My wife and I stayed at the Russell hotel in October 2006 when I attended a business conference that was being hosted in the hotel. We stayed there as my institute had negotiated a reduced rate and a formal dinner was being held there in the evening. We arrived and finally got checked in, a long queue of conference attendees in front of us.

The room was adequately sized and was clean, but nothing too special about it.

The dinner that evening was appalling, and I complained to the event organisers organisers about the quality of the food as well as the cleanliness of the waiting staff. To be frank the waiters who served my table, and employed by the hotel, had severe body odour issues. When I mentioned this to the hotel management I got a stony stared response that it wasn't his problem and to contact the event organisers.

Breakfast wasn't included in the package and from all reports it was not up to much. I understand that the local cafes did a good trade from disgruntled guests.

I have adivsed my institute not to hold an event there again.

Checking out was a nightmare, the bill was wrong and I had to argue with the checkout woman that I did not make telephone calls.

A fantastic facade on the outside let down by shabby staff taking visitors to the UK and guests for granted with poor service and surly attitudes.

I stayed at the Russell for one night in May 2008 to attend a meeting in the hotel conference centre the following day. The room and meeting were organised by my office.

The hotel is right on Russell Square and essentially next door to an Underground station, so I found it without any great difficulty. Check-in was relatively hassle-free, but I wasn't too impressed with the attitude of the receptionist, who certainly wasn't what one might describe as "eager to please".

My room was on the first floor and a bit of a trek from the lift, including going up another few steps once on the first floor. This wasn't a problem but if you are a disabled guest it'd be worth requesting a room with more direct access to the lift.

The room itself was very comfortable. It was a twin and for London was a very good size with two single beds, wardrobe, work desk and chair, TV, tea/coffee tray, and a large bathroom. There was a window at the far side of the room but it was covered with a film that made it impossible to see outside. I think the room backed onto a wall in any case. This would have made it seem a little claustrophobic had the room not been a good size.

The breakfast was a good standard, and held in the grandiose hotel restaurant. No complaints.

Our meeting room was reasonably well equipped (see photo), but our coffee and biscuits were located outside the room at the entrance to the conference centre, and this meant that everyone passing by would help themselves to our facilities! We complained and the business centre people were very quick to assist us.

After our meeting we went to the hotel bar to make use of the special offer of "1/3 off your first round of drinks" for all conference delegates. It took the best part of 20 minutes before the bar staff would believe we had been to a meeting at the hotel, and quite honestly the fuss they made over deducting what amounted to about £10 from our bill (which was well into the thousands column) almost soured the whole stay!

In summary the Russell is a nice hotel, but the staff attitude leaves a little to be desired and for this reason I probably wouldn't choose to stay there again. If I was "placed" there by my office for a night when other hotels were unavailable I'd be happy enough to return.

I wanted a centraly located hotel since I had a number of meetings to attend to and wanted a peaceful night's sleep to meet the next day's challenges.

I paid a premium over nearby hotels because of their claims on the website.

The whole stay ended up as one of the worst I have had over my 15 years of international travel. To start with the room given to me was more a cubbyhole and not the great pictures they put on the website. When I protested and asked for a better room, i was told they were sold out and nothing could be done.

The plumbing in the bathroom was iffy and since i had to rush for meetings, i ignored it thinking they will sort it out by the time i come back in the evening. I was wrong. It was same when i came back and i skipped a soak in the bath tub and took a shower instead - allowing the drain to take its time to drain the water.

The hair dryer was not working and despite repeated calls for help , none was forthcoming. Room service took more than 45 minutes and food was delivered cold with little courtesy. By this time, I knew that I had come to the wrong place.

I did the best possible thing in the circumstances - checked out as soon as my work was over - promising NEVER TO RETURN AGAIN AND tell the world so that no one else gets fooled by their website.

Kim

I have been resisting writing a review, but having now read all the other reviews on this site, I thought that I should also make my contribution. TravelAdvisor has been good to me in the past, so I probably should give something back. I stayed here in July 2007, with a friend, and booked via wotif.com The location and price was what convinced me to stay here. We stayed here on two occasions, and had different rooms and prices each time. The first time, we were offered an upgrade to a executive room for an additional 40pounds, and took the offer. The room was very nice (see pictures), although incredibly noisy. I am used to staying in cities, and most good hotels nowadays have double-glazed windows - this room didn't, which meant that I slept between 4 - 5am, when London noise takes a bit of a lull... The location was very good though - close to the British Museum, walking distance to Soho, etc. - and the little shopping area around the corner (near the tube station) was a place to have a cheap, and wholesome breakfast. So, it was okay.

The second time, we weren't offered an upgrade, so we stayed in a centre room, that looked out into the airconditioning system. The room was tiny, so small that you had to climb over the bed to get to the other side of the room. A very uncomfortable night's sleep.

All in all, I think that there are much better hotels in London, and the same price. So, avoid the Russell, even if it is mentioned in Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats by T. S. Eliot.