Clapham South Belvedere Hotel

The rooms are tiny, the showers are dirty, and the staff are extremely rude. They ignore you when you ask for a replacement key card or anything else, and the card hardly ever works. There’s no soap, shampoo or hand wash, the mini fridge was broken inside, and there’s no air conditioning. The windows are tiny too. I’d give it zero stars if I could. I’m surprised the hotel hasn’t been shut down. Don’t stay here.

Even with all the problems, I enjoyed my stay and would definitely return. The staff were extremely friendly, the room worked for what I needed, and it stayed nice and warm at night, which suits me because I feel the cold. It’s a basic, dated place, and this was my second visit. Both times the alarm went off late at night. Corridors were noisy, with doors slamming and echoes. My room was small, the vinyl floor was peeling, and the bedside light kept flickering. The telephone wasn’t connected, so when I wanted to ask reception why the fire alarm had gone off, I had to get dressed and go there. They said a shower had triggered it.

Clapham South Tube station is very conveniently located, but the room’s size and cleanliness left a lot to be desired. The cleaning staff seemed uninterested. The floor was dirty, the bathroom hadn’t been cleaned properly in the corners, and the top of the coat rack was filthy, as if it had never been cleaned. The furniture was poor too: the shelf felt insecure, there was no proper wardrobe, and wallpaper was coming away from a wall. Those details make a big difference. They should review cleaning and maintenance, set a higher basic cleanliness standard and look after the furnishings.

My replacement room was still small, but perfectly acceptable, and at least it had hot water. The rest of my stay there was uneventful, though the temperature was a little tricky to control. I was here for a week before moving into my flat, and wish I’d chosen somewhere else. I arrived with three large bags to find the first room barely bigger than the bed, so I had to put my bags in the shower to move around. In January, the water stayed freezing and I couldn’t wash my hair. After two nights I asked to change rooms. They eventually agreed once they realized which room I had and how long I was staying, but I had to haul everything back downstairs through tiny hallways and wait hours for the rooms to be turned over. The WiFi was expensive to pay for daily, but I needed it since I didn’t yet have a phone in the UK. The hotel is handy for the Northern line, but if I did it again I’d pay a bit more for a better stay.