Premier Inn London Kensington - Olympia

This was my seventh booking with Premier Inn, after stays in Dublin, Berlin, and elsewhere. Previously I'd had good stays and been treated properly. Kensington Olympiade was completely different. It's an old, neglected, worn-out hotel. The lobby chairs are sagging, and the seat cushions are turned over to hide the wear. The bar is dirty and neglected. Staff hide in a corner out of camera view to FaceTime, loudly in Indian in this instance. The stairs to the entrance are constantly flooded, so you can't get in with dry shoes. The rooms and hallways are so noisy you can hear neighbours talking and going to the toilet, and even hear what they're doing there. The upstairs floor creaks incredibly loudly. From the room, the garden looks like a disaster. The single-glazed windows and sills are extremely dirty, as the photos show. The radiator is covered in dust and barely works, if at all. There's no radiator in the bathroom, so it's freezing when you take a bath. The bathroom fixtures are filthy. The photos show how dirty the taps on the bath and sink are, and the shower gel holder is just as bad. The bath leaks on the outside, and the water drains excruciatingly slowly after you pull the plug. The toilet lid is loose, and there's more. The bathroom door was unclean, with previous guests' hairs on the floor and in the sink. The room walls were cracked, and when we asked the hotel about it, nothing could be done. If they'd rather be LAZY than TIRED than give us, the customers, perfect service, I understand. This hotel deserves an inspection by the National Health Service UK. I'll make sure future customers don't have to go through what we did. I sent several complaint emails to Premier Inn, eventually not so friendly, and after 14 days, and my threat to post photos and details of our BAD STAY online, they replied that apparently nothing was wrong and they couldn't do anything for us. That's quite a customer service statement. NEVER, EVER stay here, and by extension, not at any Premier Inn unless it's brand new. Look at my photos and you'll see I wasn't lying. The hotel and its 'customer service' are worth a ZERO out of 10. NEVER AGAIN.

I rarely stay in London, but I was really pleased with Kensington Olympia. The staff were helpful and accommodating. Bonny, in particular, was always a cheerful manager and happy to help even when she was rushed off her feet. I'll definitely be back. Top notch!

The breakfast was ok and the room was fine, but the bathroom wasn't very clean. The AC smelled of mildew and mold, and I was told nothing could be done about it. The WiFi was awful. I paid for unlimited access, but it wasn't any better. When I raised the issue, staff brushed me off. The man at the front desk seemed to say he'd refunded the charge, but no refund came through, so I had to ask my credit card company to reverse it.

The station is about a five-minute walk away, and getting to places like China town didn't take long, so I found the location convenient. The room and bathroom were clean, the bed was comfortable, and I slept really well. The walls are thin, though, and I could hear the people next door talking. That was the only thing that bothered me. The water gets hot, which is good, though I burned my hand the first time. The room itself was pretty basic, but I was happy with it and would recommend the hotel.