Good location/ food, room maintenance need improvement...

Posted by Mel from North Carolina on 12/18/05

I am a VERY frequent Starwood hotels (Sheraton parent co.) guest, averaging 70+ nights annually over the past 5 years. This property is, as others stated, ready for refurbishing in the guest rooms although the Citrus restaurant/Palm Court are still in fine shape. (Food at Citrus was excellent.) Physical location is ideal. Guest rooms are rather large for central London. Biggest issue for me was follow-through: I reported problems with the bathtub not draining, air-conditioning not being functional, defective mini-bar fridge (in which it was hotter than in the room), and a broken closet door immediately following check-in. (This was an "upgraded" Jr. suite.) Apologies were made, but nothing was fixed. This pattern repeated itself for EACH of the FIVE days when I was in the hotel - repairs were never done, even after I began submitting detailed written requests for the last three days. Even the assistant general manager apologised, saying he didn't know why nothing was being done, but still not one thing on my list was ever repaired. This was an August stay during a very hot period, so the air conditioning was sorely missed. (Unlike other reviewees, I was not offered the portable A/C unit. My open windows were up a few floors, but over the dumpster bins and loading dock, so not pleasant when the bin-men arrived at 4am, and the food deliveries began at 5am.) I became so frustrated that I checked out a day early to stay with a friend, which was the first time I have ever done that in a Starwood property. As a side-note, no one at the desk ever mentioned to me that a full breakfast was included in my rate until the morning when I checked out...so if you stay here, enquire about this at check-in. Overall, if you get a great price, it's an OK place to stay - but be prepared for potential maintenance issues. (Park Tower location has less architectural and historical charm, but rooms are of a much better standard.)