The Washington Mayfair Hotel

Just off Park Lane and near Green Park, rooms and hotel have been refurbished and upgraded to a good size and comfortable level. Staff are helpful and friendly. Good breakfast. Overall this is a good choice for business or leisure, as it clearly met the expectations of a group of japanese ladies also there on holiday who always demand high service levels with keen prices.

We were there for 4 nights during September. It's in a great location, the rooms are tastefully done, the bathroom is awesome but where they fell short was on the quality of the beds. Let me go back a bit, we had just be 0n a 35 day european trip that included two cruises and hotels in Barcelona, Rome, Venice, Amsterdam and Stockholm. This hotel Hd the WORST BEDS! they were extremely had, no fluffy pillows or duvets. I called down to front office to see if they had a thick mattress pad or feather bed they could bring up. They said no. In fact they had no idea what I was talking about. this would have made all the difference in my stay and they could have remedied the problem with going out and buying one. Needless to say I had an aching back for the whole duration of the stay. If a hard bed and flimsy blacks and pillows don't bother you, it's a fine hotel but for me it's all about the bed when you are exhausted and just want to get down to a comfortable nights sleep. Brochure says it's a 4 star but it's really a 3 1/2 star because of the mattress quality and the bedding.

I stayed two nights (in two different rooms) in this hotel. My office is afew minutes walk away, so it was pretty convenient. When I checked in to the first room, they informed me that they had upgraded me to an Executive King room - not that I was that fussed, it was just somewhere to sleep for a few hours.

As is often the case with big hotels, everywhere was far too hot and, although the windows would open, they wouldn't stay open. The room was large but pretty sparsely funished and it all looked quite tired. Maybe I'm just picky, but the wirdest thing was that there was no decoration on the walls - I would expect even a Travelodge to have a few pictures up. Still, I was tired, so I crashed out. Despite the heat the night before, I woke up cold, as there was only one blanket and sheet on the bed.

Next night, they kept me waiting for 5 minutes while they checked with housekeeping if my room ws ready (bear in mind that it was nearly 6pm). Eventually, they upgraded me to a Junior Suite, which was just the most ludicrous room. Huge (particularly as all I cared about was the bed) and hot again. No cold water from the tap - I hate brushing my teeth with warm water. Again, very little (and poor) furniture and no pictures etc on the walls. Odd!

The next morning I couldn't get any hot water for my shower, so I had to have a cold one. I mentioned this to reception and they offered me another room, but I had already showered by then.

All in all, I expected much better, particularly at these rates.