Peckham Room Hotel by Belvilla

The hotel looks decent and the rooms are okay, but the lack of air conditioning was a big problem. The windows have locks that stop them opening wide enough to let air in. There was a plug-in fan, but it barely cooled the room. We had to leave it on all night for any comfort, and its noise kept us from sleeping. The shower floor is coming away and feels squidgy. With no curtain or proper divider, the shower design leaves the whole room soaking wet.

The room was clean and well looked after, and the price was very fair when I booked through their website. Tea and coffee are free in the lounge, and there’s fast Wi-Fi and a TV. Getting around was easy too, with a main bus route nearby and about a 10-minute walk to both Peckham Town centre and the tube.

We got in early in the morning, well before check-in, and the staff kindly took our bags and let us change in an empty room so we could head into the city instead of waiting four hours. When we returned, our luggage had already been brought to our room. We were exhausted, and that really made our day. The hotel was great, though sleep was difficult because a man outside our window kept talking on the phone around 02:00.

I was stuck in my room all night, fully dressed with my bags on the bed, waiting for someone to meet me in the morning so I could get out. People were asking which room I was in and whether I was alone. Someone tried the door as soon as my lift had left. When I arrived, my ground-floor room facing the street was wide open and easy to walk into. People kept trying my door all night, while others screamed and hit doors and walls. The hotel hasn’t replied or answered the phone. I had to file a police report, and after reading the reviews, I saw this wasn’t the first time someone had tried to get into a guest’s room. It was traumatising.