Mercure London Kensington Hotel

What you have to realize about this hotel is that there are different room types; I saw two of them due to staff having accidentally assigned us a small "cosy double" room rather than an Executive King. The small rooms are horrifically cramped, dark and worn, and if you want a small cheap room in London you could do a lot better for the price. There is hardly room to move which is why you see the complaining reviews here and the staff responses about the "cosy" rooms. It feels like the architect didn't measure properly. The Executive King is fine, not huge but more space, better bathroom, less worn and dated. The location is great - between Earl's Court (accessible station, which is good for pushchairs, wheelchairs and heavy luggage) and Gloucester Road tube stops, on the Piccadilly Line so easy from Heathrow, or Gatwick if you come in to St. Pancras/King's Cross on Thameslink rather than the Gatwick Express to Victoria. The room service food is good.

If I hadn't read the reviews and looked at the website pictures carefully we might have been stuck with the cramped small room we were mistakenly assigned, and would actually have left after the first night. When I pointed it out and the staff person checked, he cheerfully found us another room and offered us a drink while it was made ready. (Although to be fair, by the time we came down the room was ready so we didn't get our drink!) But I do appreciate a place that fixes things cheerfully when things go wrong.

The location is great short walk to Gloucester tube station. The staff were very polite and helpful. Room service options are good you can order from the hotel or outside of the hotel.

The room was incredibly small and felt boxed in. The bed was almost reaching both ends of the walls making it hard to navigate around, reading reviews this seems to be common throughout the hotel. Therefore I would say this hotel is great if you are looking for a bed to lay your head at night only.