The Leicester Square Collection

We couldn't sleep either night. The windows in our room wouldn't open, and they did nothing to block the noise from the bars and pubs opposite. It was incredibly loud all night. The listed air conditioning didn't work either. We asked for a fan and were told one would be delivered, but it never arrived before we checked out. No one helped us, and even our complaint to the bookxxx app got no response. We stayed two nights during the summer. This is a homestay, not a hotel. Lesson learned: from now on I'll check Google reviews before booking, since it seems that if you've already emailed a travel app with a complaint, they won't send you a review link. Genius!

Our plans were badly disrupted before we even got into the apartment. The address on the website and booking had no hotel at it. We wandered around and asked several people before realizing we were supposed to call for pickup, something nobody had told us. It took several tries to get anyone on the phone. First they said someone would come right away, then called back to say it would be 30 minutes. We had tickets for a show and missed it, losing the cost of all four. They said they would email us about letting them know when we arrived, but that message came only 10 minutes after we called to complain about the lack of communication. Coincidence? Once the man finally brought us to the apartment, he gave us a Wi-Fi code and said to call if we needed anything. We couldn't connect, and neither he nor anyone else ever answered our calls or texts during the trip. We had chosen this place because we all needed to work remotely, but couldn't, and couldn't get anyone to fix the Wi-Fi. We also asked for toiletries, toilet paper, a trash can, and a fitted sheet. No response from him or the “hotel” office the entire stay. We didn't have enough toilet paper, towels, or sheets. The beds and pillows were awful. One bed creaked whenever anyone moved; the other mattress was thin and wiry, worn out, and tilted, and couldn't be fixed. There were no blackout curtains, either. Then the elevator broke, leaving us to climb a lot of stairs. That was a real problem for one of our party who was pregnant, and nobody answered our request for a room on a lower floor. If I'd wanted an apartment, I would've booked Airbnb, which I trust more and where basic utilities are provided. This service wasn't worth the price.

They canceled our room two days before the booking, saying the hotel was overbooked. It's been six months and they still haven't returned our money. Thieves, not hoteliers. DO NOT STAY HERE. THEY ARE CROOKS.

The location was great, but that's about the only good thing. The apartment needs a lot of work: there was a stained mattress, broken bed and radiators, a rug that kept turning up, and a cracked TV screen with no channels. The pillows were awful too. Don't trust the photos, the place looked nothing like them.