the Oakwood Guesthouse was very dissapointing.

After paying extra for secure parking I arrived and drove my car around to the back of the guesthouse where the parking is located. The area has insufficient spaces as the carpark has lock up garages down one side and a portacabin down the other. Thes "secure" area is fenced off with what can best be described as a tempory barrier grids like you might find around a building site held shut with a padlock on some chain.

After sorting the car out I entered the building via the back entrance down a dingy corridoor and to the locked up office area. Nobody too be found...

Decided to leave it for an hour and walked around the delapedated area that is West Drayton. Upon returning the owner had turned up so got shown up some dingy stairs to an even more dingy room. Think young offenders institute turned into a b&b with minimal changes made. The walls were stained and scuffed and I had only a small frosted glass window high up in one corner of the room for natural light. My room had an adjoining door with the next and I could hear everything the guy was doing and saying the whole time. The only saving grace was the bed which thankfully was clean and comfortable.

The bathroom smelt like strong bleach and the one piece drop forged stainless steel sink/worktop/wall was ugly and cheap. The shower head wouldn't spray the water but instead let it gush out like a tap, thankfully it was hot.

I passed on the breakfast as I had no confidence in the cleanliness.

As you have probably gathered overall I was not impressed with the Oakwood Guesthouse and I would not recommend it to anybody. The room was overpriced and West Drayton is a dump, steer clear..

Let's do the positive stuff first: the location is good for Heathrow and the room was very shabby but clean. But...and it's a big but. This place is run by the most unhelpful, rude and unpleasant woman. It's a sort of humourless West London version of Fawlty Towers - not in the least entertaining, just grim. If you like to arrive before 8pm on a Friday night to a deserted guest house, all locked up, and be instructed by text message where to go, then told off IN CAPITAL LETTERS in another text message for daring to ask questions, before, finally, having the phone put down on you by the woman herself...well, if that's your idea of fun then come on in, the Oakwood Guest House is perfect. If on the other hand you would like just a modicum of civility from your host, well, you might wish to book elsewhere. It is of course possible that I happened to encounter this lady on a bad night. Perhaps she had had a particularly trying day. On the other hand - and bearing in mind I am NOT the only person on TripAdvisor to remark on her unpleasantness - maybe this is something fairly common here. Either way some sort of training in how to not be an absolute battleaxe might be due.

If you want cheap, clean, and convenient to Heathrow this is fine. But don't expect to be made welcome and don't expect any help from the management.

We stayed at the Oakwood for 3 nights waiting for flights to resume out of Heathrow. The staff were extremely personable and helpful. They were forthcoming on information about getting around without paying an arm and a leg: taking local taxis to Heathrow (7 GBP), taking the train into town (5-min. walk then 25 min to Paddington), they had guide books, advice etc. The location is very handy; it's next to a business district with grocery stores, pharmacy, PO, restaurants, etc.; a real community. We were happy not to be held hostage to airport services and inflated prices. We had an "premium twin ensuite" with a trundle bed for our son, who unfortunately was sick and didn't see much more than the inside of the room, but he was satisfied, and so were his parents. Given that hotel rooms in London are notoriously small, we were very satisfied with the size of this one, and the bathroom and shower were great. Wireless internet is available for a fee - this was great as I was checking flights a lot and could do e-mail, though the connection speed was irregular. Breakfast was hearty. It felt like home. We would definitely stay there again.