Introduction Initially I was doubting to book this property, but since I've never been to this area in London, I decided to check this place out while exploring this part of London. From the looks of it, this hotel seems to be also used by tour/package groups. This property still features the old Hampton Inn interior design. The public space area seemed to have been renovated/modernized, but not beyond this area. Location The property is located quite close to both the main train station serving Croydon, East and West Croydon - which does provide transportation via the Overground, National Rail or Tram to different parts of London. From these stations it is about 10 mins walk to the property.For thos coming from Heathrow, the best advise would be to take any of the free train to Heathrow Central and from there grab bus X26 which goes directly to Croydon. (it is a long journey, but the easiest if you want to avoid changing lines using other public transportation options. Bus is twice per hour). I made a mistake to follow the advise from TFL, coming from T5, but due to the unreliable bus service, I wasted close to 1 hour because of missing the connection at Hatton Cross.In general yes, Croydon is seen as an area with high criminality and yes, arriving late into the area, I did see openly people getting high on those helium gas, lots of people handing around and shouting, etc. However in general it is not too bad of an area if you use common sense and during the daytime it's just like any part of London sans crowds of tourists. Surprisingly there's also quite a number of hotels in just a 3 km radius of the city and there are lots of new development ongoing around the place. I would say in a few years time, the imago of the place would be different. About 5-10 mins walk from the hotel is a Boxpark where you can get lots of streetfood and enterainment (it is like one of those Food Hall). There is a Co-op close to the hotel and the city center (new and old) is about 10-15 mins walk from the hotel. Check In Arriving after 11pm, I had to use the bell to enter the hotel lobby. Although there was no one before me, the front desk associate was on the phone assiting another guest. As soon as the call ended, I was helped immediately and warmly welcomed to the property. As usual at Hampton Inn's there is not much additional benefits as an Elite member (although I was recognized and thanked as an elite member). I was informed about the breakfast and was informed about a group staying at the property that night and advised on the best timing to avoid the group.I was off to my room in less than 10 mins upon arrival at the property. The public area was crowded even at this late hour. The lift to the rooms were quite efficient - with the need to use your key card to gain access to your room floor. Room The room was situated on the 8th floor (out of 10 floors). It faced the adjacent building - therefore care should be taken to have the curtains close under certain circumstances. There was only 1 heavy curtain for use - therefore there's not much possibility for semi privacy with normally the lighter 2nd curtains. [the windows are tinted, but I am not sure if this is still see through in both day/night]The room size was on the smaller side. The furnishing was your typical Hampton Inn in Europe/UK. There was a combined working table and cupboard which acted as the TV stand and area for a kettle with tea/coffee supplies. There was also a small sofa (bed) at the corner of the room - although if this sofa bed was open, I would not imagine where one would be able to walk or place the luggage. There were sufficient electrical outlets around (all UK) with those at the bedside equipped with USB charging options. In general the furnishing was not too bad - standard and ok for a few night stay and if you are not trapped in the room for too long. Wifi was ok - stable and sufficient for normal usage. The TV was on the smaller side (an older model) however out of all the TV channels, maybe only 30-40% of it really worked, the rest had either no signal or data. [quite a frustating excersize to find something especially they mixed both TV and radio channels]. Sleep quality was not the best - this really depends on the type of neighbours next door - which is mainly due to as reported by many the paper thin walls. On the 1st night there was either none next to the room, so it was rather quiet, but on the 2nd night, on both sides the room were occupied, on one side, they were talking quite loudly and laughing, while on the other side, looks like the TV was on at quite a significant volumne till maybe 2-3 am. As for climate control, the unit did work well and at low fan speed, on the quiet side. The bathroom area was ok - with the usual step in shower. Toiletries were the usual Spa range (although I suspect that the hotel was using just the wall units but the contents were from a different brand as the scent was quite different to what I am used to at other Hampton Inn's - for some of the units, e.g shower gel and shampoo). The water pressure and temperature control was ok. Breakfast Breakfast is served from 7.30 to 10 in the weekends. On the first day, coming down at the advised time, the place was not too busy, however at the 2nd day, it was quite a chaotic situation. Breakfast quality was average - with the usual hot options for a simple English Breakfast. Cold options were quite limited from what I observed. As from cleniness point of view - a mix, as some of the plates and cutlery still had some residual on them. Also some of the breakfast equipments most probably needed to be repaired or replaced - for example the bread toaster, it was quite difficult to get the right setting, bread getting burned either on one side or not toasted evently. The same for the water which came from a dispenser at breakfast - it tasted a bit funny. The breakfast staff were there was efficient (maybe a bit too efficient at times) in clearing plates and tables, they were however friendly. Service Service in general was good - only small complain here was housekeeping service (I am not sure if housekeeping here is on-request only, as it felt like it). After leaving the room in the morning and coming back around 17h, meeting the housekeeping person while exiting the lift, I suddenly get a knock on the door asking if I wanted housekeeping (yes the room was not cleaned/refreshed even after being out the whole day). Since I had only 1 more night I declined the offer. Overall All in all, not too bad of a property - nothing outstanding or bad, except for those few incidents. Although I feel that the price quality might be on the weaker side, however again comparing to the prices paid here and that closer to central London it is close to average on the price-quality aspect.