Comfort Inn Notting Hill, London

This hotel looks nice on the surface but a stay here reveals more than the pleasant facad. It is located in a nice spot - literally yards from the Notting Hill Gate tube stop - on a fairly quite side street, only a few doors from the busy Notting Hill Gate/Bayswater Road street with many shops and restraunts. And just a short walk down to Kensington Gardens. The lobby is nice and clean. However, that's where the things start to go south. We found the front desk help unfriendly and resistant to help making a local phone call (we were moved here from Bayswater Comfort Inn due to plumbing problem) to notify out transportation to the airport that we were at a different hotel- and charged our room for the call. Our room in the basement was large but outdated and in disrepair. It had four single beds - two pushed together for our stay next to a heater that I couldn't turn off - old carpet, dings in the ceiling, unpainted plaster patches on the walls, broken furnature, mildew all over the shower tile and grout, and a large think glass window that wouldn't raise more than 6". The doors on the rooms slam closed if you don't hold on to the handle, which made for a fun time trying to sleep. One of the lifts was broken down and couldn't be used. Extra charges for everything. There was a charge for local phone calls, internet access and use of the in-room safe. The breakfast was nice and the help here was very pleasant. A good variety of food for a continental breakfast, so we got our fill each morning. Overall not a pleasant experience or value for the money. I would not reccommend staying here unless you just need a roof over your head.

The only good thing about this hotel is the location. This hotel has A LOT OF PROBLEMS: 1. Rude people 2. Hidden Costs: $4 per day to use the room safe. 3. When you pay additional money for a "Superior King" they wait till you arrive at the hotel front desk then shove two twin beds together with the WORST mattresses (you back will hurt in the morning)and tell you that is your "Superior King" Unless you are a person sleeping on the side walk prior to checking into this hotel, you will likely not enjoy the stay. Until the hotel chain gets the message and fixes the problems at this location it is a "MUST AVOID" hotel.

I booked the hotel through Lodging.com (which I will never use again) - it looked fine online and when I booked it, I paid for the continental breakfast. We were traveling with our two teenage sons and booked a double room. When we checked in, the lobby was dirty, the desk clerk surly and extremely unhelpful. The room, which looked large in the website pics was tiny with no closet and 4 twin beds, two pushed together to make a double. We had 4 suitcases that had to be stacked as there was no place to put our clothes. The bathroom was the size of a small closet, the room said free in room coffee and tea. This consisted of a hot pot, 4 cups and instant coffee/tea bags. The hotel refused to let me have the continental breakfast, saying I had to pay the daily price of 5 pounds (10 US dollars) even though I had confirmation of the breakfast prepaid. I called the main office for Choice Hotels in London, nothing - no refund. I wrote letters and called upon my return, nothing. I will NEVER stay at a Choice Hotel property again. All of the clerks were unfriendly, the lobby was always dirty and I have never been in a smaller room anywhere. The only good thing was the location - right by the tube, near a lovely park (which had a laundry across the street) and a charming library on the corner. We tried not to let the hotel ruin the trip, but had to spend a lot of extra money for food as they ripped us on on the breakfast. I would not recommend this hotel to anyone.

The hotel is situated right on top of the Notting Hill Gate tube stop that connects to the Center, Circle, and District lines (which is great). However the room had the smallest TV I've ever seen (no remote, 4 channels) and next to no ammenities. Stay here if you want to be close to the Portobello Market and other Notting Hill shopping, but don't expect much from the hotel.

If you travel to London, you know how expensive it can be. If you want a place to sleep which is clean, quiet and perfectly located a block from Notting Hill Tube, this is the place for you. This is no 4 star hotel, but what you will get, is one of the best off-season prices (try their website for best rates) and the hotel staff was perfectly friendly, though only offering what they were asked. I didn't see any of the other complaints mentioned in the other reviews, and they even stored my luggage for several weeks while I explored Europe.