Wilde Aparthotels, London, Covent Garden — Hotel in London

Wilde Aparthotels are a small (in many ways) accommodation off The Strand in central London. They are a convenient walk to many of London's attractions including the London Eye, Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace, and many shops, restaurants and theaters. All that said, you will pay a premium for the room.

The lobby is quite small. There is typically a single employee inside to greet you, and sometimes beverages in the lobby for free. Check-in was quick and painless for us.

Even the largest rooms in the hotel will feel small. You'll be hard-pressed to find a place to lay your suitcase that isn't the bed or the walkway coming into the room. But there is storage tucked into various places. In our Superior Studio, there was a very large drawer under the bed. A small table folded out from the wall next to the bathroom sink for added counter space. There's a small shelf above the sink and storage around the kitchenette and TV.

What Wilde did not tell us when we checked in was that you control all of the electricity in the room with your key card. It must be inserted in a slot next to the front door. Lights, blinds, electrical outlets and even the central HVAC are activated by that key. I presume this is for cost-saving and fire risk reduction. I only learned about it through reading reviews for this hotel. There is also a "do not disturb" mode on that keypad to tell staff to stay away.

We had the most trouble getting towels. When we checked in, there were no towels at all in our room. We asked for some and we got two bath towels. We asked for hand towels and they brought more bath towels. When they cleaned our room mid-stay, we got two bath towels and a bath mat. We asked again for hand towels and they said they were out.

They provide a snack basket for those in our room type. They do not refresh it mid-stay. You would think for an 8-night stay in a pricey hotel, they might give you another chocolate bar (we even asked). You'll feel the cramped space of the room most in the bathroom. We hit our elbows on everything (and I'm the tallest at 5'11"). The shower is tight but has a rain shower and a handheld wand and the water pressure was excellent. Basic toiletries are provided (but no washcloths). The shower doors do not seal properly. We flooded the bathroom every time we took showers.

The toilet is loud and even with the door closed we were waking each other up (I'd recommend earplugs to sleep). There's a floor to ceiling window between the shower and the main room, which is an odd privacy invasion for the shower occupant and also bleeds the bathroom light into the bedroom area. The bathroom sink is in the main room instead of with the toilet and shower.

The window to the outside for our room is very large and has a motorized blackout shade. That thing was so effective, we were convinced it was the dead of night at 9:30 in the morning. We loved it especially when recovering from jet lag. Like many hotels, the pillows flattened to a pancake when used and were not comfortable even when stacked. My husband thought the mattress was far too firm and had difficulty sleeping. The sheets always seemed to be dirty and have debris in them, we're not sure whether it was dirt from the floor or whether the AC unit was shooting out mold. On the last morning of our stay, the hotel staff were extremely noisy and we had trouble sleeping in - a problem that would make our long travel day back home quite difficult.

The hotel uses WhatsApp to communicate quickly with its customers and for requests. The lobby is locked to the public between 11pm and 7:30am and is entered by room key only. There is one small elevator and it can be slow getting around as staff uses it as well. There is no ice machine, gym, or any other common facilities in the building.

Wilde has extraordinarily friendly and helpful staff. If you can either afford a pricier room or deal with a very tight accommodation (for the smaller rooms), this is a good place to stay for your...

4/10/25- I made an edit to my review bc I appreciate the hotel reaching out to my family and I. They were prompt with their communication and listened to what we had to say. We don’t expect perfection but we respect them for wanting to rectify our experience.

Like thousands of other travelers stranded in London due to the unexpected Heathrow fire and flight cancellations, we found ourselves scrambling for accommodations at the last minute. In the confusion, I mistakenly booked an accessible room at the Wilde hotel through Expedia. About an hour later, I realized the error and immediately called Expedia to cancel or change the booking. The Expedia agent attempted to contact the hotel multiple times on our behalf, but no one answered—understandably, the hotel was overwhelmed by the unfolding situation.

When we arrived, we learned the room was indeed designed for accessibility. We completely understand how important and necessary these rooms are for travelers who rely on them—especially during a crisis like this, when accessible accommodations may have been even harder to find. We hadn’t intended to take up one of those limited rooms, nor did we anticipate the experience of being in a space so clearly built for a different kind of need. The room was functional, of course, but it left us feeling a bit displaced—like we were momentarily inhabiting someone else’s world. It was an eye-opening reminder of what many other-abled individuals encounter every day, but also not something we knowingly signed up for—particularly while trying to keep our child calm after a very stressful morning.

Unfortunately, beyond the room layout, there were some maintenance issues that made our stay even more difficult. The pullout couch our son was meant to sleep on had a strong unpleasant smell. There was also a lighting strip near the window with exposed wires—clearly not safe, especially for children. The bathroom, though equipped for accessibility, was dark, had a persistent odor, and the floors appeared moldy and in need of cleaning.

We returned to the front desk to explain the situation. We emphasized that we had attempted to cancel earlier and were not requesting a full refund—we offered to pay for the first night and release the room so that someone else, perhaps a traveler who truly needed the accessible features, could benefit. The staff said they would reach out to management to consider a partial refund for the remaining nights, but no such effort was made.

This day had already been filled with chaos, uncertainty, and exhaustion. A little empathy would have gone a long way. I hope the hotel will consider how they can better support guests during moments like these, and that more intentional communication and flexibility can be built into their policies. No one expects perfection during a crisis—but humanity, even in small gestures, makes all...

It is unfortunate that I'm having to write this review. I previously stayed at Wilde in Aldgate and that experience was 10/10 so when we decided on a city break, it made sense to go for the Wilde in Covent Garden. We were incredibly excited.

Firstly, I'm disappointed that the photos attached to the room (on the site) were quite misleading. It is partly my fault for not reading through the details correctly but as this is supposed to be an aparthotel, I assumed the photos were accurate (showing a full kitchen in the bedroom). It was a huge letdown to enter this room to find a room no different to a room at Premier Inn. It was then that I looked at the details for the room and realised this was just a windowless basement room with a tiny fridge and the usual coffee / tea making facilities. The sink was outside the bathroom. In all fairness for this price, (which was slightly more than a premier inn hotel) I would have preferred to stay in Kings Cross or Blackfriars Premier Inn where the room and bathroom are bigger. I was disheartened, and a little annoyed at myself and the misleading photos attached to this room.

Things were made worse by an awful smell in the room, almost like a sewer. We assumed it would eventually fade away so we went out but upon returning, the smell was still present. We spoke to the evening team who were attentive, helpful and offered us a different basement room. We were moved straight away and they offered to help us move which was very kind. The staff were very friendly and greeted us each time we left and returned.

However, the new room had a faulty TV: some of the channels and the casting mechanism (another reason we chose Wilde) didn't work. Additionally, the bathroom door didn't lock. On the next day, we informed the morning staff of these issues who said they would have someone from maintenance look in but this never happened and we were not offered to move again. The surfaces/shelves in the bedroom were dusty and the TV remote was a little sticky which was disconcerting. Occasionally we could hear what sounded like the rumble of trains - this in itself wasn't a massive issue but compounded everything else.

The location is excellent but I did consider checking into another hotel during our stay as I was so immensely disappointed by this entire experience. It's a crying shame as our stay at Aldgate was so brilliant but our latest experience at Covent Garden has made me reluctant to ever give Wilde another chance.

Overall, a very disappointing experience, not at all...