CG Kensington

The location of this hotel is convenient, and the staff was courteous, but unfortunately the room itself made for a disappointing stay. To be clear, there was no air conditioning, which isn’t unusual. But ironically, the room still had a thermostat on the wall, making it obvious that air conditioning had existed at one point, but it was no longer functional. The windows also did not open, leaving no way to get fresh air. There wasn’t even a fan in the room, and when I asked if one could be provided, my request was denied. To make matters worse, the hotel did not provide complimentary bottled water, which would have been especially appreciated given how hot and stuffy the room was with record high temps. There were also maintenance issues. The vanity light in the bathroom could not be turned off because the switch was inoperable, meaning the light stayed on continuously. The room was clean and the location is excellent, but basic guest comfort and maintenance were lacking. With no air conditioning, no ventilation, no fan, no bottled water, and unresolved maintenance issues, I would not stay here again during the warmer months.

a month ago · via Google

Hard to find at first; there’s no CG KENSINGTON sign or anything. Amazing location and the room was fine, but the room didn’t have airconditioning. Apparently we oversaw that. Nevertheless we thought we’d give it a try, but it was around 30 degrees in London these days and the room was ridiculously hot. Keep this in mind when booking this hotel in hot weather.

2 months ago · via Google

BE CAREFUL ABOUT CHECK IN TIME!! My flight was scheduled to land at 20:05, during the booking process I selected a check-in time of 21:00–22:00. The following day, the hotel contacted me to state that reception is only open between 15:00–21:00 and that I would therefore be unable to check in at the time I had selected. I immediately attempted to resolve this reasonably by asking whether alternative arrangements could be made, including checking in in advance, leaving the key in a lockbox, or paying an additional fee for a staff member to remain onsite briefly. Every one of these reasonable requests was rejected outright. The complete lack of flexibility is unacceptable, particularly for a hotel located in central London. I was also informed that failure to arrive before 21:00 could be treated as a “no-show,” potentially invalidating my entire four-night booking. This approach is both unreasonable and disproportionate, given that the hotel and Booking.com had already accepted my stated arrival time during the booking process. The only solution offered was to check in the following day, which forced me to book alternative accommodation for the first night at my own expense and lose the cost of that night entirely. When I requested either a refund for the unusable first night or a cancellation of the booking, the hotel refused, hiding behind the non-refundable rate despite the fact that the room was inaccessible due to their own operational restrictions. While the hotel does technically mention its limited reception hours, this information is buried at the very bottom of the property information page and is easy to miss. More importantly, it is completely misleading that Booking.com allows guests to select a check-in time outside the hotel’s operating hours without any warning, restriction, or validation. This is a fundamental failure in the booking process and creates a false expectation that late check-in is accepted. I raised this issue with Booking.com and received no meaningful response or support whatsoever, which is extremely disappointing given their responsibility in facilitating the booking and presenting accurate information to customers. Overall, this experience was extremely negative and left me feeling misled. I have never encountered such an inflexible and poorly communicated check-in policy at any hotel, especially in a major international city like London. After subsequently reviewing Google reviews, I found multiple similar complaints that clearly indicate this is a recurring issue, yet this is not adequately reflected on Booking.com. I do have to say the hotel staff were generally friendly and the place was clean. The room was small and bed was a little uncomfortable but I felt this was justified by the price. I strongly advise prospective guests to exercise extreme caution when booking this hotel, particularly if arriving in the evening. The combination of misleading booking options, rigid policies, and a refusal to take responsibility makes this property unacceptable.

3 months ago · via Google

The bed was a little weird (probably some kind of gel foam), but otherwise, this was a fantastic place to stay for me, and I would stay there again. It is right near the train, and Aaron was very nice and welcoming. Can not beat the location for the price.

4 months ago · via Google