Commodore Hotel — Hotel in London

First the good stuff. This hotel is well located. You are within easy walking distance of several of the tube lines and great bus service to many of the sites. The rooms are clean and have been recently redone resulting in nice finishes and a modern aesthetic. It was also one of the only hotels we could find in central London that offered enough sleeping space for two adults and one teenager without forcing someone to sleep on a pull out couch.

However, we found several areas that made our stay somewhat frustrating at the Commodore. First, the Commodore is not a four star hotel as indicated on all major websites. It lacks the amenities that would make it so. The rooms are small, we knew that going in but, the small size of the rooms is further complicated by the layout and the utter lack of surfaces available. The larger bed was located so close to the radiator that I burned myself several times trying to get in and out of bed in the dark. The bathroom does not have a single countertop or shelf available in it outside of the shower. A small investment in a few shelves and hooks throughout the room would make a significant difference in its usability. The lobby does not offer any real services. There's a box of tea bags that you may take back up to your room and several soft drinks for purchase but, there is no tea kettle, coffee or other amenities that would make it welcoming. There is a large television playing strange ads and ambient music. One suggestion would be to host a simple wine hour that would allow guests to mingle and make the lobby feel less sterile and more inviting. There was a large jug filled with sliced oranges that you could fill up a glass of water at as well but often was lukewarm and tasted stale. We were provided 3 16 oz bottles of water when we checked in but was told by the front desk those bottles would not be replenished at any point during our stay. This seems like a small investment that would make the rooms feel much more inviting and hospitable. Installing a drinking fountain with a water bottle filler would also make a difference. I wouldn't have minded refilling those water bottles if we could get filtered and cold water. Lastly, while there is a small fitness facility it does not operate on the room key. If you want to use the workout room you have to go to the front desk where they will escort you down and unlock the door every time you want to use it. This is a tremendous inconvenience.

All in all, there are several things to like about this hotel. However, on our next trip we will likely find another of the great options nearby which are closer to the underground stations and offer better amenities...

I only stayed with the Commodore for two nights and was apprehensive about the reviews before I went. I booked with Groupon so you never know what you may get.

It is true that there is only an elevator to the 6th floor, my room was on the 7th so I had to take the stairs to the top. This wasn't an issue for me but if it is I'd advise letting them know beforehand.

I arrived early but the receptionist was happy to store my luggage for me so I could go and explore.

Very pleasant customer service.

As far as I can see the hotel was clean, my room certainly was.

Breakfast was lovely and they ask if you want eggs as you enter the restaurant. I am also Gluten Free so, after asking, one of the servers gave me some GF bread.

It's a small hotel, very quaint but literally 5minutes walk to Kensington Gardens.

I stayed here because I wanted to see Kensington specifically and the Natural History Museum. Which is only a 30minute walk from the hotel through Kensington Gardens.

My shower was incredible, very clean and well maintained. My view wasn't bad at all, definitely could have been worse.

Air con was brilliant, but you have to control it by a screen on the wall so if you're not "tech-savvy" this can be daunting. Also, if you're lazy like myself then it was an effort to get out of bed if I wanted to change the temperature.

It took me only 7minutes or so to walk from the Lancaster Gate Tube to the hotel.

There was also a personalised message on the TV when I turned it on and that was a really nice touch.

I had two blinds, one was a secrecy blind and the other a blackout. And my window opened (not far but it still opened).

Complementary tea, coffee, and biscuits. Safe included, hangers in the wardrobe, two small drawers (perfect if you're a lone traveller) and a bedside table. There was also a vanity desk/vanity mirror with a pull out stool if you needed to use it for getting ready.

The only downsides some might says is obviously the walk up the last flight (my room made up for it though) and the fact they didn't have dairy free milk options for in the room. I appreciate that the majority of people are not dairy free so most wouldn't have an issue with this.

Also the elevator is very small, if you're in any way afraid of small spaces I wouldn't use this. Personally I'm not, so I thought it was more "cute and cosy" than small. On the plus there was a mini fridge in the room so if needed you could self cater to a certain extent.

Overall my stay has been perfect and exactly what I was looking for.

Hopefully, I've covered enough of the facilities to help you decide if it's...

There are many things makes this hotel very bad that it shouldn’t be a 4 star hotel at all. This is literally 2 or 3 star hotel. Reasons as follows; CONS:

-NO ROOM SERVICE IN THIS 4 STAR HOTEL!!

Has multiple “official” websites which also shows on Google search as first official result (will explain shortly why I mention this)

No gym facilities available, management said “we never advertised it” yet it is in multiple websites including on their official ones. Yet they said “We use the current one which is commodore hotel lhp, those ones we used it but not anymore” specifically… why would you keep a website live and accessible to book rooms actively? And please see the photo below, they literally mentioning the gym in our welcome screen!

NO DIARY ALTERNATIVES. They only have dairy milk. As a lactose intolerant I was forced to buy my own “milk” to able to do my coffee/tea.

Missing toiletries in room

Our little cushion seat in the room had a big footprint by previous guests or perhaps housekeeping tried to clean something high up by stepping on it

Limited tea and coffee options. They only have: Twinnings Everyday as an only tea option, Nescafé decaf and normal and nothing else. UPDATE: after few days, we found selection of teas in the common area, reception said it’s for free, however for many days they lied to us that they don’t have any tea options. Horrendous

Half of the reception staff doesn’t understand English or inexperienced/careless

Bidet is in the toilet but it’s unusable (confirmed in multiple rooms)

No one escorted neither showed rooms which we had to find out ourselves

No management is available to talk to, they are only accessible with email which they trying to delay to deal with ongoing issues

Cold breakfast and burnt coffee (which made by machine) with very artificial orange juice which tastes like Vitamin C fizzy tablets

PROS: Rooms are at least in a minimum standard Comp water (only first night then it’s £3.50 a tiny bottle) and mini fridge

The receptionist admitted as that it’s their fault but there is no action taken. We paid over £3000 with two rooms yet we didn’t receive 4 star quality what we expected. No discount, no refund, not even a complimentary breakfast to as a gesture...