Bob W London Spitalfields — Hotel in London

Rooms vary from good to awful - I'd give 3 stars for my first room and 1 for my second.||||I wanted a place for a few nights when down on business and found this place fairly reasonable for a few nights away. The location is pretty good - just a stroll up from Algate East (tube) Station. There's plenty of Chinese restaurants nearby, so the air nearby is dense with delicious smells of Asian cooking, which I quite liked - but those with more sensitive allergies may want to consider keeping windows shut if this causes issues.||||Check-in was odd: they wanted ID of some sort (passport or driving licence, neither of which I carried) and wouldn't simply take my emailed confirmation as evidence I'd booked it (which I hadn't - it was done by my office). However, once I'd proven that it was me that paid for it, I was granted keys. I also tried to modify my booking to include another guest but for some reason they couldn't do it at the desk - I had to contact booking.com myself and instruct them so that they could instruct the hotel, which made a mockery of the website mentioning contacting them for amendments if they appear powerless to do so - it just felt like they weren't interested in any work unless booking.com directed them to do it.||||I thought I'd simply get a room but I ended up with an apartment on the first floor, which was pretty spacious - in addition to the bedroom and large bathroom there's a kitchen featuring lounge and TV; the booking felt more suited to families for a stay away.||||The bedroom's general décor is akin to a sparse student room. Although touted as a double, it felt more like a single room with a double bed, with a bedside cabinet and lamp on just one side (which obscured a wall socket containing USB ports) and nothing on the other, furnished with an electric heater hidden behind the curtain (meaning the heat was possibly blocked by the curtain and directed out of the window - why not on wall elsewhere?) but despite its size it was very warm and welcoming for a chilly November night. The windows cut out a fair amount of sound so there's little disturbance at night, especially during minor noise from the Nov5th celebrations.||||There's no TV in the bedroom - this is to be found out in the lounge which features a kitchenette to the side, dining table, sofa, chair etc - I didn't make much use of it but appreciated the facilities.||||The bathroom was large - the bath was equipped with a shower and the toilet featured a sanitisation seal across it. Given the grout between the tiles were somewhat grotty (and some tiles were cracked and loose) this felt like a token gesture. The heated towel rail is powered by a switch out in the corridor - given it's unlabelled, it's not obvious. Other signs of poor quality control included some decrepit fittings (like sockets hanging off walls) and a non-working clock... is it so hard to get these things right?||||Nonetheless, it was good enough that when I was to return a week later, I booked the same place. This time I was given a room at the end of the corridor which was a far cry from my previous visit: although we had two bedside cabinets only one lamp was provided (and was unplugged), no other bedside power points, a non-functioning clock on the wall (is this mandatory in all rooms?) and the bathroom was pretty chilly with a poorly-repaired window and grubby walls - the bedroom was much warmer, so the bathroom lacked any thermal insulation at all.||||Wifi here was also haphazard - there were two routers in the room itself with overlapping signals (one had an SSID of "test").. everything felt like it was a rush job and the room itself was rarely-used.||||Although I slept okay the nights I was there, that last experience has put me off from returning there in case I get assigned that...

OK, let me get the good things out the way first. The staff are friendly enough and the view i had from the room was pretty cool, oh and the shower had hot water...... er....... hmmmm...... The room had been cleaned. Now the bad.||||If you are booking through Booking.com you will see some pictures of a room, looks pretty right? loads of space, nice and clean, modern and crisp. But before you go pressing the book now button you need to know a few things. That room has been heavily dressed and in no way reflects the other rooms in this place. ||The room i was given was nothing like the pretty pictures, there was mould around the windows and in the bathroom, plaster was coming away from the walls, was cracked and badly repaired in many other areas. the pillows are about an inch thick, the bed mattress was also very thin and rock hard, the duvet was also crazy thin. The electric heater was next to the dated curtains so during the night you had the choice of freezing and have the curtains closed or risking turning on the death trap heater and leaving the curtains open, doing both would have the curtains resting on top of the heater...... what could go wrong. Multi plugs used next to the sink, main electric cables spliced using electric tape, REALLY thin walls that you her EVERYTHING through, constant noise through the night, loud doors, damp windows, bad smells, blood around the door frame. ||||People who post bad reviews about good hotels need to stay here, this is a bad hotel, how it's trading with clear health and safety issues is beyond me, this place needs to be shut down. I have uploaded a few examples from my room. ||||In summery just go elsewhere, a cemetery maybe, It's quiet and if you spend a few nights at this hotel i am sure you could...

Wow! Thank you Bob W for an incredible stay in London! We had 2 apartments and travelled as a family of 4 (2 adults, 2 kids aged 12 and 10) in one apartment and 2 grandparents in the other. The setup for both places was great, with a comfortable, clean space, bedding, kitchen and bathroom amenities. The Bob W. team was super responsive right from booking through the whole trip, checking in with us regularly to see if we needed anything and answering all my questions immediately over WhatsApp. We loved all the thoughtful touches, like the instant camera (hit with my kids!), coffee, tea, and little snacks. The washing machine was a bonus and Bob W. even provided detergent, which I thought was really nice. |The apartment was a quick walk from the tube, and ideally located close to many food options. We felt very safe walking around the neighborhood and enjoyed exploring this area of London in addition to all the tourist sites. ||Will definitely use this company again and look forward to checking out other cities in the future!||One thing to consider is that there is no lift. We were on the second floor, which is a few flights of stairs and it was a bit difficult for our older family members to go up and down the stairs. I would consider requesting a first floor accommodation if you struggle with stairs. ||There is also no air conditioning but they set the apartments up with multiple fans and there is a good breeze from the windows so it was comfortable (we stayed at the beginning of July). ||Thanks again for making our London trip so...