NOX Lancaster Gate — Hotel in London

Do NOT stay at O Paddington.

The room was fine, the location is loud but convenient. The staff (at least in person) were perfectly pleasant. Sure there were issues - like Wi-Fi not working and the power going out - but this is a budget hotel and these things happen. In both instances, things were rectified in an adequate time frame.

But none of that is why you should not stay at O Paddington. I stayed at the hotel for 6 nights; from Sunday night to Saturday morning. Each morning when I woke up I noticed an itchy spot or two that weren’t there the day before. I didn’t think much of it at first, but increasingly as my business trip progressed, the existing spots were getting bigger and itchier and new ones were appearing. It wasn’t until I left that I realised what was happening. These were bites. O Paddington has BED BUGS.

When I returned home, I wrote an email detailing what had happened, with a few photographs and explained that it was probably more constructive for me to write them in private so that they could address it. I also suggested that a (partial) refund would be appreciated, given I now had to endure these annoying bite marks (that had by now become very unsightly on my arms, neck and head) for two more weeks (if you didn’t already know, that’s how long they last).

The first response I received was from someone called Chaker who had not read my email at all and proceeded to inform me that they could not change my dates and there was indeed a no refunds policy. Good to know, but not what I asked. The second response I received was an accident. It was from a manager or team leader who promptly gave Chaker a dressing down and explained that ‘the Guest’ was trying to blame them for something with no evidence that it occured at the hotel and that they should be coming up with more ‘clever answers’ to customer complaints. This manager is clearly more skilled at dodging responsibility than they are using the ‘Reply All’ function on their preferred email client. Finally, I got my answer - I must have got the bed bug bites on my short flight from Budapest or the 15 minute Heathrow Express journey because it couldn’t possibly be from the O Paddington. And by the way, there is a no refunds policy.

So, please don’t bother booking your stay at O Paddington. There are plenty of other budget options in the vicinity that won’t involve you sharing your bed with hungry little pests. And if you've booked it already, then unfortunately they cannot change your dates, nor give you a refund - but at least make sure you don’t stay...

DO NOT BOOK THIS HOTEL!

I booked this hotel for my partners birthday trip to London. We received a worn down tiny basement box room with the walls and windows covered in horrible plastering and our view was of the mouldy gutters less than 2 feet from our window. (SEE Pictures) Nothing like the photos advertising the room we booked. The Shower handle was broken and our key card did not work and we could hear walking and talking coming from the corridor and rooms above and surrounding ours.

I booked a double room after viewing the 'pleasant' pictures online. I was extremely disappointed in the room we received as not a single picture on the website displayed the room we HAD to stay in. I believe this is not a coincidence and the hotel is guilty of false advertisement. I even stated when In the booking that it was a special occasion for my partner which was admittedly clear that this was not considered at all, instead disrespected.

My partner and I arrived slightly behind schedule leaving us rushed to a dinner reservation in Central London. Therefore, we did not have a chance to assess the property until late that evening. We complained first thing in the morning in which I was then rudely accused and questioned by the staff as to why we didn't ask to change rooms when we arrived.

Even if we had the chance to complain when we arrived, It should not be up to the paying customer to have to confront the staff about the poor facilities at 11:30PM and after a tiring day of traveling. Instead it should be the hotel and their staff who are responsible to provide a room that is up the '4 star' rating it is advertised online.

We were offered a 10% discount on our next booking with them as compensation. However, I feel completely disrespected by this offer as our hotel nearly ruined our one off trip to London. I responded with a further email to their offer which has rudely been ignored for days. Therefore, I will be taking it further through our booking provider. I do not plan on returning ever again, especially while it is in...

Great location to attend any events in Hyde Park, however…

We do not class this a hotel at all, we had to ring a bell to be let in, and it felt we were going in the back entrance, a small lobby and then stairs to a very small landing. The ‘reception’ was 1 person sitting in an under stair cupboard. We checked in early to leave our bags before going to an event and asked to use a loo, but we were told no, they only have toilets in the rooms. There were no hotel facilities at all. We would consider this property more of a hostel than a ‘boutique’ hotel. Our room was basic but clean. The bed was uncomfortable and we could feel the springs of the mattress. The sliding door to the en-suite was incredibly hard to move, probably because of the water damage at the bottom of the door. The blind in our room was tatty and dirty.

Our adult daughters had another room which was sold as a twin room, but it was a double bed and a pull out double sofa bed, not the twin beds you see in their photos. Our daughters only had one towel between them, and when they turned the bedside lamps on, one of them blew the electrics and they then had no lights.

When we left this morning there was a load of cleaning materials, hoover etc almost blocking the stairs.

We didn’t think the rooms were particularly cheap, and quite frankly I was embarrassed that I made this booking for my family. The worst London property we have ever stayed in.

Other reviews have said the staff were rude, I have to say we didn’t find that, they probably did the best they could.

If all you want is a bed for the night and have low expectations despite the price, maybe you’ll have a better experience than we did.

I guess in fairness to them, we should mention that we didn’t complain while we were there, but as we didn’t get back to our room until about 10.30pm we thought there was little point at that time of night.

Overall very...