Leonardo Royal Hotel London St Pauls

The rooftop cocktail lounge is a real highlight, with a lively international feel, a convivial atmosphere, and splendid views across London. It’s a lovely place to unwind. The team were courteous, professional, and genuinely attentive. The person who checked us in was especially charming and set a great tone for the stay. The rooms were fresh, very clean, and comfortable, with standards that felt carefully managed. Leonardo Royal London St Paul’s is a bit of a flagship for the group in my view. Its location is superb, right by the historic St Paul’s Cathedral and well placed for exploring the City. Highly recommended, and an easy place to enjoy with confidence.

We stayed for my birthday getaway with my husband and son. I’d booked through booking.com and left a note saying it was for my birthday. They let us check in early for an extra cost, which was fine since we wanted to leave our things before going out. The room was nice, but nothing more than that. The welcome screen had the wrong date, 1st January instead of the 17th February, and there wasn’t a welcome note. We were in the back building on the 2nd floor. I’d thought about using the spa but there were no bathrobes. The housekeeping team did a good job keeping the room clean and tidy. We’ve often stayed at 5* hotels or 4* places with exceptional service, so this stay felt standard to me.

The staff were the best part, so attentive that they even called the room to ask if we needed more towels. Room service was really quick, and the pizzas were tasty and very reasonably priced. I’ve stayed at lots of leonardo hotels, and this one had the best service. The views were great too. The location was ideal, the rooms were nice and clean, and breakfast was good.

The room looked neat at first, but it was clearly dirty. The sink, tap, shower, and several surfaces had grime that came off easily when I wiped it with toilet paper. It seemed like they’d only made the bed and barely cleaned anything else. Staying there felt disgusting. When I told reception and asked for the room to be cleaned, they asked where exactly it was dirty. Someone came later but only cleaned the desk and left everything else as it was. On my first night, the pillowcases had a strange smell, so I suspected they hadn’t been changed. I asked reception for replacements, and the new ones had no smell, which confirmed my concern. I used the stairs once, and there were empty glasses and rubbish on every floor that nobody had picked up. With the overall cleanliness, I didn’t feel comfortable using the sauna. At a training with colleagues, at least six people mentioned similar cleanliness problems in their rooms or around the hotel. This was easily one of my worst hotel stays. Leonardo Royal Hotel Saint Paul’s is apparently a 4-star hotel, though I’m not sure how that can be. I wouldn’t come back or recommend it.