Sapphire Hotel

I only needed a place to crash overnight for work, so I was pleasantly surprised. I’d booked the wrong date, but they let me change it easily at the last minute on booking.com. Check-in is at the other hotel, seven doors down. The room is small but clean, with a kettle, fridge, TV and its own bathroom. The guy who let me in was friendly, and it feels safe. The walls are paper thin, though it wasn’t loud; there was some traffic noise, normal for a city. I turned the radiator up to 5 and the room got hotter than my house. I’ll update this if I wake up with bed bites, but so far so good. Transport links and amenities are great. I’ve just been to the Greek cafe across the road, and there’s a pub two doors down. I was wary after seeing the Google reviews, especially because the Booking.com price seemed too good to be true. I don’t usually write long reviews, but all the bad reviews made me feel I should. Tourists might not realise that lots of London properties are converted buildings, not purpose-built, and it’s definitely more of a mansion than a house. We don’t generally have AC in the UK, and if an old property is listed, soundproofing or changing the windows may not be possible. People should maybe look into the horrors of renting in London too. I’d book here for a gig, a night out, sightseeing all day, or work when I just needed somewhere to sleep. It’s perfect for that. Probably not so good for families or a romantic getaway, but for the price and location it’s not bad at all.

The bed was comfy, and the room was good for a budget hotel. It was a bit warm for me, but the wall fan helped. The staff were lovely, and I’d stay again.

The beds were comfortable and we slept well, and the location is very good, about five minutes from the metro. The price was affordable too. But the stay was disappointing. Our first room was moldy and smelled strongly of chlorine and bleach, so we asked to move. The second room had socks and tissues left behind, which wasn’t acceptable. One staff member was unwelcoming and seemed uninvolved, though the rest were lovely, friendly, and helpful. The hotel is very noisy, with no soundproofing, and the rooms are cold because of heating and radiator problems. Bring warm pajamas. The shower is awkward too: hot water lasts around 20 minutes, then there’s none, so you can’t be in a hurry. Despite the good location and beds, the cleanliness problems, cold, noise, and mixed welcome mean I wouldn’t recommend it.

The location is pretty good, close to two Underground stations, with nice places to shop and eat nearby. The people running the hotel are friendly, but whoever is responsible for hygiene standards needs to be questioned. There are signs everywhere saying smoking is forbidden, yet I could strongly smell weed in the staircase almost every day. We arrived too early for check-in and had to wait. They let us leave our luggage in a waiting room, and we came back four hours later. I assumed the rooms were being prepared and cleaned, but I was dissatisfied when we saw ours. I don’t mind a small or old fashioned room if I can sleep and shower, but I do expect it to be clean. The carpet was very dirty and smelly, so we had to keep the windows open 24/7. It hadn’t been vacuumed properly: there were crisps on the floor and, under the bed on wheels, a pack of tissues and more rubbish. We hadn’t even used the shower, but there were water marks on the glass, a stranger’s hair on the shower floor, and a few mold stains on the metal parts. At least the rest was somewhat tidy. The windows were dirty too, with greasy fingerprints and handprints. The curtains were partly ripped, smelly, and stained, and the bed frame above the bed had marker stains and other dirt. It seemed like only the bedding and towels had been cleaned. I care about clean surroundings more than anything, and in that room, even after showering, touching things made me want to shower again. I unfortunately can’t recommend staying here. The lack of cleanliness made the stay uncomfortable.