Vision Suites

The place was filthy and looked nothing like the photos on the Google advert. I’m pretty sure they weren’t even pictures of the same building. One of the beds in what was advertised as a twin room was a grimy fold-out sofa in the kitchen. All in all, a grotty little hovel.

The room conditions were awful, and the way management handled things left me worried about guests’ comfort and security. There’s no reception or in-person manager to speak to. Before giving me the room code, someone asked me on WhatsApp to send a photo of my debit card. It wasn’t even a company phone, just a staff member’s personal one, with a woman’s photo as the profile picture. She may have been Ioana. At first she said she was only staff and had no authority, although cards inside the hotel listed her as management. The first room was appalling. The fire alarm had been ripped off the ceiling. There were crumbs on the carpet, hairs in the bed, and black mould growing in the cramped, unventilated bathroom. The smell made it unbearable. Management said no other rooms were available, but a quick search on laterooms showed rooms still being offered for that night. After I challenged this, Ioana gave me the code for another available room so I could look. Damp and black mould hit us as soon as we opened the door. My partner and I had travelled from the other side of London, so with help from laterooms we agreed to use it for the night and receive a full refund for both nights because of the conditions. But while Ioana said she was processing the refund, she also took another night’s fee without my consent. We left later that night after finding more hairs in the bed, discovering the bathroom door wouldn’t close, and realizing my partner couldn’t use the toilet with the door shut because it was so cramped. We could also smell cannabis smoke coming from other units. We told Ioana we were leaving, but she didn’t refund us. When I called today to remind them to return the money they’d taken, she insisted on charging me for the night and hung up. I’ve had to contact my bank to block transactions because I’m afraid they’ll take more money. I’m writing this to save others the same trouble: rooms with mould, security compromised by requests for ID and debit card photos sent to personal phones, hours spent looking for somewhere else to stay late on a Saturday night, and then a midnight Uber to my mother-in-law’s house. The next day I had to contact my bank and report the hotel’s conditions to trading standards to try to recover money I believe they took from me.

The venue was okay and the facilities were good, though parking could be an issue if you’re driving. Watch out for the hidden £10 cleaning charge added to the bill.

The place was clean and nice, just as advertised. The self check-in instructions were really helpful, and getting in was easy.