Le Meridien Picadilly, London

This hotel badly needs updated. The room although a good size was dated and the bathroom really was not the quality you see in the photos. Plus-great location and friendly staff.

We so regret not researching reviews of this “4-star” hotel before booking. The reasons we chose it were the alleged wonderful pool, Jacuzzi and great location. Turns out the only great thing was the location. Upon walking into the lobby, we were greeted by a musty mildew odor, which permeated every corner of the hotel, including our room. Carpeting throughout the hotel was dirty and in need of replacement, or at least a good cleaning. When we arrived after 13 hours of travel, only one freight elevator was working, for which there was a queue. This didn’t exactly make getting to our 6th floor room easy. Signs posted in the hallway stated that elevators were being updated. We got to our room to find our room key card didn’t work—and no elevator back to the lobby. During our week, the key failed two more times. Our room was noisy due to the squeaky floor above us (sorry to those below us) and the hotel staff who had long, loud conversations outside our door during sleep time. The walls were paper thin, to the point where we could listen to actual conversations next door. The bed was so hard that we woke up with backaches every morning. Furniture throughout the hotel was generally worn. The dresser and wardrobe in our room were in disrepair. The tile on the bathroom floor was cracked in several places. It was also apparent that painting had not been done in a long time and some was even peeling. In the middle of our stay, the one, small wastebasket in our room disappeared, never to return. A few days before checkout, we came in to the room to see the curtain was coming down. It was never reattached. In-room movies were offered, but the good ones cost 35 pounds. In-room Internet use was 20 pounds per day. All this for $500 USD per night! The pool area was most disappointing, as we looked forward to relaxing after walking all over London. The Jacuzzi was shut down for “maintenance” during our whole stay of 8 nights. We wondered about the wisdom of performing scheduled maintenance (elevators as well) during the high travel season. The “heated” pool was not heated; in fact, it was really cold. There were only three lounges and two chairs, crammed onto one side of a very small patio area. The cushions on the lounges were filthy. In the restaurant where they served breakfast, a baby grand piano was used as a serving table. We noted that one leg of the piano was buckling, and pointed it out to a server. She stated that it had been that way for weeks and was it was all right until Matt said that he rebuilds pianos and that it was, in fact, quite dangerous. In fairness, she did get her manager, and the next day the piano was fixed. But if we didn’t tell them about it, would they have waited until a baby grand fell, possibly on a child? The staff was very nice, albeit somewhat deferential, but not very competent. We had to contact our credit card company in the U.S. It took about a half hour for customer service to figure out how to connect the call. On the last day, we arranged for a late checkout at 3:00. We went sightseeing and out to lunch, and returned to our room at about 2:30. The key card had already been disabled. We went to the lobby to renew it, and when we returned to our room, the maid had started cleaning it, ignoring the DO NOT DISTURB sign on the door. Her explanation for her presence was that she had been told to clean the room. Interesting, when we had yet to check out. We travel a lot. We have stayed in many international hotels and this is by no means a 4-star hotel. Jeanne and Matt

I HAD HEARD SOME UNKIND THINGS ABOUT THIS HOTEL BUT I CAN HONESTLY SAY THAT WE FOUND THE HOTEL AND SERVICE TO BE ABOVE OUR EXPECTATIONS. THE ROOM WAS VERY CLEAN AND QUIET AND WE HAD A GREAT TURN DOWN EACH NIGHT WITH REMINDERS OF THE WEATHER THE NEXT DAY LEFT ON OUR BED. THE HOTEL WAS CLEAN AND WELL KEPT, THE FRONT DOORMAN WAS VERY FRIENDLY AND HELPFUL. WE WOULD GO BACK TO THIS HOTEL ANYTIME IN LONDON, THE LOCATION CANNOT BE BETTER THAN THIS ONE IS YOU WISH TO BE AROUND THE WEST END.

