Our corporate agent booked me at NH Harrington Hall because of high tarrifs at Holiday Inn and Millenium Gloucester where I usually go. I upgraded to a corner room on the 2nd floor and was delighted : lots of space, flat screen TV. I also enjoyed the lounge in the lobby in the morning and had a business meeting there over Cappucino. Frankly this was more cosy than the equivalent at the two other hotels I 've mentionned. I always visit Buggis Street Singaporean restaurant accross the street when I am there so I cannot judge the hotel offering. And there are plenty of choices around from the Bombay Brasserie to the pub and even the grocery shop in front of Gloucster station. And if you like this area of London it's a perfect location.

We stayed at the Harrington Hall for 10 days and were very impressed with the rooms and service. Our standard room was lovely, larger than most London rooms, very clean, quiet and with a comfy bed and nice bathroom. We requested a room (604) at the back of the hotel since scaffolding was on the front during repairs. Breakfast buffet was outstanding - be sure to get this as part of your room rate as it is expensive if bought on site. Bar area is small but drinks are generous. The staff is remarkable - they seem to speak many languages and this must be very helpful to guests. Concierge is on staff daily. Location is very near a tube stop, handy for connections, and there are many shops and pubs close by. Cabs easy to obtain in front of the hotel. We used Heathrow dot2dot for our transfers and were very pleased with this service, helpful for the jet lagged! We'll stay here again.

Being a frequent traveller myself, I've understood how to be polite to people and expect the same in return. I've never been to a hotel where the employees are this rude. Possibly due to the lack of people skills training (management issue???). It was late by the time we got from airport to hotel. Upon arrival we were given the rooms, of which one of them had air-conditioning problem. This means that instead of cooling the room down, it was heating up (which makes the room all stuffy and difficult to sleep). We politely asked the reception staff if this could be fixed. They then came back with a request why don't we simply open wide all windows to sleep. What if it is raining? or if someone crawled in during the night? These were rooms on the lower floor, close to street level and were facing balconies of nearby buildings. Anyway, we politely asked if there were any rooms left that didn't have any air-conditioning problem and were responded with one employee's comment: "We'll have to see how much you have paid for the rooms first, before we could change another room for you.". This comment shocked us. How blunt could you be towards a customer. Having worked in the customer service field myself, I know simply what NOT to say to the customer (even if you disagree with the customer's point of view). Also, whether if the customer booked through the internet site or through the last minute "walk-in" rate, no-one should be greeted with this kind of comment or treated differently. After a long while, we finally got a temporary room change. There were also a few minor problems with one other room, but were later on resolved. I have to say, honestly that I will NOT return to this hotel even if their rates are cheaper than other nearby ones.