The Wellington Hotel London (FKA The Rochester) — Hotel in London

This hotel is conveniently located near shopping, restaurants, pubs, transportation, and two food markets. It is approximately 10 minutes from Victoria Station and is located in a residential area. I felt very safe walking in the area at night.

The hotel itself backs on its sister hotel, The Wellington -a more up to date version of the building housing the shared gym and restaurant/bar. Traveling with my son, The Rochester Hotel appealed to us because it offered two twin beds for an affordable price. The decor is dated, yet it has a certain charm about it. The lobby area offers seating for guests who may arrive ahead of their check-in time. There is also a restaurant/bar, but it is only open midday. Guests interested in dining for breakfast or dinner must go around the corner to The Wellington or eat at the vegan cafe on the corner. Room service is also available.

Our room was the Executive Twin located on the fifth floor. Being on the fifth floor, our room was equipt with air conditioning. In addition, the room had a desk and chair, a small refrigerator (which was not plugged in), and three small cabinets, one of which was affixed to the wall. A kettle was not present in the room when we checked in. There was a closet that contained a few hangers, a safe which was attached to a shelf in the closet. There was also an ironing board (no iron), a hairdryer which was oddly tucked away and affixed in the desk drawer, and a televison. There was also a wall and full length mirror. The room did not contain a dresser drawer nor a luggage rack-very inconvenient when staying for a week. There were also two small cabinets which appeared to be former bedside tables. The outlet was located across the room opposite the bed and below a small wall cabinet. It was not convenient for charging devices.

Since we were on the 5th floor, our room offered air conditioning. Based upon the desk agents comment about the 5th floor, I got the sense that the other floors were not offered air conditioning, though I cannot be certain of this fact.

While it did not negitively effect our stay, the 5th floor is not accessible by elevator. Instead, we were required to exit the elevator on the 4th floor and then take the stairs located along side the elevator to reach the 5th floor, a bit inconvenient when carrying luggage. The desk agent failed to mention that the elevator did not reach the 5th floor when he assigned our room.

As our plans mainly centered around full day site seeing, the room size was adequate for our needs. The bed itself was in essense two twins pushed together to fit into the wall mounted headboard frame. We were able to move the beds apart slightly to suit our needs. The bed was comfortable enough however the two pillows were a bit flat. There was a small table next to each bedside with a reading light that was controlled by a master switch near the doorway. The lights could individually be turned on and off, however the light switch next to one of the bedsides did not work properly and the light remained on until the master switch, which also powered the bathroom lights was turned off. This made nightly trips to the bathroom and early morning showers a bit difficult. The bathroom was nice, but it was a bit difficult stepping in an out of the tub/shower as the tub appeared to be on a bit of a platform. Outlets are on their own power switch and must be turned on to be utilized.

A bar of soap, toilet paper, tissues, shampoo, conditioner, and lotion was provided in the bathroom along with two bath towels, a hand towel and a floor mat. For those from the states, washclothes are not provided.

Our room was cleaned daily and fresh towels provided. The staff was courteous and professional.

Aside from the minor inconveniences, I would recommend this hotel to travelers because of the room set up choices, its location to many of the local attractions and the transportation convenience.

Please excuse the room photos, the room was neat, orderly and clean...

Looking for a relaxing vacation at a clean 4-star hotel? Keep looking, this isn't it. Read on if you need further encouragement not to stay here.

First, it's important to note that I try to primarily write positive reviews - I only write negative reviews if it's truly deserving.

So... During my long-awaited vacation from work, I found myself counting down the 5 nights, 6 days until I could move on to the next hotel in my trip, I can in no way personally recommend a stay at this hotel.

I feel that the Rochester Hotel denigrates the star system by which it benefits. I have stayed at 2 star motels with cleaner rooms and better service. I've even stayed at campgrounds with FAR cleaner bathrooms. This is in no way a 4 star hotel, and they are fully aware of their issues, yet do nothing about it.

Upon finding a significant issue with black mold in my bathroom on my second day, I was switched to another room which ended up having the same problems to a lesser degree and in different spots. This is not small problem if you have allergies or breathing concerns.

