Ramada Encore London West, London

My wife and I stayed at this hotel overnight to see a concert in London. For the price (£60 for a double room), I was expecting all glitter but no gold, but I was pleasantly surprised. It was clean, professional and quite up market for the price.

* Getting There *

We arrived by train from the centre of London. The station, North Acton, is 15-20 minutes journey on the underground, is about five minutes walk away (though ...
...what might be true if you run). The hotel is situated in a very quiet business park. If your driving, it has a fairly large car park outside, though I think they charge for parking.

When we checked in, the staff appeared professional, friendly and well mannered. We were asked if we wanted breakfast in the morning (£8 per person) and if we wanted to open a bar tab, then we were given a swipe card each for the room.

I ... more

My wife and I stayed at this hotel overnight to see a concert in London. For the price (£60 for a double room), I was expecting all glitter but no gold, but I was pleasantly surprised. It was clean, professional and quite up market for the price.

* Getting There *

We arrived by train from the centre of London. The station, North Acton, is 15-20 minutes journey on the underground, is about five minutes walk away (though the hotel advertises that they are only 3 minutes - what might be true if you run). The hotel is situated in a very quiet business park. If your driving, it has a fairly large car park outside, though I think they charge for parking.

When we checked in, the staff appeared professional, friendly and well mannered. We were asked if we wanted breakfast in the morning (£8 per person) and if we wanted to open a bar tab, then we were given a swipe card each for the room.

I should point out, despite me I booking a twin room by mistake, we got a double room after I left a message after I booked. I think this shows good service, as I was expecting a hassle of getting them to change the room.

* The Room *

Our room was on the third floor and was easy to find. It was very clean and a typical size, with en-suite bathroom that had the usual facilities, including a walk-in shower, a desk and chair.

We could hear the traffic with the windows open, but when closed it was very quiet. Air conditioning is installed in the room so we didn't need the window open much.

* The Extras *

Some optional things were quite expensive. Standard TV (quite a lot of channels including Sky 1) was free but pay-per-view movies (around £10-15 a film) and Internet (around £5 an hour) were very expensive.

The internet access was via the TV (keyboard was included), an network cable was included too for laptops. There was also a small area in the lobby for internet access, which was much cheaper (50p per hour). There were other services via the TV too, also expensive.

They offered a £5 a day deal to a local (Virgin) Gym, which is nice, though we didn't have time to visit. There were other special deals, such as Madam Tusads and theatres too.

The bar was busy in the evening, though as there was little night-life in the area, that probably wasn't surprising. The prices of the drinks were typical of London hotels, so I didn't partake!

* Finally *

If I had be be picky, the floor and bed squeaked a bit but we didn't mind too much. There was no clock, and the radio was via the TV.

If you're just interested in the basics, it's great - it's one of the nicest hotels I've been in London! If you like the extras make sure you have plenty of space on your credit card. 

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