Plaza Hotel

"For those who’ve always dreamed of putting on a little dust on the vacation 😶‍🌫️\nIn summary: A perfect place to stay if you need a reminder of why you usually opt for hotels with cleaning included. For us, it won’t be a return visit.\n\nDuring our stay in London, we booked This hotel. The photos here on google paint a completely different picture of the hotel we arrived to and there was no dining/breakfast area. The hotel offers nothing beyond the room itself, in other words. No communal spaces are available.\n\nWe compact room measuring roughly 3.5 by 4.5 metres (plus a small bathroom) – which might have been fine, if it hadn’t felt like a case study in neglected cleaning.\n\nDust came in many styles: on the lamp cords, curtain rail, walls and on the fan. All gathered in such thick layers that it almost seemed like part of the décor.\n\nThe black grout between the bathroom tiles we chose to interpret as mould, just to keep expectations realistic. Around light switches and handles were visible stains, presumably grease or other everyday grime. 🤢\nThe fridge, another highlight, contained old food and smelled so bad 😵 we chose not to open it again until we’d bought disinfectant wipes.\n\nThe shower head had a mind of its own and sprayed water in all directions and the flood risk in the bathroom was so high that we became experts at turning the tap off in record time. Otherwise, the water risked flowing out 🌊 onto the rest of the floor and into the actual room.\n\nThe bed linen was white. Whether it was freshly washed? Unclear. 🙄\nIt was very noisy, and some of the doors in the building make quite a sound when opened and closed – we were woken up a few times by noise from doors and other guests.\n\nOut of pure survival instinct, just to be able to stay, we ended up buying scented cleaning wipes to remove stains without feeling the constant urge to wash our hands, and slippers so we wouldn’t have to walk barefoot on the floor.\n\nBut there were some bright spots! The staff was very friendly. We didn’t get any towels for hands or bathroom rug to use after shower at first, but after asking (and asking again), we were eventually given some mote towels 👏🏽. The window was faced to the courtyard and was very quiet, a welcome positive feature."

"Very pleasantly surprised with my one night stay at the Plaza.\n\nThe receptionists (one for check-in and the other for check-out) couldn't have been nicer people and were both great people.\n\nThe room itself. Of course, being a two star hotel there was wear and tear but nothing like I'd expected.\n\nThe linen was great and no signs of wear and tear. Something I must admit I had expected with the hotel being a two star establishment.\n\nSo yeah a good one night stay. Happily return if working in the area again."

"Great value for money hotel.\nThe room was simple, but had all needed for a short stay. Simple bed and en-suite. If you want luxury in London, you have to pay for it.\nStaff were always super friendly and helpful, cannot praise them enough (e.g. allowing me to drop off luggage early in the morning, long before check-in time; carrying my suitcase up to the room; making it possible to stay an additional night in the same room).\n\nI like staying in Hammersmith - a short Tube ride into the city centre, but a bit more affordable.\nFrom the hotel, if you are fit, it's an easy walk to the tube station (10-15min), if not there are 4 buses to choose from. Restaurants and cafes reasonably close by."