Admiral Hotel at Park Avenue

The location is fabulous, on a quiet street just a five minute walk from Paddington station. The free English breakfast was great, and the beds were nice. I stayed two nights with my wife and adult son in a three bed room. It was small but clean and had what we needed, including a small refrigerator, electric kettle, and free coffee and tea. The bathroom was small too, but clean and quite serviceable. The staff were amazing, extremely friendly and helpful.

The only good part of the place was the two lovely, friendly women in the kitchen. There’s no lift, and the stairs aren’t great for anyone who isn’t very mobile. My father booked two rooms for me and my family through a third party. The instructions said reception was two doors down, but actually the hotel itself was two doors down and wasn’t even called the Admiral Hotel. When we arrived, my father was asked to pay for the room again. Staff said they’d “provide a discount” and cancel the booking through the third party site, which seemed very sketchy. The person checking us in was rude. The photos looked nothing like the rooms, which seemed to be in a completely different place. The bathroom was so tiny that my feet were in the shower recess while I used the toilet, and the hand basin was outside the bathroom because it wouldn’t fit. The mattress was awful and sloped downhill. I got shampoo and conditioner on the first day but never again, though somehow I kept getting more towels each day. This was a horrible stay, and I’d never book it again.

The bed wasn’t level because the room floor sloped, and I nearly fell out a few times. The room pump, which supplied the water pressure, screamed like a banshee whenever anyone turned on a tap. The rooms were small and noisy, and the bathroom was so tiny you could be on the toilet and showering at the same time, I kid you not. We had booked Admiral Hotel, but ended up at Kingsway Park Hotel two doors down. The address and online photos were very different, but it was late, so sadly we went with it. The location is very good, close to stations, and the staff tried very hard.

I’d give the room zero if I could. The stairs were extremely narrow, difficult to manage with large suitcases, and there was no elevator. We arrived to find reception two doors down, in a different hotel. The room was tiny and very dated, and the bathroom was worse. The toilet seat was broken in half, only one side of the shower screen opened, and the sink was dirty. The shower light had been pushed up into the ceiling. Black mold filled the ceiling and most of the bathroom grout, and you could smell it. The bed pillows were paper thin, nothing felt clean, and the carpets looked full of dust. We left immediately and booked another hotel after paying for one night, due to booking.com’s policy.