I was staying here for an event so got a cheap rate, and looking at the reviews I was quite looking forward to staying here. And at first sight it does look good, with a quality welcome and service at reception.

It went downhill from there. I arrived as it was snowing outside, the room was freezing cold and to cap it all, the aircon didn't work. It was fixed quickly enough but by then I had to change in ten minutes so not a good start.

The room size is good, and bathroom very good sized, but then the fittings are a conquest of style over substance, the carpets are thin and the bed was easily the most uncomfortable I have had the pleasure of trying to sleep on in many years. Added to that the (by then working) aircon was emulating the noise of a roadsweeper it made for a very poor sleep. While I'm moaning, the reading lights in the bad room were really badly positioned, so you had bright lights right into your eyes, or no lights at all......

I'd read some comments about breakfast, well I got a table without waiting, but only just, and the food was mediocre to be honest.

If I'd paid the full rack rate I'd have asked for a refund and gone to a Premier Inn or the like. So all round disappointing and I'd only go back if I really really had to - and that's rarely the case in London where there are far better hotels for the money.

We have, since my first review of this hotel, re-visited many times and are still finding the hotel excellent. We always take advantage of the Club Carlson option to upgrade, if available, at a much lower rate. So far, so good. The rooms we have had on recent visits have had refurbishment and are always immaculate. The beds are very comfortable with robes and slippers provided. Very nice amenities in the bathroom. The staff are always friendly and helpful and when we had a problem with a dvd player on our last visit the engineer was there within 5 minutes. We will most certainly re-visit.

Everything is bad. The room was stinky. The shower was dirty. The air conditioner was extremely noisy. Very slow wifi. Not comfortable bed. Bad bad bad. I was in 3 star hotels in Ukraine which were better than this place. Will never come back again.

Room: good size, well decorated and clean
Bathroom: massive with a shower stall and separate bath tub.
Soundproofing: good, no issues despite my room being quite close to main road, no noise from corridor or other rooms.
Check in/out: good
Service in bar: bit slow
Breakfast: food was excellent, good selection and very fresh. However there are not enough tables and they do not clear them very quickly so there was large queue (20+ people) waiting for tables.
Location: 10 mins walk from Vauxhall tube and 30 to Covent Garden (nice walk along river).

Would return.