Dreamtel London Kensington

The staff were friendly, and the room had good air conditioning and Wi-Fi. It was small, but my wife and I could still lay out our two big suitcases on the floor. Earls Court station is just a minute away, with plenty of convenience stores nearby. We also paid £15 for the halal breakfast, which I had included. The shower was the one problem: I couldn't get the temperature right, it was either too cold or too hot. Still, it was a pleasant stay.

The breakfast was a real letdown for a three-star hotel in Earl's Court: very few choices and only filtered coffee. I was also concerned by how cramped the hotel felt, especially in a fire. I booked a triple deluxe room with a street view four months ahead, but on arrival was told there were none. I have a young child, and the options I was given were a basement room or a full refund, which would have left my family without a hotel. They refused my request to speak with a manager. Eventually we got a room a bit bigger than the first one, but it faced the train tracks instead of the street and came with the noise. This was my first and last time booking here.

The basics were covered, and there was help when I needed it with my bags. But the lift was painfully slow and a bit scary. It only went to the third floor, while my room was on the fourth, and I had three large bags plus a small one. The rooms are much smaller than they look in the pictures, which seem to use an optical zoom lens. Most guests probably won't check the room size. The service was basic. The location was perfect for me, within walking distance of Acton Town station, with Sainsbury, Tesco, M&S, cafes and other places nearby.

The only real plus for me was the location. The hotel is quite uncomfortable and dirty for its price and location, and I wouldn't recommend it unless location matters more than comfort, cleanliness, and patience. The rooms are tiny, with barely enough space to move or open a suitcase, and the poor maintenance was obvious from the start. The shower was almost useless. There was only a weak trickle, and the temperature swung between freezing and boiling with no comfortable setting. On the top floor, the lift only reaches the floor below your room, so you then have to open three little doors to get there. For a supposedly state-of-the-art lift, taking around five minutes to go up just three floors is incredibly frustrating. The stay was unpleasant, and the lift setup felt like a maze. For the location, I expected much more comfort.