Crowne Plaza London - The City

We've lost count on the number of times we have stayed at Crowne Plaza, The City, and once again we were not disappointed. We stayed here twice in the space of a week, backing onto our holiday in Croatia.

On arrival on the first stay we were lucky enough to get an early check in and an upgrade to a Club Room, we were also upgraded again on our following stay.

The rooms are clean and tidy with a nice modern decor. Air-conditioned (although they could do with dimming the light on the air-conditioner as I had to put tape over it during the night as the little green light is just way too bright!), with all the usual mod-cons. Great addition was the plunger coffee, biscuits and chocolates in the room. Always a nice touch.

Something exceptional this stay was the staff honesty and hotel security. We were completely in holiday mode and on our first stay left all our foreign curency in the safe (which we left open), value of L350. Once we got to the airport the following day, as we stayed the night at Gatwick for an early flight, we promptly called the hotel in the hope that they may have found it. Obviously unable to provide an answer immediately, we had to board the plane and wait and see thinking our L350 was lost, so the holiday was going to be double the cost! Very pleased on arrival of our flight to pick up our messages with the good news that 'yes' ALL the money had been located and was stored securely in the main safe for our return the following weekend, very efficiently providing a reference number for collection. What a saviour!

Could highly recommend this hotel, it is only a 10-15 minute walk to Covent Garden. The service is always exceptional and we always have a great stay.

We didn't dine in the restaurant, but could highly recommend a nice local Malaysian restuarant called '54' which is on Farringdon Road (yes you guessed it, No 54.) for dinner.

Afraid it looks like I am going to be the dissenting voice amongst these reviews. I was bitterly disappointed by this hotel. Set in a dead part of London, down a dreary back street, it's only redeeming feature was its staff who were efficient and friendly throughout the hotel. The Club level rooms were probably the worst of any Crowne Plaza I have stayed in, poky, dark, dreary, cluttered with outdated furnishings and beds that are adequate at best. I dread to think what a standard room is like. After several miserable stays in the group's hotels lately, this is the hotel that, after seven years as a Platinum Priority Club member has tipped me over the edge with the group's declining quality in all it's UK locations and take my business to Marriott. If you get a cheap deal, stay here. If you are paying full rate there are better located and higher quality hotels to me had for your money in London.

By the way, no mentipn of it on the hotel's website but Blackfriars tube station across the road from the hotel is closed until 2011 making it's remote location even more of an issue