Great St Helen Hotel

The room was small but very clean, well arranged and surprisingly quiet given where the hotel is. The bed was really comfortable. It was just too warm for me, but I'm used to a cold, draughty farmhouse. The staff I saw were all friendly and helpful, starting with the person who greeted me on arrival.

The rooms are on the small side, but they're clean and thoughtfully designed. There's no breakfast service, which is a bit of a drawback, though the nearby coffee shops and cafés make that easy to work around. It's a great little hotel in the City of London, near Liverpool Street Station and a little farther from London Bridge station. The DLR connection to City Airport is a five-minute walk away, followed by around a 20-minute train ride. Hard to beat.

The location worked for me, but the rest of my stay at Great St Helen’s hotel was a stressful disappointment. The toilet wouldn’t flush, and when I asked for a repair or another room, management told me to use the staff toilet. Even the air conditioning had to be requested; it wasn’t ready for guests. I also found the policies unfair. If you change your dates to a cheaper one, they keep the original price and won’t return the difference, while an upgrade costs extra. Staff brushed off my concerns and offered no real solution. The facilities seemed poorly maintained, and the whole stay wasn’t worth the money or hassle. I’d look elsewhere in the area.

Our room was tiny and smelled of Marijuana, and the staff were no help at all. We’d booked through booking.com, but on arrival they gave us a different room. To get the one we’d reserved, we had to pay another £30, even though that was more than the price listed on their website. It was midnight, and they wouldn’t refund us, so we felt stuck paying. They’ve ignored our emails since. We wouldn’t return or recommend it. There are plenty of London places at the same price that are much better.