Rafayel on the Left Bank

My favourite London hotel

He hotel is very dimly lit to the point I struggled seeing down the corridor. I then realised that the reason for this was to cover all the tired decor and bad paint job on the walls. The stay was for my husbands 40th birthday, I rang prior to check in and agreed a complementary extended check out and bottle of Prosecco in the room. On arrival I got given a voucher for two glasses of Prosecco in the bar - not what I had envisaged or was promised. The extractor fan in the bathroom still had plastic covering it. The bed was a standard double - for a 5 star hotel I would expect a king size - premier inn manages this. The room was v dark and there were no mirrors where there was natural light. The kettle wouldn’t fit under the bathroom tap which made it v difficult to fill up the kettle for a cup of coffee. The milk in he room was uht pots and you only got a couple.

The hotel is comfortable and clean - there is not much in the near vicinity apart from river walks. However, it was let down by poor service with little effort appearing to be put into customer care. At check in I had to wait for the member of staff to come off his mobile phone. I had to ask for a menu in the restaurant after waiting 10 minutes as staff were chatting. Definitely not 4 star service - which is a shame as, apart from that it is a potentially lovely hotel on the river and close to Clapham Junction.

So I treated myself to the Emperor Suite. Think it was around £380 for the night. The room is pretty spacious and great views over the river, as well as all the planes and helicopters that fly past. The bathroom was brilliant, had a Jacuzzi and a nice shower. Only issue is there was no shampoo for if you wanted a bath (only nailed to the wall in the shower). Apart from that the bathroom was nice. The bed was comfy, room was warm and comfortable. Mini bar had all the overpriced normal items. £4 for a chocolate bar and £3 for a 220ml coke! One thing I do notice is theres quite a stingey and tight feel and staff wouldn't go out their way for you unless you're buying something aswell as no complimentary items in the room. A 45 min walk to Victoria or the 170 bus from outside takes you there. Enjoyed my stay but I don't think i'd stay in a suite again now I have once. For someone who's never stayed in one its worth trying it for a special occasion.

The hotel is located relatively far from any public transportation and the area is completely deprived of shops and restaurants: One can enjoy a nice walk along the river, and in half our reach some places of interest, but nothig is nearby. The rooms are spacious, clean, and the bed comfortable; I do appreciate the aboundance of electric plugs and the availability of European style plugs to juice-up our electronics. WiFi speed is decent but I experienced some gaps. The gym is a disaster area: small, old, and with minimal space between equipments. If you need exercise it will do, but it's not a good experience. The SPA is actually a steam bath, a sauna, a hot tab and a cold one. They are all functional but do not expect a lot. For example the sauna runs at a good temperature, however it was not too comfortable, dark (impossible to read the termometer inside) and missing some tools (water bucket to steam up the air and any type of clock to check the time elapsed). Breakfast is also well below par for an hotel of such category. The "buffet" is extremely limited (some ham, fruit, cereals, bread) and the only saving grace is being offered a british traditional breakfast. For the price and category of the hotel I would expect more. note: do not get a room at ground floor: you will have a huge french window opening on the street, yo will feel completely exposed!