I stayed at Leonardo Royal Hotel Tower Bridge for my mother’s birthday on February 11th, and it’s now April — yet I’ve had no resolution. My emails have been ignored, my account blocked, and when I used a different email to reach out, I received one call where I was asked irrelevant questions about how I booked my stay. I was told I’d get a call back — that never happened.

I held off on writing this review, hoping they would do the right thing and make this right — but clearly that’s not a priority for them.

I planned this trip carefully as a special birthday surprise for my mum — she travelled from Poland to visit me for the first time, and it was meant to be a cherished memory. Instead, it turned into a series of disappointments and humiliations.

The moment we arrived, systems were down. I understand things happen, but there was zero courtesy or communication from staff — not even a basic “we’re sorry for the delay.” Throughout our stay, the attitude from several staff members was dismissive and, at times, downright rude.

Despite prior contact from both myself and my partner (who works in the hospitality industry), where we asked for birthday touches and mentioned it was a special occasion, nothing was acknowledged. We were upgraded to an Executive Room but never told — meaning we missed out on the included lounge access and ended up paying for things that should have been complimentary.

The spa experience was appalling. The jacuzzi was full of foam and a strong chemical smell that irritated our eyes and skin, causing flare-ups and discomfort for both me and my mum. The space was messy, phones were being used despite rules, and there was no sense of order or professionalism.

The worst part? The birthday massage I booked for my mum — the one relaxing thing she was looking forward to — was refused because we were a few minutes late due to lift issues. Staff were rude and offered no empathy. When we finally complained, reception arranged for her to have the massage later that day, but when we went back to the spa, the staff again tried to charge us and refused to acknowledge what reception had promised. My mum ended up in tears on her birthday, humiliated and exhausted from the back-and-forth.

Eventually, the massage was given — but it was not the one I originally booked. And the attitude of the staff throughout this experience was shockingly unprofessional.

The only two people who showed any compassion and care were the ladies from the food and beverage team, who surprised my mum with a dessert and treated us with respect — they were the only part of the hotel that reflected what hospitality should be. was clear that the staff were untrained and didn’t know what they were doing — confirmed to me by members of the food and beverage team, was that a lot of the spa staff were new and hadn’t been properly trained, and that there were similar issues across other parts of the hotel.

After this experience, I looked at other reviews on Google and TikTok, and I was shocked to see how many people had nearly identical issues — especially with the spa. But what’s more upsetting is that many of them received some form of compensation. I’ve received nothing — no call, no email, no apology. And I genuinely believe this feels like discrimination. Why was my experience ignored while others with similar complaints were taken seriously?

This was supposed to be a beautiful moment for me and my mum. Instead, it’s a memory we’re trying to forget.

At the very least, I expect a full refund and some form of gesture to make up for the birthday that was ruined — whether that’s a voucher or a stay at another location. Because this? This was beyond unacceptable.