THE Byron Hotel, London

The hotel was clean and well-run. It is within a 5 minute walk of the Queensway Metro, and within a 15 to 20 minute walk Paddington Railway Station. The hotel rate includes a contintential breakfast. What I disliked was the small size of the room, and the limited number of TV channels.

I was a bit apprehensive about first coming to the hotel after reading the reviews. But my 5 day stay in London changed all that. The staff was awesome. Very nice and willing to help. I lost my luggage and wallet while I was there and they made phone calls and checked internet sites to help. The location is great, short walk to tube resturants and convience stores and hyde park. The street is quiet and has little to no traffic. The rooms are small but very clean and modern, all rooms in europe are nothing like they are in American Hotels. The breakfast was a life saver because London food isnt cheap.

The hotel was convenient to the Bayswater tube stop (Queensway was closed) The downtown busses were close too. The room was smallish (I've had smaller in London) but who needs more space? The bathroom was shower only but it was an OK amount of space. The free breakfast was exactly the same EVERY DAY. Not bad but somewhat limited choices. They requested that you sign up for a breakfast time but never seemed to check that you were eating at your time. Not a problem as there was always SOME table available. Overall not a bad deal.

We stayed at the Byron in July 2005. We had a room with two twin beds in it. The room was extremely small...our luggage just fit alongside the beds. The bedspreads were very old and dirty. But the bathroom seemed like it had been remodelled recently and was nice. Breakfast consisted of toast, yogurt, fruit, ham and cheese on a bun, and cereal. You could pay for an English Breakfast if desired. It's a block from Hyde Park on a relatively quiet street. It was easy to hop on a bus a couple blocks away, or walk about six blocks to a tube station. Overall I thought the hotel was a fine place to stay for the budget-minded traveller.

I booked into a single room - have stayed here twice. Convenient for train station, tube stations, and the desk clerk was very helpful in booking an airport taxi service at the end of my stay. I would stay here again on my next trip - it's nothing very luxurious but the price is reasonable, and the location is safe.

If you are looking for a high end place to stay and are looking to be waited on this is not the place for you. If you are looking for a clean, safe place to lay your head at night that is convienent to transportation, shopping and places to eat this will suit your needs perfectly. The people at the front desk were very helpful and very kind. Breakfast (continental) was set up in shifts so everybody could be accomodated so your plans for the next day should be made ahead...make sure you bring an alarm clock.

At Check-in I was sent by pre-paid taxi the the "sister hotel," the Blanford, much more centrally located, just a block from the Baker Street tube station. The room with ensuite bath was small, but comfortable, although I could easily hear conversations from adjoining rooms. The full English breakfast was substantial, but could have been better if butter were used to fry the eggs, rather than some ersatz grease. There are definitely better bargains to be had in London for those on a budget.

I have just returned from a stay at the Byron. Everything about my trip to London was great except for my choice of hotel. Next time, I will stay anywhere but at the Byron.

First, they promised a full English breakfast as part of my room rate when I booked online, but my first morning there the kitchen told me that I would be charged for anything but toast. When I asked the front desk to correct the mistake and tell the kitchen that I did not have to pay for breakfast, the woman working there simply shrugged and said that I didn't get breakfast without paying, no matter what I had been told at booking! I have never had a hotel act like that, especially when I only asked that their own promise be honored.

The room was very small, but that did not bother me. What did bother me was that the shower was covered in mildew, the cleaning staff did not replace the toilet paper when it was out, and the same dirty cup staying in the room all week, even after I asked for a clean one. They make the beds and wipe down the bathroom, but apparently that is the extent of the cleaning.

Finally, I was disappointed in the desk staff. Only one woman who works there could answer basic questions, and she was only working three mornings out of the entire week I was there. The rest of the time, I was on my own because the people working could not give me general information or be relied upon for much. The front desk called a driver for me, and the driver tried to rip me off by driving around in circles and then asking for far more than the quoted price for the trip. It appeared that the man working the desk at the hotel had simply called a friend of his to drive me instead of a licensed driver!

All in all, the Byron is not worth it. It is close to the tube and is fairly cheap, but you can do better. On my next trip to London, I will do better.