Just returned from a 3 day break in London to take in the sights and see Patrick Stewart at the Apollo. Checked out this site before staying at The Shaftesbury Hotel and was a little nervous because of some of the reviews. We booked through the Best Western site and found the cheapest deal was to pay fully in advance to get the best price (The Best Western site was cheaper than booking direct with the Hotel itself). Arrived early afternoon and had no problem booking in. Was offered help with my bag but politely declined. The room was a standard double for my wife and I. It was very clean and tastefully decorated, had a shower but no bath (whch is fine by me) and wasn't huge but perfectly comfortable for 2. Our room looked out onto the church to the rear of the hotel but the chimes stopped at 11pm and didn't start again till 6 or 7am and the double glazing kept most of the noise out. The Hotel is situated on Shaftesbury avenue which is perfect for both theatre goers and sightseeing. The Apollo which we were going to was no more than 100m down the road. To the front of the hotel is China Town and to the rear is Soho so it does get very lively on an evening and means there is plenty to do. A lot of the comments about the noise from it's location are a little exaggerated, the rooms are double glazed and i had no difficulty sleeping. The only disturbing noises i heard were from other guest who had children running in and out of rooms and the doors were slamming shut and because the rooms are close together the noise does carry but it is a hotel and you do have to expect that other people will be staying there.

If you like to moan about the little things or if you can't sleep unless there is complete silence then don't stay here, but if you want a nice, good value hotel in the heart of London then i can highly recommend The Shaftesbury Hotel. I hope you enjoy your stay as much as i did.

Have just returned from spending a night at the Best Western Shaftesbury in London. Location wise it was great, between Piccadilly & Leicester Square and within easy walking distance of Covent Garden, Oxford Street and Trafalgar Square. The hotel was advertised as having just been modernised and updated which was very true, the rooms being very modern and "designed". Trouble was I think they paid more attention to the design than the practicalities. Every surface already had stuff on it - the desk had a tray with kettle, cups coffee etc. but the lead was too short to reach the socket. The cups were very nice but too small to use a whole coffee sachet unless you like rocket fuel. The bathroom was tiny with no room to put any of your own toiletries though it did have a TV.... The hair drier would not reach a socket anywhere near a mirror. We booked a junior suite which was basically a room with a settee in it. The bed was two singles pushed together with an uncomfortable join in the middle. As our room was on a corner it was very noisy which I suppose is really to be expected on a busy main road. If you want a quiet location this is not the one. I expected more from this hotel to be honest especially at the price as its not cheap. (ranging from 150 - 300 a night) It did for our needs as we were only there for one night and had a busy schedule of theatre, exhibitions and sightseeing but for any longer you would not have room to move.....

BEWARE! I can't write a review of the actual hotel as I've never managed to stay there. Twice now I've booked and when I've arrived I've been moved to another hotel. The first time the excuse was computer problems and the second, "Health and Safety". What rubbish! On each occasion, despite my vocal protestations, I was moved to far inferior hotels, and not as central. I work in London two or three days a week and frequently stay over so I know the hotels well and this has NEVER happened to me with any other hotel.

If you don't mind where you stay then try an "Allocated on Arrival" deal and save a lot of money, because that's what booking at the Shaftesbury Hotel seems to amount to in my experience. Their customer service is an absolute disgrace in this day and age.

Spent a weekend here 05/03/2005 with some girlfriends. The rooms are very small but clean and the beds are very comfortable. One of the problems we had was that our rooms faced Shaftesbury Avenue so the noise was constant all night long. Sirens, shouting, car horns etc. The key cards would only work at certain times of the day and when they did work we had to shoulder charge the door Starsky and Hutch style in order to get the door open. This was very amusing at the time but it was that sort of weekend! Some of the staff were friendly and welcoming whilst others were cold and sullen. As we were checking out I don't think the receptionist spoke one word to us and spent 10 minutes taking a private call whilst dealing with my credit card. I would return for another short visit but this time i would request a room at the back of the hotel.