The Academy

The reception team, Amila, Baron, Davide, Felix, Ida, Andrea, Sithara, and Janos, were friendly and helpful throughout my seven-day stay. Krishna, Tea, Erangi, Tidi, and Menta in the restaurant and kitchen did a fantastic job each morning. Breakfast was delicious, with fresh pastries baked every morning, and housekeeping was excellent. My room was clean and comfortable, and I loved the beautiful backyard garden. The hotel is in a quiet, pleasant area near three underground stations, with lots of cafés and restaurants nearby. A lovely place to stay, highly recommended.

The breakfast staff were so courteous and lovely, and I’d definitely recommend staying here. I arrived after minor surgery looking a right state, but had a laugh with reception. Both gentlemen were helpful and professional. The bed and pillows were incredibly comfortable. I wanted to take the pillows home, they were that perfect.

Clare and I looked forward to coming back each day after everything we had to do. At a stressful time, while she was preparing for a nerve injection, the hotel felt like a warm, comfortable home away from home. We found an oasis in a place we hadn’t expected. I’ve spent more than 42 years managing prestigious hotels around the world, often in five-star settings, and I know how much a team matters to a guest’s experience. The care shown to us left a lasting impression. Baron, Felix, Andrea, Ida, Davide, and the wonderful breakfast team, including the talented sisters, Tea, deserve special mention. Their genuine hospitality and thoughtful gestures made our stay. They’re a credit to the hotel and shining ambassadors for the hospitality industry. There were so many lovely experiences, too many to mention. Thank you for an unforgettable visit. We look forward to coming back. Thomas and Clare Noblett

The Academy- Small Luxury Hotels of the World is presented as a five-star hotel, but our experience felt deeply disappointing and misleading. We haven’t stayed there and can’t recommend it. My wife and I are medical doctors and academics who travel extensively, around 50 trips a year. We often stay in boutique hotels and understand the compromises they can involve, but this property went beyond what we could reasonably accept. The staff were polite, yet ineffective and unwilling to address our concerns meaningfully. There’s no elevator, and we were assigned a cramped attic room on the 5th floor. We’re alpinists, so stairs themselves weren’t a problem, but the room was well below acceptable standards. More troubling were signs of water damage from a leaking roof. Mold and mildew were visible and seemed poorly covered with fresh paint. That’s unacceptable in any hotel, especially from a health perspective. This wasn’t a luxury experience by any definition, particularly in a city like London.