More about Britannia Hampstead Hotel London
Not 4 star
by TripAdvisor Member PowerPlant53
Booked the Britannia International with Alpharooms.com 3 months in advance and paid up front. Received our voucher by e-mail and had no more correspondence.
We arrived on the due date on the due time, only to be told that there was no room at the Inn!
Apparently, at the time of the booking (in September) their system was down and a double booking occurred! 3 months in advance remember and no further correspondence.
They sent us to their other hotel, "of the same standard (4*)", but no pool, "but they would make it nice for us". This hotel was the Britannia Hampstead. It was NOT 4*, I would have been pushed to give it 3*. We received a bottle of wine to "make it nice", which was not very nice at all!
The room was a smoking room - not requested by us! The smell in the corridor was bad, but even worse in the room! There was stains on the carpet, and on the wardrobe door, the lamp was not working, there was old, old furniture, frayed bedspread - no duvet, campbed for the child that sagged in the middle, no view of the Thames as we booked! The view was condensation on the windows, complete with mildew.
We were not the only people to be moved, speaking to other people at breakfast, showed that they too had been moved after arriving at 9.00am and told that their room was not ready and to go shopping for the day, it would be ready when they got back! They arrived back in the evening to discover that there was no room, that they had doubled booked!!!
When we arrived at the International, it was very, very busy with people wearing badges, there was clearly a conference taking place a the hotel, and we believe that they took our bookings. The International clearly thought that it was okay to lose our bookings for the conference - probably for a lot more money!
We will never book with Britannia again or Alpharooms.
We thought that we would take it up with Alpharooms when we got home as we booked with them and paid them in advance. However, they don't accept responsibility. You have to take it up with the hotel at the time!
Totally spoilt our weekend.
Absolutely horrific, horrible place, never again
by TripAdvisor Member alexmanchester
Really this place is quite horrible.
If you are on a budget, I strongly advise avoiding this place and sticking with Ibis, travelodge type places.
I've stayed there three or four times, as my company has an account with Britannia hotels. Each time has been horrific.
The rooms are not just shabby and outdated, but dirty and smelly. I'm a smoker, but I was knocked back by the stale stench greeting me in one of the rooms.
Each bathroom I have been in has been really quite disgusting, with bad housekeeping: hairs in the bath, poo in the loo and so on.
The beds are uncomfortable and the breakfast very poor.
Avoid at all costs.
Fantastic location, rooms OK
by TripAdvisor Member Monor
I have just returned from a Christmas Package booked through Shearings. After reading other reviews I was prepared for the worst and even took my own air freshener! However the room was OK. The wallpaper is dated but the facilities were fine. In fact we had 15 drawers. The bathroom was fine, there were tea and coffee making facilities and a trouser press. The only downside was that the windows were covered in condensation every morning.
What makes this hotel stand out for me is the location. You can walk to the top of Primrose Hill in 5 minutes and see the whole of London displayed in front of you. Then you can carry on to the canal and walk by Regents Park Zoo to Camden Lock. The markets there are fabulous and the place is buzzing.
The hotel did not really seem geared up for the three coachloads of people so the meals were a bit hit and miss. The staff were helpful but overworked and not properly oganised and sometimes the food ran out.
The evening entertainment was very good indeed.
I would certainly consider returning and using the hotel as a base to visit London.
what on earth is all the fuss about?... jeeeezzzz
by TripAdvisor Member geordie_couple
booked this hotel for 3 nights from 21st December through to Christmas Eve..... were visiting family so we booked through the hotel website on their 'visit friends and family scheme' (or something to that effect)....
the hotel is in primrose hill (excellent location), about a ten minute walk from chalk farm underground station.... or a minute on the number 31 bus across the road from the station.... (this bus couldn't be more frequent... runs every couple of minutes as far as we could tell)......
