Arriva Hotel - King Cross London

 

Well it was pride weekend and instead of making two round trips into London one for Friday night and then for the big event its self on Saturday I decided to book a hotel for the two nights. Well the main chain hotels were, as you would expect, expensive for such a large event. I did find this hotel on Expedia so as the price looked OK for central London the booking was made.

The two nights cost me £220. However, as I booked via a cashback website I earned £18 cashback.

 

Arrival:

The hotel is a short walk (a little under 5 min for me) form Kings Cross station so it does have good transport links. However, please remember that Kings Cross is on the Bank branch of the northern line which is not part of the night tube for Friday and Saturday nights.

The reception was clean and behind the front desk was a set of pigeonholes for the room keys/messages etc – so a little old fashioned. The check in was quick and efficient but I would hardly call the person who checked me in friendly. He wasn’t impolite or anything but I got the feeling he wanted to be anywhere else but doing his job.

The hotel has actual keys rather than the key cards which ok a little old fashioned perhaps but at least a actual key doesn’t deactivate.

 

The room:

Small but clean, despite a thick layer of dust on top of the picture frame hung over the bed. The bed is a standard sized double and had a firm mattress which is good for me. The duvet was a summer weight one, well it was early July, whether a heavier one is used in winter I can not answer. The only drawback to the bed were the pillows, only the two and they were rather thin.

The rest of the décor in the room is perhaps a little tatty and outdated but at least some of the furniture looked like it was made from proper wood rather than chipboard. There was a reasonably well sized if doorless wardrobe and a small desk and stool. One side of the bed had a bedside table. There was a hair dryer hung under the desk. There was also a large mirror in the bedroom which I do expect in a hotel room.

There are the usual tea and coffee making facilities and a full sized kettle. Now this I did find quite difficult to fill from the shower room tap as the kettle was too big to fill from the skink so I had to fill one of the glasses provided and then transfer it to the kettle. Perhaps smaller kettles would be good here.

There are a number of power points in the room most are in good positions but having one close to the bedside table (there was only one so tough look to the person on the other side of the bed) would have been an improvement here.

There is a small TV on the wall which is good enough for any hotel room as I often wonder why people would stay in a hotel just to watch TV.

The shower room was clean and functional, the only issue I had was the shower itself although it was hot there was little power behind it. The shower had a folding glass door which I have always preferred over a shower curtain. The towels provided, although not the best quality, were the larger bath sheets which is my preferred towel size.

Free wifi is provided again this is what I would expect at a hotel and better than a well known chain which charges for it.

 

The nights’ sleep

This is where things came undone for me. The noise. Now I accept there is nothing the hotel can do about traffic noise. However, I do live on a main road so I am used to this. My issue was the person in the next room who decided to sing, loudly and off key past midnight and then we have what I can only assume was a drunken team of cha-cha-cha dancers in the room above mine. I wouldn’t mind so much but at 5:45 AM it sounded like they were in full practice mode. Then we have the constant door slammers again past midnight.

On the second morning I was there I decided to check out before 8AM – VERY unusual for me but this was so I could get home and actually get some sleep.

 

Breakfast:

Well whether the hotel provides it or not is a mystery. It was never mentioned when I checked into the hotel so I will assume no breakfast is provided. Then again, except for my room number and where it was I wasn’t actually told anything regarding my stay when I checked in. However, there are a couple of coffee shops near by so there are those to go to.

 

Check out:

This kind of followed the pattern of the check in. Not impolite but not exactly friendly either. When I got to the desk and said I was checking out, the person at the desk, without even looking up, simply told me to hand the key in. No question about if I enjoyed my stay or if everything was ok. 

I think some better customer facing training would not go amiss here.

 

Value for money?

Whilst not the most expensive hotel in the area and given its location it does gain some marks here but frankly the noise and the poor quality of sleep I got overpowered a lot of this. Frankly I doubt very much I will be making a return visit to this hotel. I value my sleep over location and as I got very little both nights I was there, I am not a happy customer.

 

Summary and final score

Check in & out : 2/5

Room: 4/5

Quality of sleep 2/5

Facilities 3/5

 

Total: 11/20

Right to reply:

The hotel was sent this review three days prior to it being published on here for any reply they may have. So far they have not responded.