Leonardo Hotel London Croydon

What a lovely start to our London trip. After dropping our bags at the hotel, we headed into the city centre for the river boat cruise and London Eye, both of which were excellent. Back at the hotel, Nepal was welcoming in the bar, attentive to our orders, and clearly knew what he was doing. We also met the hotel manager on our way to our room, and he was just as interested in hearing about our plans.

Being only a few minutes' walk from the nearest train station is handy, and the meals were okay, but travelling here with a baby was difficult. We needed to sterilise washed bottles in microwaveable bags and were told it could cause cross contamination, so staff couldn't do it. If that’s a concern, perhaps a separate microwave could be provided. Lots of families travel with babies. The day shift manager also told us that guests staff had helped with this before were kicked out during their stay for sterilising bottles. The room looked clean, though it wasn’t child-friendly, and we found used alcohol bottles under the bed.

Brooke made us feel so looked after during our anniversary stay. She arranged thoughtful touches that were far more special than we expected, and her warmth and attention to detail made a big difference from the moment we arrived. She was genuine and professional, and made the stay feel memorable, not just comfortable. Brooke is a real credit to the hotel and a great example of local excellence in Croydon. We’ll definitely come back and recommend the place because of her.

We loved our stay and plan to return. My husband has had a hip replacement, so we requested a walk-in shower because getting into a bath is harder for him. We got one, but hadn’t realised it was a disabled room, with a lower sink and slightly higher toilet. At 6ft tall, he found the sink a bit awkward. It would be nice if all hotel rooms had walk-in showers, since I don’t think many guests soak in a bath during a hotel stay.