Royal National Hotel

We found some good and bad points, but definitely wouldn't recommend staying here, especially in warmer or busier parts of the year. The area is great, the hotel is clean, the bed and shower are good, and it's nice to have a bath. Breakfast has lots to choose from, even if the area is a bit crowded. The filtered cold water point was amazing. Staff were friendly, but couldn't provide things that would have made the stay better. It had only been warm for a few days, but the room was already too hot to be comfortable. There's no air conditioning, the window only opens a tiny bit, and the one small fan provided wasn't enough. The room also smelled a bit like a warm tent. We asked for an extra blanket before we realized how hot it was. It took a really long time, and in the end we cancelled the request because it was so hot. We wanted to leave our luggage, but the only option was a warm basement. We waited in a line that didn't move for the first five minutes, then decided to leave. Staff told us the hotel was so big they couldn't improve these things, but we've stayed in bigger hotels that handled them better. We've never had to wait in such a line to leave our bags. This wasn't the most expensive room we found, but for the price they should do better. A lot of respect for the cleaners who have to work in such hot rooms!

The British Museum is just around the corner, and Soho was about a 20-minute walk away, so the location worked really well. Our room was spacious and had everything we needed, with a very comfortable bed. The bathroom was clean and modern, and the bath filled quickly. Everyone we spoke to on staff was friendly and helpful. One of the best mid-range hotels I’ve stayed at in central London, and we’ll be back.

The little hotel has a cosy, quaint feel, and the lovely smell in the lobby made it feel welcoming as soon as we arrived. We could walk to the main sights and hardly needed a taxi. The train stations nearby also made getting around, even travelling towards Paris, easy. Breakfast was included each day, which was a handy start to the morning. Everyone was kind and accommodating, especially Matteo, who made us feel at home as a fellow New Yorker and surprised me with a bottle of wine for my birthday. I loved our stay at City Sleeper Inn and would happily come back. No complaints at all.

The breakfast had loads to choose from, including a cooked English breakfast, cereal, muesli, jams, bread and baked goods. I was especially pleased to see three different plant-based milks. The staff were consistently friendly and ready to help, and after we left, they were also lovely and helpful when I asked what brand the pillows were. We stayed for a couple of nights, my mother and I. The rooms were roomy, the beds were really comfortable, especially the pillows, and the modern bathroom was clean. We had what we needed, including an iron and ironing board. Walking from St. Pancras was manageable, and nearby Tube stations made getting around easy. The main drawback was the metal window frames, which didn’t insulate well against the wind, cold or street noise. Whether the nights and mornings were quiet depended on students talking across the street or buses idling under our window from 7:20am. We’d be glad to return, with better earplugs!