I was offered breakfast as a beg-pardon for the issues I encountered. No, thank you. I'm not interested in ingesting food from a place that keeps their rooms in the condition that they're in. I did not take them up on the offer.

Upon sending photos of the primary issue (black mold) to my booking company, the hotel responded to offer me a discounted rate on a FUTURE stay with the suggestion that I stay at one of their more expensive hotels. Offering me a discount to spend the same amount of money, if not more (bc it's a more expensive hotel), with minimal effort to address the problems that I experienced is a no go in my books. No one offered to do anything about it until the day I was checking out. Management was not available for a conversation over the weekend - they were only available on Monday as I was checking out.

In addition to that, the customer service during my stay was also disappointing. Four staff members watched me through the glass windows upon my arrival, as I tried to get my standard-sized luggage through the difficultly-small double doors at the entrance. Don't get me wrong, I can set my own tent up and camp alone... but I'm not paying for that kind of experience, and there aren't usually small doors, rolling luggage or doormen/desk staff in the woods. I paid for a hotel. The basic level of hospitable human thing to would be to ask if I need assistance, or at the very least, hold the door open for me.

If you're still here and wondering if you should stay, lastly (though I could detail more), the bed is oddly uncomfortable. It felt like they stuffed a comforter under a sheet to make a bad mattress bearable. It hangs off the side, so don't sit on the edges of the bed in the slightest because it's not supportive mattress you're sitting on.

I can't recommend a stay here, and I certainly won't be back. This is only a 4-star hotel if they are utilizing a 10-star system instead of the 5-star system.

UPDATE: In their response to my review, they noted that subsequently they have reached out to make things better. They are referring to the offer of a discounted rate that I already noted above. No other contact has been made, nor any efforts to rectify that terrible stay. That was a waste of precious vacation time that I get so little of. I will most definitely...

Last night I wrote a review that shed an unpleasant light on our room and a few of our disappointing experiences with the Hotel service.

I immediately received a note asking to take a moment to speak with the manager. As I said in my previous review, the staff are polite; the Hotel manager was marvelous as she addressed the issues mentioned. I give the Management 5 stars for quickly addressing my grievances and doing her best to rectify the problems.

For appreciation of manager and staff I will edit my first review but I do suggest if you are considering the Rochester Hotel; ask many questions for detailed answers about the room size and location of room, doing so will prevent surprises.

The building is old and is with charm HOWEVER the photos on website made the twin room we stayed In to be much larger/comfortable. Traveling with son we needed twin beds but the room we got is extremely small. I believe this room is suitable as an extra room for children to share while traveling with family. Not comfy for two adults. The tv has only basic working channels. I’ve never stayed in a “4” star hotel (I’ve been to over 10 countries and half the USA) and not have room to leave the suitcases, other than a corner space on the floor. The view is not a view it is of a wall of the neighbouring building! If you wish for a quieter space and a room with a view again I suggest you ask questions make your desires clear.

The breakfast buffet is extra; per person, a simple continental breakfast is not offered.

The front desk, polite; they stored our luggage upon our arrival but never made suggestions as to where to walk/visit while we waited to check in, I do wish they offered us to take one of the visitor brochures, would have saved us money and time. The switches that need turning for electric to work should be mentioned, odd system, but if staff took time to explain while checking us in.. now that I think about it, no one mentioned the lounge and offered us to rest/recoup there or the sitting area I noticed later. We had an overnight flight and could have used a lil comfort and a glass of water! After speaking with management I have no doubt that the front desk will remember to offer guests a brochure, suggest the lounge or sitting area for for those who arrive before check in. It was grueling to travel all night only to not be offered so much as a water and seat for a few moments. Perhaps a bench outside the hotel will help the flow of guests?

We had an overall “No one cares for customers’ comfort” feeling and that the hotel is over priced for what customers receive.

I am delighted at the quick response from Management and all she did to address the issues.

We are coming back to London next Spring, along with my daughter and my boyfriend. A family of four, perhaps others will join our trip, we will be looking for acceptable accommodations at a fair and reasonable price. Before the manager spoke with me I was sure I would not return but now I may consider staying here...