I had a stay previously in this hotel which was great: all benefits taken care of without having to ask (including an upgrade), great staff, dated but clean room. For this trip to London since I had good experience with this property I would book it again.

This was a really poor show as the review will demonstrates. I was surprised by the total lack of profesionalism by nearly the entire staff, the laissez-faire by the cleaning staff and the overall lack of customer service. I needed a discussion with the front office manager, who spend a day investigating and came back with comments and 3500 points as customer service remedy.

The hotel is being renovated, I was in a renovated room which has an interesting design. There was noisy work during day time, although as I was away this was not a problem. 

Check In

The agent lady gave me my key and said: "Your room is XXX, the lift is here". Period.

I was not welcomed back, or even just welcomed. No mention of LCAH or status, no mention of an upgrade or a welcome drink voucher. No mention of where is the restaurant, the breakfast time or anything else.

I kindly give here a clue: " Would that be all ?" to which she was speechless. 

The staff basically left a very young trainee alone doing check-in and manning the LCAH desk, without any supervision.

Room

The room was good, although I do not like the setup of the bathroom. This was a renovated room, with a new design.

As the pictures shows, the bathroom is fully open and no walls are in front of the sink. I dislike this, this is too open and lack any sort of privacy. Additionally I like to have a mirror in front when shaving. The vanity mirror provided is too small and not conveniently located.

The two mirrors at the back are two doors: one for the toilet, the other for the shower cubicle.

Otherwise the renovated room looks great except that the carpet is already stained. The cleaning staff is doing a shoddy job.

Amenities

It turned out I was in an Executive room, apparently maybe upgraded (the original check-in agent was mute on this, another one later told me the hotel was fully booked and could not have been upgraded, the manager told me I actually was). There was a Nespresso machine and a Bose sound system:

Gym

The gym had broken equipment and is located in the basement. You need to request a key at the reception. There is a treadmill, an elliptical trainer and some free weights. The other machines or equipment are all broken or out of order.

Dining

There is an Elements restaurant, the fairly standard Novotel restaurant with a menu having no imagination. 

I had dinner on my arrival evening and the food was OK, although the service particularly poor.

The breakfast is OK, although the choice of cold cut is seriously limited (one sort of ham, turkey and one sort of cheese).

Service

The weakest point of the stay, contrasting with my previous stay in this property.

I already mentionned the check-in.

The room cleaning was poor: there was no shampoo in the room when I arrived, the cups for teeth cleaning where broken. The next days I realised the staff does not clean the entire bathroom: just the sink. The area around the sink was untouched as all my stuff was where I left it. 

The carpet had stains .

At the restaurant I ordered gluten-free bread and a caesar salad. The bread in the salad was not gluten free (the one on the side was). 

When it was time to pay, I wanted to put the check on the room. As the trainee did a mistake when opening the account, it was not possible. All was needed was for me to provide my CC and the agent could open the account. The staff did not propose this pro-actively and just repeated like a mantra: "you need to pay now with cash or CC". There was no alternative given or any way to correct the initial mistake.

Location

The hotel is on the south bank, in view of the Parliament. The Victoria train station is 20 minutes walk, a station on the Bakerloo Line 10 minutes walk. The immediate vicinities are void of anything interesting and without convenience shop, pubs or restaurants. 

Overall

This was clearly not a satisfying experience. I am not sure whether this is a one off or the new direction this hotel is staying. I am willing to give them another chance.