George Canning Denmark Hill

Lots of outdoor seating, most of it covered, and four screens showing sport. The staff were very friendly and helpful. The George Canning reopened on Wednesday 25 August after a major refurbishment, and I'm glad real ale is being served again. There were two cask beers on handpump when I visited, Doom Bar and Timothy Taylor's Landlord. A pint of Landlord at £3.35 is a bargain.

The Landlord is really aggressive, and this isn't a nice pub. Other reviews say the same. I'd choose the Wetherspoons around the corner or any other pub nearby. Avoid this one.

We came to watch Arsenal and Liverpool and felt hassled from the start. We were the only people of colour in the pub. After we'd sat down for 10 minutes, staff said we had to buy a drink to watch the match, which seemed fair. But then they said they'd have to escort us to the bar to buy it. We ordered non-alcoholic drinks, and were told those wouldn't be enough for us to stay. I explained to the barmaid that I don't drink, and she told me to find somewhere else to watch the match. It was rude, and I wonder whether I'd have been treated that way if we were white.

The location was excellent for reaching Salvation Army buildings and hospitals, with handy links to lots of central places. The pub closes at 11pm, and it was quiet by about 11.20pm. Monday to Thursday were quieter. The two weeks were a bad stay for many reasons. My room was dirty when I arrived, with grime on the windowsill, lots of shower mould and some dirt on the sheets. The fitted carpet was gross and wasn't properly vacuumed. Nobody cleaned the room during my stay, changed the sheets, emptied the bins, replenished the tea and coffee, or replaced towels and toilet paper unless I asked or put a full bin in the corridor. I saw a cleaner put fresh towels on the dirty corridor floor, and another set I received smelled. The stairwell wasn't vacuumed either. The bathroom light was broken and stayed on, so I slept with it on for the whole two weeks. I was told it was broken but got no explanation of when it might be fixed. There was no toilet paper in the room at first, and the promised extra roll never arrived. The bathroom fan didn't work. Wi-Fi was just the pub's weak, often unusable and insecure connection, so I bought extra phone data to use as a hotspot. The kettle was covered in limescale, and there were no nearby sockets, so I had to plug it in at the bedside table. There wasn't even a glass for a toothbrush. The mirror was far from any socket for drying or styling hair. There was a desk but only an armchair, making it impossible to work there. There was no proper wardrobe and hardly any hangers. One was broken and cut my wrist. I wondered if it had been left that way for unhappy guests. Before travelling, I sent about five emails and Booking.com messages asking whether there was a kettle, after seeing reviews say there wasn't. Nobody replied, so I bought a travel kettle and could have avoided that extra cost if they'd answered. I also had to pay before seeing the room. They said they'd email an invoice, but never did; I had to go to the pub to request a printout and toilet paper. The printout was only reservation details, not a proper invoice. Thankfully my company reimbursed me based on it, even though the amount was over £2500. Booking.com didn't say the hotel was above a pub, so I only found that out after booking. It could be noisy at night. The location and transport connections were the main positives.