Ambassadors Hotel, London

I booked this room just as somewhere to put my head down for the night after a concert at the Royal Albert Hall. I wanted somewhere cheap(ish) in Kensington so I could walk it and not venture onto the tube in the forbidden hours. I found it via www.hoteldirect.com and it cost me £70 for a double room for one night, including a continental breakfast. So, here's a review.

LOCATION

If you're going to the Albert Hall and ...
...just 5 minutes walk from Gloucester Road and probably around 10-15 minutes walking distance from the Albert Hall. There's a Tesco, a Waitrose and a Sainsburys nearby as well as a KFC and a small shopping centre, and it's on the circle line in zone 1, so you are well catered for. Also handy if you have children, since there's always something nearby to keep them entertained.

THE STAFF

Now I guess this could simply be ... more

I booked this room just as somewhere to put my head down for the night after a concert at the Royal Albert Hall. I wanted somewhere cheap(ish) in Kensington so I could walk it and not venture onto the tube in the forbidden hours. I found it via www.hoteldirect.com and it cost me £70 for a double room for one night, including a continental breakfast. So, here's a review.

LOCATION

If you're going to the Albert Hall and you're on a budget, this hotel is perfect. It's just 5 minutes walk from Gloucester Road and probably around 10-15 minutes walking distance from the Albert Hall. There's a Tesco, a Waitrose and a Sainsburys nearby as well as a KFC and a small shopping centre, and it's on the circle line in zone 1, so you are well catered for. Also handy if you have children, since there's always something nearby to keep them entertained.

THE STAFF

Now I guess this could simply be a language barrier but I found the reception staff to be rather abrupt and frankly, rude. I was dealt with quickly, but with the friendliness usually reserved for a new inmate at a PoW camp. I was asked if I enjoyed my stay when I checked out but I get the feeling that unless I shouted through a megaphone, my answer wouldn't have registered with her either way.

HOTEL LAYOUT

From the outside it looks rather bland, but at least it was large and clean. The foyer was extremely well presented with plants and glass partitions and a very tidy looking bar and internet cafe. However I was lucky enough to get a room in the basement. The corridors down there were cramped and confusing, and the door numbers seemed to be random. There was also an alarming smell of gas.

AMENITIES

Well, as I mentioned, the hotel offers wireless (at a price), internet terminals, a restaurant and a bar. Being in something of a rush I didn't have the breakfast and didn't go to the bar so I'm afraid I can't offer judgement on those.

THE ROOM

The room was...well, spartan. Whereas normally you have a TV opposite the bed, here I was greeted with a 1999 map of the underground with a raised radiator underneath. The TV was wedged in a cupboard to the right of the bed, and you couldn't actually see it properly if you laid down. Oh, and it only had terrestrial and half the plastic buttons on the front had come off. And the remote was a cheap generic jobby that had no teletext function. The bedside lamps were dim, and your choices for hot drinks were coffee and tea - no hot chocolate.

Even more baffling was the window. There looked to be some kind of smoking area/cubby hole outside my window. The window itself seemed to have a door rather than an opening, and because of this I was treated to a large metal grate right across the window. I'm not sure if this was to keep me in or to keep criminals out. The only ventilation came from squeezing my arm through the bars and opening the door, being sure I didn't open it so much I couldn't reach it to close it. This gave the room a dingy, prison like feel.

The bed felt slightly collapsed in the middle and I couldn't help but notice that they had obviously laid new carpet over old carpet, since I could see the old carpet under the bed.

The bathroom was cramped, with the sink facing the toilet and only around 6 inches seperating the two so you have to sit with the sink between your legs if you wish to use the loo. Oh, and there were no toiletries either.

VALUE FOR MONEY

Yes, £70 is cheap. But you could stay in a Travelodge for roughly the same price (or even cheaper if you book in advance), and Travelodge are much, much better.

OVERALL

So yes, I did not enjoy my time at the Ambassador. It may only have been for a quick overnighter but I assume people do use the hotel for long periods and if all the rooms were like mine then the conditions are insufferable. Only stay here if you can't walk long distances or if you really, really don't want to use public transport to get to a hotel elsewhere. It's only its convenient location that saves this hotel from being the worst I've ever stayed at. 

...less