The Voyage Hotel Paddington, Sonder — Hotel in London

I hate having to leave bad reviews; but this situation is just so annoying. Who on earth, in their right mind, wants to use an APP to fulfill the basic needs of an hotel room? Seems, the only people who've reviewed this place and praised it, are those APP users, and interestingly few of them have a history of reviewing hotels. (I've inadvertently got two profiles with Tripadvisor, and many of mine end up in the other account, which I cannot seem to merge). Anyway... on the plus side. Location, location, location. We couldn't get into our previous hotels in Paddington, but we're so close that the WiFi from previous trips is stronger in our room, than the free WiFi provided by Sonder, which is dodgy at the best. Again on the plus side, apart from a couple of stains on the carpet, the room is clean. There is, with a bit of imagination, quite a bit of storage space, but not really enough for two people, with two large suitcases and two cabin bags, who are in Europe for 5+ weeks! However, how one is supposed to access the top shelf defies imagination! ||We have hot water. (Other reviewers were not so lucky).||We don't have any means to request clean towels, or enough toilet paper for four nights. The APP is not only a nuisance; it wouldn't work... partly, I think, from the WiFi issue. ||We don't have any natural light, because the cords on the blind are broken. ||There is no light switch when you enter the room, requiring a stumble in the dark to the switch beside the bed, which is not a switch, but a push button dimmer. We are old and unused to such things and it's taken way too long to figure out how to turn lights on and off... and there's an auto sensor one in the bathroom that comes on in the dead of night, as you reach for the towel! (Have since discovered where the sensor is, to turn it off). This is an annoyance, if not critical, but annoyances can make or break a stay.||There is an elevator only to the 2nd floor, and we were allocated the 4th floor, obviously once servants' quarters of a city townhouse, and not big enough to accommodate even a double bed which is accessible from both sides... acrobatics needed by the wall-hugging second person, and no bedside amenities except a reading light. This is a one-person room at the best, and then for no more than a couple of nights. The so called desk doesn't exist. False advertising!!!!! ||As mentioned this is our preferred London area to stay in, and the reasons are well documented in other reviews, and we have stayed in small rooms before, but this one is by far and away the smallest. ||The bathroom sink's taps are too big for the sink, so water splashes all over you, if you don't turn them on for the minimum amount of water to wash your hands. They're so stupidly modern, you can't even fill said basin to wash your face! ||There's nowhere to sit in the room, except on the bed or the floor. Fine, if you're off out between getting up in the morning and finally collapsing into bed at night... but for the most basic of "other things to do, like reading a book"; highly uncomfortable... and we never need a TV, but yes, you'd be stuck in bed to watch it. ||Unbelievably; I'd never have booked here if I'd read the reviews; but my son and family are nearby and offered to use their Marriot rewards/points to have us closer to them for our 4 night stay. I've not revealed how bad a choice that was, because looking a gift horse in the mouth is ungracious; but I know my daughter-in-law would have stormed out in disgust. Like me, dog-boxes are not our style; and there is nothing to indicate, when booking with rewards/points that you're going to be given just that and...

Headline: ABSOLUTE NIGHTMARE: Sonder @ Voyage (Paddington) Ruined My London Trip & Caused Injury

My 7-night stay (May 12-19, 2025) at Sonder @ Voyage in Paddington was an unmitigated disaster from start to finish. Upon checking in, I discovered there was NO HOT WATER in the entire building, a critical issue the reception staff failed to disclose. I wasted time unpacking and stood under an icy cold shower for 10-15 minutes before realizing the system was completely faulty.

Sonder's "service recovery" was non-existent: They offered only "free cancellation," ignoring the fact that last-minute hotels in London cost a fortune, leaving me financially disadvantaged. After hours of fruitless calls and no solutions, I was incredibly told to walk 10 minutes to another Sonder hotel at 10 PM just to shower. They eventually moved me to Sonder The Henry for one night only, forcing me to vacate by 12 PM the next day, leaving me effectively homeless again. They proposed unsuitable alternatives (e.g., Sonder Gilbert, 50 mins from my seminar), which I rejected, but they then used this to deny a refund. They have refused to fully refund my original booking (and my colleague's, May 17-19, for joint meetings)despite their fundamental breach of contract (no hot water!). Their offer of a mere £150 compensation is insulting. A Sonder Customer Officer even personally promised will look into this and ensure I get my refund but went missing after that.

This incompetence forced me to spend hundreds more on last-minute alternative accommodation (Airbnb, then Berjaya Hotel for myself and my colleague), and incur significant additional transport costs (multiple taxi fares just to move my luggage).

The constant stress, anxiety, and the physical strain of repeatedly shifting heavy luggage between temporary accommodations directly resulted in a significant shoulder injury. I have since incurred over S$1800 (~£1050) in medical bills and require ongoing physiotherapy.

Sonder @ Voyage's management was absent and unprofessional throughout, leaving junior staff to handle an impossible situation. This was a clear breach of contract, a blatant disregard for guest well-being, and a shocking example of poor service recovery. As an international traveler, this experience has severely tainted my perception of London's hospitality. Avoid this property...

Spent four nights at Sonder the Voyage, which is conveniently right by Paddington Station. Nearby are a number of good restaurants and you have easy access to buses and trains to get you around town.

Their system is interesting in that your whole process of booking and check-in are entirely online. A downside of that is if you're coming from another country and don't have a SIM card yet, you need to have a working phone number for them to send a code to, so either you'll have to buy a SIM card before checking in or you'll have to pay for receiving a text while in a foreign country. Also, it was a bit annoying to have to create an account just to check-in.

The room itself was very clean and new looking. But heads up, it's small. I attached some videos that give you an idea of the size, and this was the largest Queen bed room option. The smaller would be a square meter smaller.

I appreciated the rain shower showerhead in the shower, and the toilet was fine, but the sink is not far out in front of the toilet, so could be an issue for larger chested women.

The TV had the option to log into my Netflix account, but I had issues initially connecting because the TV wasn't connected to the internet. At first it showed no available wifi networks, but eventually gave some options after I restarted the TV. Then it took a second restart to get it to actually connect to one of those networks. I saw there was a Sonder-TV wifi network, but I didn't have a password for that so connected to the general (Sonder) network which was not the strongest signal. Once connected to the wifi, connecting to Netflix wasn't an issue. Not sure if the lagginess of the TV was because of the wifi or just the TV itself, but there was definitely a delay between when I clicked the remote and when things happened on the TV.

Lastly, the lights. The light control system could use some improvement. In order to turn on the lights I had to go across the room to the bed to turn it on there. If it was night time then you're in a dark room fumbling for the switch. Related note, there are no reading lights by the bed, so I'd you want to read in bed you either need to have the room lights on or be using an e-reader with built in lighting.

Yes, there were issues with the place, but it actually was generally a pleasant stay and it's a...