Kensington House Hotel

The bed bugs were the last straw. We found four on the bed on our second night, and there was no daily housekeeping. We were told they'd charge £25 if we requested it, and I wish there'd been service to keep the bed clean. We were meant to stay a week, but there were no spare rooms to move to, so we left after night two. I would have rated the place three stars because the location was great, the staff were very kind throughout, and breakfast was delicious. The staff were patient, which I appreciated, but the bathroom needs fixing and housekeeping should be available regularly without charge. For a frequent Mariott customer, the room was disappointing. The bathroom was old and the shower drained so badly that water piled up. The door creaked and slammed hard, and the floor creaked too. On our first night, the lights didn't work for five minutes, then came back after we kept turning them on and off. We also asked for a taxi to another hotel, but the postal code was wrong and it dropped us a little away from where we were going.

The location in Kensington is ideal, but our basement room was small, outdated, and nothing like the website photos. It was freezing, with frost on the windows. The bedside lamp kept tripping all the electricity in the room, which was especially bad because it wasn't very bright and there were few electric lights. The website said reception was staffed 24 hours, but it wasn't. The staff we saw weren't very friendly, and there was no ramp to enter the building. We had to carry our luggage up the steps with no offer of help. Wouldn't recommend.

The room was very small and basic, with a tiny shower and low water pressure. At check-in, staff seemed more interested in their music than acknowledging guests, unless they were in the kitchen joking around in the morning. There was one tea bag, two milks, and stale coffee in the room. Handy location for the Albert hall, but definitely no frills.

The room had plenty of space and high ceilings, and the Kensington location is lovely, close to Kensington Gardens and not far from The Royal Albert Hall. The Italian woman on staff was really kind and did all she could to help me. The bathroom, though, looked more like one in a guest house and needs renovating. I also question how clean the rest of the hotel is when attention seems focused on the rooms. Breakfast was vegetarian with nothing made to order, and it was very poor. The carrots were old and unpeeled, possibly left from an earlier breakfast, and the cucumbers looked old too. The cheese didn't seem fresh. Serving food like that felt like a safety hazard. The building has the usual Kensington feel, with dated infrastructure and dust. Please don't serve old breakfast.