ok.. the hotel... hotel staff were pleasant, courteous, knew their job... the room was large, we were not falling over each other.... ok the furniture was not claridges but then we were not paying claridges money either... housekeeping was good, towels changed each day, room cleaned perfectly..... if we had any criticism it was that the shower was not very powerful.... however... there was a bath so not a huge problem.....
the best part.. the bill.... £89 for three nights!!!!!... now tell me... where can you get three nights in a perfectly adequate hotel for that money in the centre of london.... you can't ... believe me.. we know.. we have tried them all.......and some that supposedly had very good reputations did not come up to the standard of this hotel......
i have only one this to say to counter the criticism laid upon this hotel...... get a life!!!
good hotel given a bad name
by TripAdvisor Member laughingirl57
I totally agree with the last review of this hotel, I have just returned from a 2 night stay at this hotel with my boyfriend and we wish we had made it 3 nights.
I too booked the visiting family and friends offer @£29 a night, staff on arrival were pleasant and checked us in in minutes, having read previous reviews of this hotel I was dubious about the rooms but having read reviews for other hotels before and then gone and stayed in them I have found that some people want hilton hotels for travelodge money. anyway the room was fab,we even had a chandelier. good wardrobe and drawer space and even tho we had a room facing the street which is a main road, traffic noise was no problem. Didn't eat or drink there as we went to london to do camden and hampstead restuarant and pubs but menu and bar prices seemed average for that area.
Walking back to hotel late at night (about 3.30am) felt very safe it's all main road.
would def recommend it if you are getting a deal price
The worst service I've ever experienced
by TripAdvisor Member LondonS
We stayed at this hotel on New Year's Eve - and it was the worst hotel experience we've ever had. The room was unbearably hot all night, despite hotel staff insisting the heating had been switched off. Even with the window wide open, the room was too hot to sleep in. 'We asked for some water to be brought up to us to help us cool down - and at first, we were told that no one could bring us some. After another request, we were made to pay £3 in the middle of the night. When we complained, the duty manager was extremely rude to us, told us there was nothing she could do about "such a small problem" and walked out. The desk manager was so embarrased at her behaviour that he apologised for her behaviour. We have since complained to the Britannia head office, who say their staff acted "appropriately". We paid £115 for a hotel that doesn't even appear to qualify as a three star hotel and has staff that think its ok to be rude to customers. We shall NEVER be staying at a Britannia hotel again.
It did it's job..
by TripAdvisor Member DescriptionLesson
I stayed here on a school trip. it was not ideal, but as I said, it did it's job. A touch of new wall paper and a clean up would do the hotel justice.
Also, we were dissapointed to find that the lovely smelling hot breakfast was not available to our party. what a let down!!!
If the windows opened, we wouldn't have boiled to dealth, as it was the middle of summer, and i would have prefered it if the rooms hadn't smelt of smoke. (and we even found a half-smoked cigarette in the bathroom!!!)
All the same, we survived and I lived to tell the tail.
Absolutely Dreadful
by TripAdvisor Member magiciansgirl
I've never written one of these reviews before but I really want to just warn people that they shouldn't stay here. I stayed at the hotel with my boyfriend two weeks ago, for a weekend, and the hotel completely spoilt our trip. We arrived to find we were placed in a smoking room (which absolutely stank of mould) when we had asked for non-smoking, at the end of a long coridoor lined with empty bar glasses and spilt piles of food. The room itself was tiny, not even a full sized double bed for the two of us, the side of which was covered in brown stains. The bed covering was dotted with burnt holes, and stank of cigarettes. The decor was absolutely revolting, and the bathroom was so dirty that my boyfriend wanted to buy bottled water to clean our teeth. I know it sounds like i'm exagerating, but the whole room felt so dirty that i slept in my clothes rather than use the blankets they provided. I'm a Londoner and i know that you could get so much better value for money somewhere else in London.
Not recommended
by TripAdvisor Member SheikhaDubai
I always meant to write a note to the General Manager when I left, but decided not too - as the condition of the hotel made me think that he/she would not take the critisism on-board anyway.
