Henley House Hotel

1/5 Stars My experience at Henley House Hotel was extremely disappointing from the moment I arrived. When I checked in, the receptionist (I believe her name was Loretta or Loren, something starting with “L”) never even looked at my passport, despite me placing it directly in front of her on the desk. Instead, she repeatedly asked me to spell my full name verbally. I slowly spelled both my first and last name at least five times because she struggled to understand me. She then insisted that I had not paid for my two-night stay and told me I needed to pay immediately. I explained multiple times that I had already prepaid through Hotels.com. I even opened the Hotels.com app and showed her that the reservation had been paid in full. She kept insisting that it was only a hold on my card and that I still needed to pay the hotel directly. Trusting that she knew what she was doing, I paid another £270 for the stay. Only after she handed me the registration form did I notice that it was under a completely different guest’s name. I pointed this out immediately, and instead of acknowledging the mistake, she tried to blame me. This happened despite the fact that she never checked my passport or any form of identification. Had she simply looked at the passport I placed in front of her, none of this would have happened. I even asked her, “Don’t you check guests’ passports or IDs when they check in?” Her response was, “No, it’s not necessary. I never check.” I found this extremely concerning. Verifying a guest’s identity at check-in seems like a basic security measure, and it would have prevented this entire situation. It then became clear that I had been right all along—my stay had already been paid through Hotels.com, and the extra £270 should never have been charged. She processed a refund and told me the money would be back in my account within “1–2 hours.” That was simply not true. As I’m writing this review, I still have not received the refund, leaving £270 unnecessarily tied up because of the hotel’s mistake. I also asked to speak with the manager, but I was told the manager wasn’t there. When I asked if there was any way to contact them, the receptionist simply said no and brushed off my concerns. There was no apology, no effort to resolve the situation professionally, and no accountability. To make matters worse, I’m checking out tomorrow morning at 7:30 a.m., exactly when breakfast service begins. I asked whether it would be possible to receive a simple breakfast box or even collect something a few minutes earlier since I’d be leaving immediately. The request was refused outright with no attempt to accommodate it. Mistakes can happen in any hotel. What matters is how they’re handled. Unfortunately, this experience was defined by poor communication, failure to verify a guest’s identity before charging their card, misinformation about refunds, and a complete lack of customer service. I would not stay here again and cannot recommend this hotel based on my experience.

3 weeks ago · via Google

Good location, clean rooms but AC was a bit wonky and would turn off randomly during the night during a heatwave. Breakfast was 3/10 at best and that is being generous. Not a lot of choices and the things they did have was of the lowest possible quality, presumably to save money. One out of three of the reception staff we interacted with was extremely rude, the other two were lovely.

a month ago · via Google

I had to cancel my stay because my Eurostar train was cancelled, making it impossible for me to travel to London. This was completely beyond my control. I had booked a non-refundable rate, and I fully understand what that normally means. However, I expected at least some understanding and empathy given these exceptional circumstances. The only solution offered was to put the room back on sale the day before my arrival and, if they managed to sell it, refund me minus Booking.com’s 20% commission. If the room was not resold, I would lose the full amount. This was not a fair or customer-oriented approach for a situation that was entirely outside my control. What disappointed me even more was that the hotel manager did not even take the time to speak with me personally or discuss the situation. Customer service is tested when unexpected events happen, and unfortunately this hotel completely failed that test. Based on this experience, I will never stay at this hotel again and cannot recommend it to anyone looking for understanding and professional customer service.

a month ago · via Google

Hotel was great, especially the location, just a few minutes walk from the tube station but also several amenities close by. Our only issue was we had requested a travel cot before we had booked and checked again earlier in the week but received an email on the day of arrival to say that the travel cot was not available. After a phone call, this was rectified and a travel cot was provided. Breakfast was basic continental. The high chair for the baby didn't have all of the straps so if our baby was more active she wouldn't have been secure in the high chair. Apart from these issues our stay was good. The lady receptionist was extremely helpful!

3 months ago · via Google