Hotel Review
My family & I, three in total, reserved and stayed in the Family Room. Which includes a bed and a pull out sofa bed. The view from the room was unbelievable! Started the trip off just right, then...
- Gym: The gym is underwelming. Very small, limited free weights, no wipes in the gym to wipe down equipment before/after use. Water, yay... water in the gym on Day 1. Day 2... no water. Went down to the concierge and asked for water and asked if they could restock the gym. Was told they do not keep water in the gym. I said, "You do, I saw it..." and was cut off curtly. I just left it alone. Grabbed the 2 bottles he provided and headed off for my workout.
- Room Amenities: I was trying hard not to call, but the basics were missing.
* Toilet Paper: No toilet paper after the room was serviced.
* Towels: Had to call and ask for an extra body towel twice. There are 3 of us, and 2 body towels will not be enough after showers
* Face Clothes / Wash Clothes / Flannels: Had to go down to the concierge and ask for a set for my family so we could wash our bodies.
* Fold Out Bed: No pillow cases or sheets the 1st night. Called down and had them brought up. 2nd night, after all had showered and we were preparing to go to sleep, noticed that during room servicing, housekeeping took the comforter, sheets, and pillows. Had to call and ask for a new set. Ugh. Made sure to place in a small closet each day after to avoid repeated takeaways.
* Shower: There is mildew in the shower. Mostly up high, but still, yuck.
* Drawers: There is pretty much none in the family room. I'm not sure about other rooms. Our room consisted of 2 side bed tables with 2 small drawers and a desk with 3 desk drawers. Nothing else. I called down and asked for more hangers so I could have our room set up for our stay. The guy was shocked when I asked for more hangers and was like, "How many?!" Serious confusion and pure dismay/disgust that I would ask to not live out of our suitcases. Note I asked for 20. Again, I am a family of 3 and staying for a week. There were about 5 in the room to start. And we had outer wear due to cool weather and rain.
- Buffet breakfast. Eat else where. It's not worth it. £22 to have a limited selection of the following:
* Hot Food: fried eggs, bacon, sausage, mushrooms, tomato, baked beans, and an omelet (never saw anyone at station to prepare requests).
* Bread station: toast, bagel, a couple of different pastries
* Cold Station: cereal, cucumber, dates, yogurt, and a couple of other cold items.
* Drinks: Some juices, coffee (Americano, Regular Coffee, Espresso, Latte), and water.
* Pancakes: Oh, and while I appreciate the novelty of an auto pancake maker... not worth the hassel. Pancake machines make mini pancakes about 1 inch - 1.5 inches in diameter and take 60 seconds to cook, and it only cook 1 at a time. I had to wait 15 mins as someone before me concluded their multi handwaves, and then I had to do my muti handwaves. Note... you handwave. It cooks and the rolls down conveyer belt, drops on plate, then you wave again. I wish they would just cook the pancakes and place them in the buffet with the other hot foods.
- Laundry: Yes, they offer, but the prices are OUTRAGEOUS. It is charged by item. See pic. I found a pick-up service that came to the hotel and was able to do it at a fraction of the price. Still about £46 and would equal 1 load of whites and 1 maybe 2 loads of darks depending on the size your normal load. I also asked for the separate wash, so darks and whites could be washed separately, and that did cost more. I used a service called "LAUNDRYHEAP". I downloaded their app, placed laundry in the hotel, provided laundry bags, and dropped off with a concierge prior to 12 pm and had it returned the next afternoon around 2 pm. Instructions and details are on the app. Clothes came back clean and smelling great!
- Location: Right at Tower Bridge and The Tower. The closest tube (Underground) would be Tower Hill, which is about a 5 min walk. Bring your comfy walking shoes. Traveling anywhere in London via a Taxi vs. the Tube (Underground) takes literally about the same amount of time, including you walking to the Tube but at a fraction of the price. We absolutely used the Taxi as a novelty and then quickly learned the Tube (Underground). Between the "TFL" app and "Google Maps," we were off and about all day.
- Snacks: Room Service stops around 10 pm. Only drinks are provided after. Need a snack, walk around the corner towards the Tower Bridge to the Telsco. Water, sodas, juice, chips, candy, fruit, a great selection of so much more is available. read more