James House Hotel

In all of my travels around Europe and the UK, I have never stayed in a hotel as dirty and unprofessionally run as the James House near Victoria Station. I booked the James House for two nights at the end of June because the hotel was listed in a guidebook of London which I normally find to be very reliable (Rick Steves).

BEWARE—the hotel has come under new management so you cannot rely on what the guidebooks or trip advisor reviews tell you.

My room was very small, very hot, and there was black dirty soot on the wall, above the door. The bathroom (which was shared with one other room) was filthy. The shower fixtures were rusting, there was black mold on the tiles, and the strench of mildew was appalling. The smell when you opened the door was so severe that I chose not to shower. The worst part was that there was a pair of dirty men’s underpants on the floor of the shower! When I complained to the manger about the disgusting state of the bathroom, he told me that for the price I was paying (£55 or $110), I could not expect to have a clean room or bathroom!

Other problems--the management increased the price of the room mid-way through the booking process and the surcharge for using a credit card was repeatedly raised (a tactic to get you to pay in cash). The worst part is that the manager insists on being paid in full, UP FRONT for all the nights you plan to stay at this hotel---so once you see the room, it is too late to complain or to have any kind of recourse. I left after one night and the manger refused me a refund.

The only virtue of this hotel is its location, but there are so many other hotels in the Victoria Station area that it is not worth putting up with James House.

James House Hotel was located on a very quiet safe street just a few minutes walk from Victoria station. It is within easy walking distance to Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey, and many other attractions. The hotel owner was away during our stay, but the interim manager was very welcoming, friendly and extremely helpful. (He made phone calls to the airport to track down my missing luggage while we were out sightseeing all day.) Our room was very small, but charming. the beds were clean and comfortable. The room could use a good cleaning however, as the pipes along the wall were coated thickly with dust. and we found bits of food under the bed. Bathroom was tiny but clean. breakfast was very basic and unappealing.. just cornflakes, cruiscants in plastic wrap, tangerines, juice and coffee. though London is an expensive city, I thought the room rates were high for the accommodations, with only continental breakfast provided. There were many other hotels on this street, and I would recommend checking rates at a few others to see if you can get a better rate. The location couldn't be better.