Very welcoming reception staff, unable to check into room till late as rooms still being cleaned,but left bags and went out to sightsee. The room was small, but very well appointed very confortable bed. The downstairs bar and lounge was comfortable and lovely to sit and enjoy a drink before going out for the evening. We got this on a good deal so for a London Hotel was on the whole worth the money. One tip though if you can get your own drinks from the bar do as they put a surcharge on waiter service of 12%, and check even if you do get your own as when we checked the receipt they had added this dispite our going to the bar, in fairness they took this off but we had to ask.

We stayed in the Doubletree more by luck than judgement having gone for a Lastminute.com Secret Hotels offer and picking up the room for ~£100. Check in was brief as we were passing and had to get to another part of London but wanted to drop our bags. Despite a queue there were ample staff and we were processed quickly and given two keys, we were told our bag would be kept at reception, however on our return later neither the concierge nor reception could locate it, it turned out they had been hyper efficient and had a bag sent to the room which was great but it would been good if we didn't need to go up and check the room to find that out!

The room was nice, a little compact but that's to be expected with London and everything we needed was there and it was clean and well decorated. However on laying on the bed for a while I noticed a noise like someone moving furniture next door, this was intermittent but relentless, I presumed (wrongly) that they were rearranging a room after a conference on the floor above but the noise continued. Eventually I went off to investigate and it was the lift next to our room grinding in the lift shaft and opening and closing the doors which convinced me if we didn't move rooms we'd be kept awake all night.

On speaking to the reception staff they graciously upgraded us to a superior room although I have to say if I had paid substantially more for this I'd have been disappointed with just an extra couple of seats and another TV.

On returning later we found the lift next to our room had been put out of order whether this was down to my complaint or another reason I don't know.

The new room was quiet, check out was quick and painless the next day and all in all it wasn't a bad stay. My over all impressions were good despite the room issues and every member of staff I encountered was smiley, helpful and seemed genuinely concerned that we had a good stay.

Having battled the wind and rain of a typical November day we arrived an hour early for our booked afternoon tea, this was no problem we could either sit and relax until our allocated time or eat straight away. We decided on the latter after freshening up in the very nice restrooms. After a short wait we were offered a selection of teas, my husband chose a breakfast tea and I opted for coffee as a non-tea drinker. The drinks did arrive approximately 15 minutes before the food which meant I had finished mine and had nothing left to have with my sandwiches and pastries. The sandwiches were average. The strawberry tarts and scones were lovely, french fancy and eclair just ok. My only criticism was that we were not asked if we would like more tea/coffee. Eventually my husband asked if he could have more tea which arrived a few minutes later but I was not asked if I required more coffee and I did not like to ask (silly on reflection). I was left feeling as if I were not a valued guest which is a shame as this small thing would stop me recommending the hotel to others.

The check in on arrival at the hotel was very slow, with quite a queue. This could have been a lot quicker if the staff had not insisted into pressing everyone repeatedly to join the Hilton Honors program. Non means no guys!

The room itself faced out onto Southampton Row and was on the first floor. Despite double galzing this was incredibly noisy and made sleeping almost impossible. The room was very small with no where to open my case except for on the bed. The room was clean and in good condition.

The WiFi was very slow and did not work with an IPad at all (not a problem I have had before). Considering they charge 15 GBP per day, you would think the WiFi would be faster - this is a premium price.

Breakfast was OK, but quite depressing in the basement. This was made slightly more pleasant due to thin walls and a neighbouring meeting. The looks on people's faces when they suddenly received a round of applause from the next door room was priceless.

All things considered the hotel does not really live up to the Doubletree brand and there are plenty of hotels within a 5 minute walk that give you more for less.