London Hotel Tips by FletteMette

We stayed at Comfort Inn Edgware Road in June 2007. The hotel has 40 rooms, it is situated a ten-minute walk or so from Edgware Road tube station - and walking from the hotel to Marble Arch took us around 20 minutes. The Edgware road area is the heart of London's middle eastern community, and there are many small grocery shops and takeaways near the hotel. Edgware road is pretty busy, and rooms at the front of the hotel can be noisy.

Our first impression of the hotel wasn't very promising - we walked past it at first, thinking it was a a small shop;o) - the reception area is *really* tiny, and the receptionist wasn't exactly friendly. The lift is very small, and seemed to be out of order quite regularly. Very narrow stairs and hallways, so dragging our suitcases up to our room on the 2nd floor was a bit of a workout.. :o)

Our double room was surprisingly nice, considering the rate we paid. (Cheap(ish) hotels in London tend to be grotty dumps, really!) The hotel has quite recently been renovated, and even though the room was pretty small, it was comfortable and pleasant and had everything we needed. A small, clean bathroom (shower only), a narrow double bed, a small work desk and a tv (but most channels didn't work;o). Wireless Internet access is supposed to be available, but didn't work in our room.

A somewhat limited continental breakfast buffet is included - bread, cereals, yoghurt, fruit...

We paid ca £60 for our double room, which is very good value in expensive London! I will definitely consider staying here again.


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Theme: Hotel
Comparison: about average

Phone: 44-20 7724 3569
Address: 450 Edgware Road, London, W2 1EG, GB
Directions: A ten-minute walk or so from Edgware road tube station.
Website: http://www.comfortinnedgwareroad.co.uk/

We stayed at Stylotel in June 2007. The hotel is situated in a very convenient location, a short walk from Paddington station.

Some of the rooms are not accessible via the lift, so you might have to drag your suitcases up the extremely narrow stairs to get to your room. Our double room was *very* cramped (we had two suitcases and there was literally no place (at all) to put our luggage), and it was also very hot (the hotel does not have air con). The styling is, well, *different*. Perhaps trendy in theory, but somewhat off-putting in reality - all that stainless steel in such a claustrophobic room just made me feel trapped in a metal box.. :-P

The bathroom (basically a plastic *capsule* in one corner of the room!) was amazingly tiny - and only just functional. Imagine a plane toilet, with a tiny shower attached. Now, add the smell of said plane toilet. (The ventilation is very poor, only a small fan which kicks in when the bathroom light is on)

The double bed had a very, *very* firm mattress - which, combined with the very thin walls and boiling room temperature, meant that we didn't get much sleep. There's a small tv (which didn't work) - and Wireless Internet is supposed to be available, but apparently not in all rooms. (Didn't work in our room.)

A rather limited buffet breakfast is included.

The location is good, and the rates we paid were decent - but I would not consider staying here again.


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Theme: Hotel
Comparison: about average

Address: 160 Sussex Gardens, Paddington, London, W2 1UD, uk
Website: http://www.stylotel.com/

***PHOTOS COMING SOON***

We stayed at Copthorne Tara Hotel in January 2007. This large (833 rooms!) hotel is situated in Kensington, close to High Street Kensington tube station. The hotel is situated in a quiet residential area - but the shops and cafes of Kensington High Street are just a 5-minute walk away. One side of the hotel overlooks the tube line - which might be an issue for light sleepers.

Check-in and especially check-out was very chaotic. Service was somewhat lacking - our booking confirmation stated that broadband was included in our room rate, but we had to argue with the receptionists for quite a while before they finally agreed. (WiFi is not included in most room rates, and cost £20 for 24 hours.)

Our double room was quite small, and most definitely in need of urgent, serious renovation. (The photos on the hotel website must be quite heavily photoshopped!) The carpet was stained and dirty, and the furniture very, very dated - but the double bed was quite comfortable. Amenities include a TV and a fridge. The bathroom was pretty shabby - the whole room could use a good scrub, and both the sink and the bathtub looked ancient (and had separate hot and cold taps, which is quite common in England - an English peculiarity, that...;o). Our room also had a funny smell which seemed to come from the aircon.

Our room rate did not include breakfast - but there are lots of cafes on Kensington High Street.

The Copthorne Tara is marketed as a 4-star hotel - which it definitely is not. I would not recommend this hotel, unless you get a very, very good rate.


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Theme: Hotel
Comparison: about average

Phone: 44-020-7937-7211
Address: Scarsdale Place, Kensington London W8 5SR
Website: http://www.millenniumhotels.co.uk/copthornetarakensington/index.html