Royal Eagle Hotel

At nearly midnight I was told there were no rooms left, even though my trip.com booking still showed as active and I’d received no cancellation notice by email or in the app. I’d booked three days earlier, and the listing said payment was due at the hotel. On arrival day, though, I got an email saying my payment had been denied, despite knowing I was meant to pay there. They first said they had no rooms of the type I’d booked, although the app showed three available. Rather than take payment for my original booking, they told me to book again on trip.com. I did, and paid in person straight away. Somehow they then had a room of exactly that type. I was exhausted and didn’t have the energy to argue, so I agreed. On my last night, they said they’d charge me for the first booking too, even though they’d called it invalid and refused payment when I arrived. They were trying to charge me for a stay they’d refused to provide. I contacted Trip.com customer service around midnight; it took over an hour, and they said they would cancel the first booking so I wouldn’t have to pay. The staff’s unacceptable behaviour cost me an hour of sleep. The basement room was directly below reception, so I constantly heard footsteps overhead and couldn’t sleep well. It was unbearably hot when I arrived at midnight and took ages to cool down. Light from the hallway shone through the gap around the door onto my bed. The shower and bathtub leaked, leaving water all over the bathroom floor within 2-3 minutes. The whole experience was extremely irritating.

I only needed an inexpensive room for myself for a couple of nights, and this hotel was very close to Paddington Station. They upgraded me to a double when I arrived, which was great. The room was clean and comfortable, and the staff were friendly and helpful. It was a bit noisy where my room was. I didn’t get a chance to try breakfast, but I’d definitely stay again.

We’d requested a garden view on the original booking, but were assigned room No2 in the basement. The walls were damp, and the wood-effect flooring was lifting and hazardous. The welcome was friendly, the staff were nice, and the location was great for Paddington railway station. Breakfast was probably the best continental breakfast in London, with high quality, healthy products.

The rooms were clean, and it felt like good value for money. The location is excellent, very close to Paddington station, and breakfast was excellent too. The staff were polite, kind and quick to respond to every request.