It was in a badly kept condition, I agree with the previous review, it was just so dirty, the bed cover, the telephone, the light switch rim (all caked with dirt) and the remote control was in-ground with dirt around the buttons. The furnishings were old and tired. I called for a pizza in the evening from room service, and was told " they would see if the chef was around or had already left". When it finally came, it was as expected, a disapointment (like a packet frozen pizza from Tesco's).
The reception staff were coldly efficient, nothing more.
Someone should spend some money on this hotel, it really needs it - and they should be checking after the Housekeeping department.
Absolutely Deplorable Hotel. Do Not Stay, unless you want a terrible time
by TripAdvisor Member crag1812
I had the most appalling stay at this ghastly hotel. the room I was given (number 321) was directly opposite a service facility elevator, which is utilised by the housekeeping and cleaning personnel whilst servicing the rooms. Being given this particular room meant that at 8 am on Sunday morning I was abruptly awoken by the crashing and clanging of this service elevator, which of course must have been the time period that the room service personnel began to operate.
Since this elevator produced such a loud excruciating, grinding and clunking sound with each and every extensive occasion that it was used, this meant that I was not only totally awoken in a terrible startled jolt, I also suffered awful sleep deprivation. However, the Hotel is little concerned, and further the Head Office in Altricham, Cheshire are not concerned with good customer relations, or spending money to make improvements, this is clear from the fact that the managing director (Mr Campbell) has not bothered to reply.
DO NOT STAY!! AVOID AT ALL COST....
D. WARD
DUDLEY
WEST MIDLANDS
Photos
The Royal George pub - bar
Tower Bridge
Site location - a picture says a 1000 words..
a few thousand of my closest friends
Forum Posts
12 days in England...how many days dedicated to London?
by frodriguez
Hello Everyone,
I'll dedicate about 12 full days to England, and I would like to know how many days I should dedicate to London. The other destinations in England that i've included in my itinerary are Oxford, Bath, the Cotswolds and Stonehenge. Would 5 or 6 days be sufficient to cover the London area and sightsee the must-sees?
Re: 12 days in England...how many days dedicated to London?
by rexvaughan
Of course you could spend a lot of time in London and not see it all, but 5 or 6 days would allow you to see and do a lot. I don't know if you want suggestions for your time in London but here are a few. Take a boat down the Thames to Greenwich and see the Royal Observatory, take a day trip to Windsor to see the marvelous castle, visit the great Harrod's store, find a good fish and chips restaurant, tour the Tower of London, see the Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace, ride the London Eye. You may already know but if you type "London" in the search box near the right side top of this page you can get to the VT London Travel Guide which has tons of information on about anything you can think of in London. Also, ask more questions here or e-mail here members whose London pages you like.
Re: 12 days in England...how many days dedicated to London?
by LoucoSP
Hello
In My opinion, yes 6 days is enough, if you like to visit museums London is the paradise, there are excellent museums and most of them are free.
Have a nice trip.
Re: 12 days in England...how many days dedicated to London?
by Donna_in_India
Agree with Rex; would also add British Museum, St. Paul's Cathedral, Westminster Abbey, Portobello Market, etc., etc. 5 or 6 days should be sufficient. Plan and map out an itinerary to maximize your time. Happy Travels!
Re: 12 days in England...how many days dedicated to London?
by Donna_in_India
Also Buckingham Palace is open to the public for tours certain times of the year. If you're interested, check to see if it will be open while you're there.
Re: 12 days in England...how many days dedicated to London?
by wise23girl
If you have a Brit Rail pass why noy go a bit further afield.
South there is Cornwall and north there is York on the east side and then go cross country to Lake District.
Marg
Re: 12 days in England...how many days dedicated to London?
by goodfish
Windsor is also a wonderful day trip out of London by train. It only takes an hour or so to get there, and the castle is fantastic. The town is fun too - small, quaint and an interesting walkabout.
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