OYO Sino Hotel

I could hear my neighbors having what sounded like a full-on divorce through the thin walls. It was almost funny, and turning on the fan covered up their shouting. My bed was cozy, the room clean, and the location great. The shower stayed quite hot, which was my only real complaint. For the price, this is one of the more consumer-friendly places near the tube, where prices tend to be inflated. The customer support line had a helpful woman, too. Keep your expectations in check and you might be pleasantly surprised, like I was. I'd recommend it. Thanks, Sino.

The location was the one standout, and my only positive. My single room was smaller than I expected, wasn't clean, and had a terrible smell coming from the bathroom drain. During my four nights there, I didn't see any staff or housekeeping until someone suddenly opened my door around 9am, before the 10am checkout. It was frightening, and the only time I saw anyone from the hotel. The rooms are very close together, so you can hear everything from the neighbors. Mine had just a skylight instead of regular windows, which didn't help much. You get what you pay for, I suppose, but the location was the only thing that was really good.

The room was clean and pleasant, and the price was very reasonable. I hadn't received the check-in instructions, but the helpful people on the phone sent them again, and we got into the building and room without any trouble. My main concern was the access. I was travelling with a friend who uses a wheelchair, so I called before booking to check whether the room was on the ground floor. The answer was yes, which was accurate, but nobody mentioned the roughly ten steps up to the front door. That should be clearly stated on the website. Luckily, my friend can manage stairs with difficulty and her chair is light, so we were okay. For someone less able or with a heavier wheelchair, those steps could have been an insurmountable obstacle.

The hotel isn't staffed, so you need to be able to call a local UK number and then email your ID to the address they give you over the phone. I sent mine to the wrong email at first, but they helped me sort it out by phone. Our room was a good-sized flat.