Bryanston Court Hotel

I am a Londoner and I come at least once a year. This time my usual hotel (The Corus on Hyde Park) was full so I booked here, with my daughter. The hotel itself is OK, in a nice old building and a good location in a quiet road just a few minutes' walk from Oxford St. It was obviously a grand building once, but now needs some investment. There is another hotel next door, which bizarrely is connected to this one, with its clients directed to this one's Reception. We used the other hotel's entrance because it was closer to our room! We discovered that there are also two types of room here; large, comfy, well-decorated and pleasant - and not.

Our room was grotty. There were three rickety beds crammed into the room, and the only window was high up, above the level of the door. We didn't feel that we wanted to spend much time there, so it's good you've got London on your doorstep. The bathroom was a 'modern' (1970's?) room tacked on the back, which they had tried to make nice with a lovely old bath but couldn't dispel a damp & draughty feel. There was graffiti on the back of the door and the furniture was 'council flat' chic. It wasn't very clean - the sheets on one of the beds hadn't been changed. My guess is that the 'nice' rooms cost a lot more.

Breakfast was a bit of a lottery - if you got there late you'd find they'd run out of croissants, and because the breakfast room (the bar) was so small it was full up, so we ate in armchairs in the stting room with it balanced on our laps. The staff were ALL foreign - London is a multi-cultural city but without any English at all it felt a bit rootless, and the staff didn't seem a happy bunch.

Having stayed in the UK many times previously, I know value for money in London for hotels is questionable but I was desperately disappointed with my stay of 4 nights at the Bryanston.

I can only describe the room as shabby and service as indifferent.

Probably my worst hotel experience ever.

My friend and I arrived in London for New Year's Eve with no prior reservations. We knew after the New Year's Day had been rung in we'd be sleeping in the train station or park if we couldn't find a room.

After consulting my Frommer's Guide (another great gift idea) we found this reasonably priced location just up from Big Ben and the Thames.

For 79 pounds we got a room with its own bath, and 3 twin beds. What surprised me was the great continental breakfast buffet the next morning! It was more extensive then I'd seen in some US business chains with lots of choices of fresh fruits, baked goods and cold/hot cereals.

I'd suggest this establishment 100% and would consider using it again on my next London visit.