Strand Palace — Hotel in London

We booked a one-night stay with a pre-theatre dinner, breakfast, and prosecco package to celebrate my partner’s birthday. Despite a few highlights, the overall experience was disorganised and disappointing.

The Good: The room was lovely and the bed huge. Breakfast was the standout - high quality food, loads of choice, and excellent GF provision. My partner was given a full separate GF breakfast with toast, roll, and muffin, brought to the table. Staff were warm and attentive.

Check-in was smooth, and the porters were especially helpful and friendly. Guest Services were also responsive and keen to help, even when limited. The location is ideal - right by Covent Garden and close to Charing Cross.

The Disappointing: Booking was harder than it should have been - 15+ mins on the phone, unexplained silences, the package wasn’t recognised at first, and I had to explain everything twice. I was told non-alcoholic prosecco in the room would be “no problem” - it never appeared.

On arrival, the room had water and chocolate, but no prosecco. I waited until after the show to follow up, thinking it would be a nice treat. At dinner, we asked for non-alcoholic wine for my partner - they had none. She was given a lemonade, I had a beer. Hardly a fair substitute for prosecco, and not what was promised. We were then charged for a bottle of water at the table - unnecessary, given we’d already had to compromise.

Later, Guest Services took me to the bar to sort the prosecco issue, but again, nothing available - just one alcohol-free beer and soft drinks. We were offered mocktails “on the house”, which was kind, but missed the point. I’d flagged this at booking and was reassured. There’s no excuse for not preparing.

Dinner itself was poorly executed. We arrived at 5:30, mistakenly thinking that was our time (it was actually 5:00). Still, it’s advertised as a 1-hour experience. Starters arrived at 6:10, mains at 6:40, desserts after 7. We had to rush through everything and left at 7:10 for our show. Not the relaxed birthday meal we’d hoped for.

The food was fine, but the menu made no sense - most mains had potatoes, and sides were more potatoes or mismatched salad. It felt thrown together to catch the pre-theatre crowd, not designed with any care. We were asked three times if my partner’s GF request was an allergy or intolerance - it felt more like an interrogation than a check.

The room had a few issues: wobbly fridge cabinet, broken shampoo dispenser, ineffective aircon, and a buzzing phone I had to unplug. Pillows were too soft and no alternatives were available, so neither of us slept well.

Finally, the main bar closed early without notice. The Gin Palace was the only option - drinks were good, staff lovely, but the space was loud, crowded, and full of already-drunk guests being served more. I only went in to collect drinks - I wouldn’t have stayed.

Overall: Great location, lovely breakfast, and a few excellent staff. But poor communication, broken promises, and a lack of joined-up service ruined what should have been a smooth, celebratory stay. A real shame - with more care, this could’ve...

Great stay with a few minor hiccups.

We had a great stay at The Strand Palace and would definitely return! We upgraded our room upon arrival from a double to a king for £25 per night, which was worth it. The bed was comfy and spacious with plenty of plug sockets either side, good storage, a safe, an ironing board, and a mini fridge that kept everything perfectly cold. The room itself isn't as big as other hotels in comparison, but it's still good quality. The bathroom was nice, towels were soft and absorbent, and while there were some watermarks on the shower doors, it wasn’t an issue for us.

One small letdown was being told our upgrade included a coffee machine, but there wasn’t one that we could find in the room. It didn’t bother us since we don’t drink coffee, but I can imagine it would be frustrating for those who do.

Service throughout our stay was excellent - friendly staff, quick check-in and check-out (with email options to do both in advance), and great room service with filling meals, however the prices for drinks were extortionate. The WiFi was fast and easy to access, and the complimentary water bottles with refill stations near the lifts were a great touch. Speaking of lifts, they could get quite busy at peak times, but that’s expected in a large hotel.

Breakfast was a bit of a mixed experience. When we checked in, we were told it was free because we upgraded our room, but when we arrived the next morning, we were informed it wasn’t, so we paid £40 for the two of us. The food itself was good, but the plates were tucked away in a corner, making them hard to find. Bowls for the fruit would have been nice - if they were there, they were just as hidden!

The hotel itself was easy to find, very clean, and well-signposted. We loved the themed floors, each representing a different decade, and the interactive boards on each level were really helpful for navigation. The location was great with bus stops just down the road, a transport museum nearby, theatres and a couple of stations within a 10-minute walk.

A nice eco-friendly touch was the £7 voucher for skipping room cleaning, though we didn’t use it in the end.

Overall, a very enjoyable stay. Friendly staff, clean and comfortable rooms, and great facilities. We’ll hopefully be back...

Stayed here from 11th-18th May 2025

Avoid staying in this hotel as my wife's Ring got stolen from the hotel room and our fault was that we left our stuff unattended and unlocked. Just thought in 20mins will come back from breakfast and lock the stuff before leaving which we were doing everyday but skipped that day.

Had to visit the police station to file a complaint as Hotel had done their investigation (which they didn't share anything with us but just wanted to believe that the cleaner girl didn't take the ring as they have done checking and closed the investigation). Who will compensate for anything? Not in the Hotel Policy. In the end it is customers fault. We thought thefts are common outside hotel on the streets. Didn't know that stuff is not safe in the hotel also.

In Bali our phone got stolen and hotel staff went with us to police station but Here they said you can go yourself to the police station and we will cooperate. Because obviously they cannot endorse as it is their own staff and they are very confident. Customer must be making stories.

It became a total loss to us. So we kept the chocolates given by them in their locker so that those also don't get stolen and didnt take their complimentary breakfast for next 2 days.

Rooms - very small rooms and bathroom are even smaller. Please choose your room wisely and check the floor area because otherwise you will be in for a surprise. Bathing area picture i have uploaded. Bigger size rooms are expensive but like every other couple we also thought that we have to roam outside who wants to be in the hotel but believe you me that you spend atleast 7-8 hours in hotel which is 33% of your day and when you come back to such a room the mood spoils.

Cleanliness - very dirty. They don't change sheets unless you specifically tell them to. Secondly when we were searching for the stolen ring I took our 5-6 things from below the bed which were never cleaned and looked as if they were there from a long time. I handed them over to the duty manager as he was in our room for checking. Obvi cleaning staff is busy with taking other peoples stuff.

Location - i will not give negative on this. Location is good but you can find other hotels in the vicinity as well.

Overall- Please find...