CityStay Hotel

The location is superb, between Bow Road for the tube and Bow Church DLR, which I used to get to Canary Wharf. The average price was about £50 a night, so you get what you pay for, I suppose. After I cleaned the room myself, I felt okay staying there, but I won't return. I'd rather pay a bit more and go somewhere less convenient if it means having a clean, safe room. There was one plug socket, a bed, a table with dodgy stains and a TV. No kettle or hair dryer, and no shower gel or shampoo, so bring your own. The room looked as if the bed hadn't been changed after the last guest. Reception was never staffed, and I didn't trust the rude, deeply depressed staff to do anything about it. I bought disinfectant and kitchen roll and cleaned every surface myself. Over three nights they never cleaned inside the room, only swapped the towels and emptied the bin. The door locked from outside but not from inside. Each night I moved the wardrobe in front of it so nobody could come in while I slept or take my things. I kept my laptop with me whenever I went out because I didn't trust leaving it there. The location and price could have made this a brilliant, low priced stay, if they'd fixed the lock, properly cleaned the room and provided shampoo. Guests shouldn't have to clean up on arrival.

The location was great, but it wasn't worth the money. I was there in winter and the heater didn't work. Staff showed no urgency about fixing it, and there was no housekeeping either.

For the price, this was just what I expected: a small room that was comfortable enough, though it wasn't perfectly clean and could get noisy. It's really conveniently located. I stayed alone for a couple of nights and would recommend it as a quick, easy, cheap place to stay.

The bed was comfortable, the one thing this place had going for it. The rooms and furniture were old and dated, and the shower was awful. There were no tea or coffee facilities. It was way overpriced for what it was, so we packed up and left after one night. I'm not especially fussy about hotels, but this looked like a halfway house from the 1940s.