Hyde Park Executive Apartments — Local services in London

I'm not normally one to complain about poor quality service, often put it down to the staff just having a bad day. But I have never in my life witnessed the likes of this. I booked this accommodation through a booking site online, but for personal reasons had to cancel it. So I rang the accommodation directly to do so. I was told by the lady on the phone that she would cancel it for me and that there would be no charge. I rang the next day to confirm this and was told again that there would be no charge. The hotel have since charged my card for a no show fee. I rang them to query this, and they said I should have cancelled through the booking agent, when I told them that I cancelled with themselves, they denied this and said any one of their staff would have told me to cancel with the agent.

In the two times I spoke to them prior to this nobody mentioned this to me. They said they would investigate this and if they could find out who said they would cancel it then they would refund me. Having heard nothing back from them, I rang and neither of them would speak to me, they told me to email their manager. His response was this ;

"Dear Mr Griffin,

Thank you for contacting Hyde Park Executive Apartments regarding your recent reservation with us.

I have spoken with the two front office agents that were working here on Tuesday 1st July , and I am afraid none of them recalls speaking with you on that date. Do you recall by any chance who did you speak with?

Your booking was made through the online agent, so as my colleague correctly mentioned to you, all modifications or cancellations can only be done directly through them, and we would have been unable to cancel that booking for you in any case.

I completely understand that you might have been unaware of that fact, but let me be very clear regarding this matter Mr Griffin. It is your sole responsibility to be aware of the relevant cancellation policy and procedure when making a reservation, and not my receptionist's one. These terms and conditions are clearly visible in the booking agent, both on their website, and in the confirmation letter that you received from them when you made the reservation, so saying that you were charged because nobody informed you about the fact that the booking needed to be cancelled through them is simply not accurate at all.

Furthermore, if as you mentioned, someone at our property would have told you that they were able to cancel the reservation free of charge for you at that time, the booking would be cancelled on our system, but after I checked the booking history, I could not find such cancellation, and you were in fact charged as for not showing up to the property, as the booking remained active the whole time.

Based on all the above, I am afraid we are unable to refund that amount to you as requested.

If you have more specific information about the person that you spoke with, or if they gave you any sort of cancellation number please let me know and I will of course be happy to investigate this matter further."

The staff here are the most unprofessional I have ever dealt with (and I deal with a lot working in the tourism industry). They have no integrity and are obviously lying to weasel their way out of taking responsibility for...

I want to start by saying that I do not believe that this hotel deserves as low of ratings as I have seen. There were good and bad things but overall I would be very happy to stay here again. I got one of the superior rooms because I was going to be there a week and I am glad I did. Staff was friendly and helpful, amenities were decent, and I had a perfectly acceptable stay. I'll go into more detail.

The Good:

1. The location is impeccable. You are insanely close to Kensington Gardens as well as three underground stations and several bus stops. One street over you have several options for neighborhood markets, fast food. restaurants, and a few shops. You are walking distance from Notting Hill, several museums, and several parks.
2. The rooms were a decent size for London, though the shower was very small so be aware of that. I found the bed to be adequate but I think if I had back problems it may have lacked support. It is also very useful to have a small kitchenette with some cooking equipment. More on that later.
3. They offer many things at the front desk, some free and some for sale, including a hair dryer, laundry pods, and some toiletries. If you stay more than a week they also include a complimentary room cleaning. Towels and sheets are always free at your request.
4. Even with a last minute booking the price was very reasonable considering location and amenities. If it had been more I don't think it would have been as worth it but I also only booked the day before I needed it so keep that in mind.

The Less Good:

1. The kitchens really need more in them. One pan and one pot with only one lid was not sufficient. Additionally, be aware, there are no cooking utensils. They do have eating utensils which I made due with but no spatula or anything. They also don't give you washing up liquid which I feel should be provided. For one person it was fine but not ideal. Also the freezer cover kept getting caught and causing the too cold air to seep into the fridge and freeze things.
2. Please remember that, like most places in the UK, there are no screens on the windows. this means that cockroaches, birds, bees, etc. are able to get in. They don't have an infestation, it's just a product of having the windows open. I was glad to be on the top floor or I also don't think it would have felt very safe.
3. The complaints about the heat are completely true. It isn't their fault, obviously. But prepare to sweat. I wasn't even there on that hot of a week and I was very uncomfortable if they window wasn't open.
4. The laundry is coin operated. It's not that big of a deal but as not all people will have actual coins or want to do an exchange just for that it is inconvenient. It would have been nice if they either had a machine where you could get coins or if you could pay with a card. As a result I ended up just washing my clothes in the sink and hanging dry.

Overall I think this hotel was totally fine for the value. It is rather old and dated and could definitely due with some upgrades to their carpet and paint. But it isn't nearly as bad as I was expecting. I went in very wary and was pleasantly surprised. It is probably closer to like 3.75 stars but 4 is close enough. I would stay here again, especially if I was on...

Anything But Executive

Pros - Close to Hyde Park for Amex's BST, close to Central Line Underground, reasonably close to Paddington Station, cheaper if booked very far in advance.

Cons - Kitchenette wasn't very well equipped, cleanliness was an issue, uncomfortable bed, No Aircon so extremely warm overnight, no nice places locally to sit out and have a drink.

We stayed at the Hyde Park Executive Apartments, 7-9 July for Pearl Jam at Hyde Park. It was booked through Booking and the images seemed to show an impressive set up, if it looks too good to be true as they say. I first started becoming concerned with the state of the yellow sofa in reception which was quite dirty along its front but still had the benefit of doubt to give the hotel. The staff at reception were very friendly and booking-in was no issue. We took the lift to the 4th floor and noticed that it was starting to get very warm. Our room was 401 and right at the end of the corridor. On entering the small room, the window was open but the room was incredibly warm. There was no AC to turn on, so we really had no option but to unpack. There was supposedly a kitchenette, and it had a dual plate hob and fridge. There was only 1 set of cutlery and one cup. There were no utensils to cook with, so it was a blessing we brought our own frying pan, kitchen knife and fish slice. We also had to go shopping for washing up supplies. In essence it seemed as if the hotel wasn't expecting anyone to cook there. We tried preparing one breakfast but that was the only attempt. The bed was also horrendous. It had a sprung mattress that was so bouncy as soon as one person moved, the whole mattress moved and one side of the bed was up against the wall. Cleanliness-wise it was okay, but the windows had only been cleaned by a very short person and were quite dirty half-way up. The shower room was okay but the shower head was difficult to make stay upright, the shaver point didn't seem to work and the toilet seat was broken (which seems to be a common theme). The whole room just felt tired, poorly prepared and laid out but most of all, like a sauna. We have never had to stay in a hotel before where it was necessary to cover ourselves in damp towels with a pedestal fan on (luckily there was one) to try and keep cool at night so we slept very badly over the three nights.

So, if you are fortunate enough to be in London when the weather is warm, go somewhere with Aircon. It was so hot on our last day that I had to leave reception with no t-shirt on so I could cool down outside where, at ground level, it was...