DoubleTree by Hilton London - Docklands Riverside — Hotel in London

I am writing to formally express my deep dissatisfaction with my recent stay at the DoubleTree by Hilton Docklands. What was meant to be an enjoyable stay from April 18th to 22nd quickly became an unpleasant experience, marred by repeated issues with cleanliness, poor communication, and a general lack of care and accountability from staff.

Upon arrival, I discovered a long hair on the towel provided in the bathroom. Having just stepped out of the shower, I had no choice but to use it, which was extremely unhygienic and distressing. I responded to a feedback request via text the following day, rating my stay 2/5 and highlighting the issue.

Unfortunately, the problems did not stop there. On Saturday afternoon, I found more hair along the sides of the bathtub. I immediately called the front desk and requested a deep clean of the room, which I was assured would be carried out. However, when I returned later that evening, not only were the hairs still in the bath, but the power also went out around 10:40 p.m.

I reported the outage to reception and was told the night manager, referred to as “Dina,” would be sent to resolve the issue. After waiting in the dark for 30 minutes with no response, I encountered Dina in the hallway. Shockingly, she was unaware of my situation and was attending to another room (550, while I was in 551). While she did apologize, it felt insincere and only added to my growing frustration.

The following day, I spoke with the Assistant Deputy Manager, who apologized and attempted to remedy the situation by offering Hilton Honors points, a room upgrade, and a discounted extra night. I accepted, hoping this would help restore some trust. However, upon moving to the new room on Sunday, I again discovered multiple hairs in the bathroom—on the floor, in the bathtub, and even in the bed sheets. As I am bald, I can confirm the hair was certainly not mine.

I contacted the Assistant Deputy Manager once again and asked him to come to the room to see the condition firsthand. Both he and Dina arrived, and I pointed out the issues. They were visibly shocked and noted additional issues I had not even seen. Dina appeared to take photos as evidence, and I have also attached my own photos and videos for your review.

They admitted the housekeeping standards were unacceptable and mentioned a lack of proper room inspections. The two of them cleaned the bathroom themselves, and I was informed that the matter would be escalated to a senior manager, who would contact me on Monday. I was told to expect an email. As of now, I have received no communication.

To add insult to injury, on my final morning—after yet another cleaning—the same issue occurred once more: more hair in the bath. I was appalled. I requested one last cleaning before checking out, but no one arrived.

At checkout around 12:15 p.m., I asked for contact information for both the Duty Manager and General Manager. While the receptionist provided the emails, she made no effort to ask about my stay or show any concern, capping off an appalling experience.

It is deeply disappointing that a hotel under the Hilton name could demonstrate such a consistent failure in basic hygiene, hospitality, and follow-through. This stay was meant to be a relaxing birthday getaway; instead, it became one of the most frustrating and distressing hotel stays...

The stay at the hotel was very pleasant, with a great location in the Rotherhithe area, formerly home to docks and shipyards. The hotel's proximity to public transportation was also convenient, with bus line C10 stopping right in front of the hotel and offering quick access to the Jubilee Line at Canada Water or Bermondsey Station. Alternatively, the hotel offered a free ferry service, RB4, which departed from the hotel's pier and crossed the river to Canary Wharf, where guests could transfer to the Jubilee Line or DLR (monorail).

The room was comfortable, with a king-sized bed and a second guest staying for free. The room was located on the fourth floor with a lateral river view, and the bed was very comfortable. However, there were a few drawbacks, such as the lack of a minibar/fridge (cold drinks were only available by storing them on the balcony) and a missing socket in the bathroom. Additionally, the hotel's fire alarm went off twice during our stay, which caused some inconvenience.

The hotel's breakfast buffet was excellent, with a good selection of options, including English Breakfast, hash browns, sausages (100 times better than our Nuremberg sausages), and freshly cooked omelets. However, the coffee was not up to par.

The snack selection on the evening menu is also not bad. There are around 7-8 starters, 5 side dishes, and 5-6 desserts to choose from, all of which can be ordered for free with the vouchers. The drinks menu offers a choice between a glass of white wine or red wine, beer, spirits (25ml), long drinks (25ml), or soft drinks. My companion always chose the Gin Tonic, and I had the Draft Pint Stella Artois. Since we had limited selection on the evening of the fire alarm, we opted for Chicken Wings and Arancini. On our last evening, we redeemed the remaining 3 vouchers for Chicken Wings, Burrata, Mac & Cheese, Onion Rings, Truffle Fries, and an Affogato as dessert. The food is actually quite good and has more value than visiting a lounge, especially since we prefer to eat out in London anyway.

The most unpleasant part was a theft committed by one of the hotel staff. At first, I thought my AirPods Pro had been stolen somewhere in London. The location displayed on the Find my Phone app seemed unfamiliar. However, a few weeks later, I noticed that they were back in the hotel. This unfortunately raised suspicions of theft by a staff member. I confronted the hotel with the situation and was consistently impressed with the Director of Operations' approach. He took the matter very seriously and even accepted my screenshots that confirmed the suspicion. I was able to submit the receipt for my newly purchased AirPods and received the purchase value at the current exchange rate. I had never been in such an unpleasant situation before and was delighted with the management's handling of it.

Conclusion The situation was ideal for us, and the hotel had also pleased us very much, with a few exceptions. Despite the unpleasant incident, we would book it again anytime, thanks to the actions of the Director of Operations, who rehabilitated...

Lots of pros and cons. Pros I actually thought the room was quite comfortable and though they charged me for it, they allowed me to check in early. I also liked the teas and coffee bags. And the view and ferry were nice! Also not the most convenient location but it was nice that there's a bus stop right outside the hotel

Cons: there was no latch on my door and TWO different times staff unexpectedly entered my room despite putting the "do not disturb" sign on my door. The first time they didn't even knock and it was about an hour after I checked in. The second time it was a little before 10 am and they knocked and I woke up and said "I was just sleeping, I don't need the room cleaned" from my bed but they thought it was appropriate to enter the room anyway. I complained and they told me their manager was in a meeting and would contact me later but no one ever did.

Then when I actually left early in the morning one day and put the "please change the sheets" on my bed they didn't clean at all. In fact my sheets were not changed once (I know because I accidentally spilled some coffee on the bed and there was a tiny stain and the stain stayed all 5 days).

Also the fire alarm went off THREE TIMES in 5 days. The first two times they stopped after a minute and I called downstairs and was told it was a mistake or drill and not to worry, I can stay in my room. The third time was about 5 minutes after the second drill but the alarm kept going so I called downstairs and was told oh yeah there's an actual fire and I need to evacuate. It was about 10 in the morning. When I went downstairs the staff looked at me like I was crazy because I grabbed a jacket and put it over PJs?? But told me I didn't need to evacuate after all. Then rebuffed my basic questions because "they're still figuring out the fire" implying there was still an actual fire actively going on in the hotel?

Also the shower was very poorly designed. The water always flooded the bathroom floor even with the curtain in, and the water didn't drain. The shampoo & conditioner were bolted to the wall in a very narrow space so impossible to shower without them digging into your side. I also had to stop the shower to get shampoo because it was directly in the line of the water so the water kept washing it away 😞

Finally couldn't sign into my Hilton honors account to get credit for my stay. There was seemingly no way to do so unless you were a brand new member signing up. No big deal but I'm pretty sure I was charged for the "complimentary water for Hilton honors guests."

Overall it's very pretty and comfortable. The price wasn't too bad either. I think this place could be great with better communication between staff, training and/or management. But the lack of latch on the door and the staff barging in despite the "do not disturb" sign is what makes it impossible for me to recommend this hotel...