I called the week before we left just to make sure our reservations were OK and they had us down for a standard instead of deluxe room. They said they would correct the problem (thank God I called to check!). When we arrived the room they had for us on the fifth floor was not ready and we would have to wait hours past the check out time to get into it since the party using it decided to stay later. They told us that they had another "deluxe" room on the 2nd floor if we didn't want to wait (Jesus, they had a whole week to plan!!!). We were exhausted so we took it. The carpet was well worn and the furniture was dusty. There was virtually no drawer space. The bathroom was small and the water from the shower leaked on to the floor no matter what you did with the shower curtain. The air conditioning system could only blow cold air and it didn't matter how you adjusted it. The mattress was fair to poor as far as support goes. Also, the pillows where so worn that they were hard and had no fluff. We had also asked twice for a roll out bed for our daughter and they forgot both times. When they finally brought the bed one leg was broken and we had to prop it up with towels. They had no other bed to give us. When I had called earlier in the week they told me that they had free wireless Internet in certain parts of the hotel. This was just another lie. Internet, wireless or otherwise, was anything but free. In fact, Le Meridien Piccadilly charges ludicrous rates for internet and telephone phone service. Don't even try to ask anyone for any information about the service. Everyone I spoke to turned out to be dead wrong . I found a Le Meridien Piccadilly Telephone/INTERNET Directory under a pile of brochures in our room. A fifteen minute non calling card call to the US made from the room will cost you 83 pounds. That works out to about $160 dollars for 15 minutes at the current exchange rate. If you use a calling card there is a 2 pound charge every 30 minutes for use. Do yourself a favor and pass this hotel by. If you intend to spend the money they charge at the Le Meridien Piccadilly you deserve much better than they provide.

Dear Traveler, Please trust us when we say that this was the worst hotel we've ever stayed in during our global travels and living abroad! My husband, I and 12 yr. old stayed at the Intercontinental Hotel in London for 2.5 weeks while we relocated to London from NYC. The concierge "service" is NON-EXISTENT! I know London fairly well, but of course I had a few questions for the concierge. Each of the 7-8 times we asked for information or help, the concierge either did NOTHING or turned it back to us to look up! I observed the obnoxious "concierge" staff treating other guests the same way - so it was not just our family. One time, a refined elderly man was told to take care of things himself in answer to his simple question. Even my 12 yr. old son was appalled! I must warn any tourist contemplating a stay here dispite the fine location near Trafalgar Sq., Picadilly Circus, parks and museums. I will note that the Housekeeping Staff was kind and the gym, pool are fabulous. But...who wants to put up with NO HELP and OFFENSIVE BEHAVIOUR (whilst waiting for monetary tips for nothing)?! London has so many lovely hotels to welcome you with fine service et al. Please save yourself aggravation and look elsewhere.

I loved the linens on the bed, with down pillows and mattress pads! Very good night's sleep. The tea in the Oak Room was very lavish, though expensive, and the location was perfect for every site seeing desire. The ladies in the spa were snooty, but this was the only thing I didn't like. The concierges were the opposite, and extremely helpful.

Room not ready at check-in (4:30 PM), torn and stained furniture, torn and stained carpet, carpet not vacuumed (broken glass on carpet), last guest�s hair left in tub and sticky remote control for TV

Situated no more than 10 minutes' walk away from Piccadilly Circus, this five-star property boasts of all amenities known to mankind. In the basement is a fully fledged health club and a huge indoor swimming pool, and a racquetball court.

Outside, it is within walking distance to many of the famous stores, such as Fortnum & Mason, as well as other shops off of Piccadilly and Regent Street. Another ten minutes' walk would take you to China Town, Leicester Square, and the numerous nightclubs in Soho and Piccadilly.

Inside, it features a large ornate lobby well-suited for large groups. The rooms, although nicely equipped, are a bit smaller than what an American would be accustomed to. By all means, the property is very well-deserving of a five-star rating and I highly recommend it based on its proximity to many of London's best attractions.