When
we last went to London, back in 2016, we stayed at the Ibis Styles
South Kensington. The staff was, largely, pretty rude and unhelpful
(which seems to be a thing in a lot of London hotels). The breakfast
was not exciting but it was alright, and the room was actually pretty
nice. Ok fine, there was an issue with a clogged sink, but it was
sorted asap, and these things happen. Aside from that short lived
minor inconvience, it was a perfectly nice room for what we paid, and
it was a pleasant stay over all.
So
of course, when we were going back to London this year we figured
we'd book that same hotel again. Mostly also for where it's situated.
Right by Earl's Court tube station, which is on both District and
Picadilly lines, meaning a direct line to large stations such as
King's Cross St-Pancras (aka the Eurostar station), a LOT of trains,
even overground trains. As well as being situated in an area that is
fairly quiet, pub and plenty of eateries nearby, as well as an M&S
food and walking distance (for us at least) to the museums on
Cromwell Road.
Our
first bafflement was that there was apparently no longer an Ibis
Styles South Kensington. It seemed that Ibis had dumped the hotel and
the building had been taken over by Heeton Concept Hotels.
This
turns out to be a BAD (tm!) thing.
First
of all, the front desk staff was actually friendly and kind. And whilst that's
great, that was the ONLY great thing about the hotel.
Firstly
they were refurbishing both inside and outside. Because for some
bizarro reason, since 2016 the hotel seems to have dilapidated. A
LOT.
And
of course these things need to happen, but there was NO warning, no
indication, no nothing about this when we booked. I suffer from
severe asthma, so there would have been no way I would have booked a
room in a place they were doing building works.
Bert
had specifically requested a quiet room, we got a street side room.
So quiet, not really...
Our
room was also the size of a handkerchief. Barely any room to move
once we had put down our bags. We're used to small and basic Ibis
rooms, but this was even tinier! Frankly, it was a crap hostel room,
but at premium London prices (we paid close to €700 in total for 3
nights!). So yeah, we feel VERY ripped off.
Furthermore,
the air flow in the room was WORTHLESS. We couldn't properly open the
window, only flip up the top section, meaning very little fresh air
would come in. There was a ventilator in the bathroom, but that would
ONLY ventilate the bathroom properly AND would only work when you
turned on the bathroom light. So basically, if we wanted something
akin to ventilation during the night, we'd have to sleep with the
bathroom door open and the light coming in. Meaning we'd get no
sleep. And it was also super loud, so we'd bother other people in
rooms next to ours as well. So that wasn't an option for various
reasons.
Adding
insult to injury, that stale air, minuscule dust pit was NOT cleaned
on a daily basis!
No
no, mid pandemic, mid construction, they would only clean the rooms
EVERY... OTHER... DAY.
Which
I only found out because I overheard a member of staff tell another
guest!
We
never even got told!
And
when the room was cleaned, it was only cleaned superficially: bit of
vaccuming, bed made, fresh towels and that's it. Because our bathroom
floor was still wet in the spot where a wet towel had been on the
floor.
So
not only did they only clean every other day, they didn't even clean
properly every other day. Which is not just beyond the pale, it is
UNACCEPTABLE!
On
check out day I pretty much had to FLEE the room because it was
literally suffocating me and giving me asthma attacks.
The
fact that I had to sleep 3 nights in a poorly cleaned room with
hardly any air flow or ventilation, had undoubtedly contributed to me
getting increadibly ill (nope, not Covid, I tested, regular plagues
do still exists boys and girls).
So
do yourself the favour and do NOT book a Heeton Hotel. Perhaps in
general, just avoid the chain. But definitely avoid this one!
And
yes, I am aware I should have photographed and filmed this absolute
dive, which sadly I didn't, because I was only there to sleep and
shower pretty much and was so wiped in the evening I just wanted to
sleep. I kept putting it off as something to do for the last day when
everything was packed and I thus could film it properly. And of
course, that final morning it was one asthma attack after another,
combined with a bad Sjögren's flare-up, so I just wanted to get out
there asap.
