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Sitting quietly on an attractive South Ken side street, The Cranley Hotel in London is the perfect townhouse-from-home. With its mahogany antiques, Regency-period palette and prettily embroidered bedheads, it's an ideal base for a spot of Anglo-centric shopping, sightseeing and tea-taking.
Star ratings are intended to indicate the general level of features, amenities, and services to expect. This property is classified according to Giata.
Languages Spoken
English, Lithuanian
Location
10 Bina Gardens South Kensington, London SW5 0LA England
The Cranley Hotel
3 reviews
Getting there
Great for walkers
Places to stay are graded on a 0-100 scale. The higher the grade, the easier it is for travellers to find restaurants and things to do within walking distance.
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The Cranley Hotel's prime zone 1 location is a highlight for guests, situated conveniently near attractions. However, the experience is marred by reports of rooms lacking in cleanliness and maintenance, and falling short of their advertised state. The hotel's atmosphere is often criticized for outdated decor and security concerns, while its amenities disappoint due to poor upkeep and functionality.
Service is another sore point, with staff behavior described as unresponsive and disorganized. Collectively, these issues lead to a consensus among visitors who question the value for money at The Cranley.
Location
Convenient
Atmosphere
Neglected
Rooms
Neglected
Value
Expensive
Cleanliness
Dirty
Service
Disorganized
Amenities
Underwhelming
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Upon entering the room it became clear that the cleaning lacked, there was used contact lenses on the bathroom floor and the main room carpet could have used a vacuum. Sheets had some old tarnish in them but they were freshly changed and washed. Everything was very worn out and not all electrics in the room worked. There was only one towel available for 2 people reservation and one roll of toilet paper, both we had to ask for more. Basic niceties like kettle and working minibar fridge were not present.
Unlike many other reviews, I found the staff friendly and helpful. The location was absolutely perfect, area was really quiet, clean and had good services. We stayed clear of the breakfast and ate elsewhere, partly due to traveling with a gluten intolerant friend. We stayed three nights and it wasn't that bad, but we won't be staying there again.
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Date of stay: May 2024
Value
Rooms
Location
Cleanliness
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Sleep Quality
Trip type: Travelled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
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Very old hotel with not even 2 star service, let alone the 4 stars it boasts! There was no hot water from the shower (only from the sink), so we had to shower for 3 days with freezing water! We mentioned it at reception and the only response we got was that everyone showers in the morning so it's normal (too bad we're in London, not on a small island in the Indian Ocean). One morning we found everything wet on the bathroom floor and we saw water leaking from the ceiling upstairs! The sink was full of tiny ants that even climbed on us! The window curtains were all torn and especially in one window the curtain that blocked the light was missing, so early in the morning we were woken up by the sun coming in. But the worst thing was the service: when we arrived (in the evening, not early in the morning), the room was missing the towels we requested at reception but we were only given 1 set of towels (it was a double room). We also had to ask for all the bathroom products, even soap, there was nothing! Not even in a hostel do you expect this disservice, certainly not in a 4 star hotel! Obviously the hairdryer was also missing. The next day we also had to request the toilet paper which we had run out of and which had not been returned to us since the room had not been made up for us. Absolutely needs to be revisited, the hotel is old, it should definitely be renovated, but in the meantime they could at least make up for it with good service, instead it is completely abandoned to itself, terrible management!
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Date of stay: October 2023
Value
Location
Service
Trip type: Travelled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
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Positives: The bathroom had a large tub and a shower head with great water pressure. Comfortable and quiet neighborhood with plenty of shops and restaurants within walking distance. Negatives: the pictures for this hotel seem to have been taken about 15 years ago. Headboards and curtains are stained with carpet pulling up at the sides. The whole place could use a facelift and a deep steam clean.
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Date of stay: January 2023
Value
Location
Service
Trip type: Travelled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from General Manager , Guest Services / Front Office at The Cranley Hotel
Responded Jan 16, 2023
Thank you for your review Please be assured that we are taking measures to improve every aspect of the guest experience at the hotel
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This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
It was the worst hotel I have experienced in my life! It's not even worthy of being called a hotel, let alone four star. It's a shame that Hotels.com and other sites are even promoting it.
I came there with my eldest daughter and we had been looking forward to the nice hotel shown in the pictures - but these pictures lie! The hotel must have been nice once upon a time, but now it is terribly run down, dirty and disgusting. When we got there, we were greeted by an untidy lobby and a sullen, disinterested receptionist.
He thought of giving us a room below ground level, which I said no to at once - we had paid around SEK 1,300 per night. We were shown to a dirty, hot room on the third floor, with torn, stained curtains, among other things. I said no to this room as well and then we were "upgraded" to a room that was slightly better, but it turned out to be completely unclean, which he did not mention. The carpet was shabby and dirty, the bins full of rubbish - and the sheets not changed! We saw hairs in the bed when we lifted the covers...
I demanded cleaning and we left - I had already paid and feared it would be impossible to get the money back. We also didn't have the energy to try to find a new hotel after a long journey. When we came back a few hours later, the room was "cleaned" - the trash was emptied and the bed made, but when we lifted the covers, the same hairs were still there! So terribly disgusting. I demanded new sheets, and only then could we imagine sleeping there. The faucets in the bathroom were leaking, a wooden panel on the outside of the tub was loose, there were no drinking glasses or coffee in the room, no mini bar, no iron, hair dryer or anything.
The so called breakfast was also a joke! There was only juice, cheap toast, powdered coffee in bags and cornflakes. Butter served in clicks on one tray, cheese slices on another tray. Nothing else! My daughter refused to eat here, also because it was so strangely quiet and empty in the lobby where you were allowed to sit and eat.
There was a menu on a pillar outside the hotel in the street - this food did not exist. I saw no kitchen, no restaurant and no room to sit in other than the hotel lobby. This hotel was probably nice 25 years ago, but now it's not even worth a star. The only positive thing about the hotel is the location, in zone 1, close to two tube stations (Gloucester Road and South Kensington), Hyde Park, Kensington Palace, several good restaurants, cafes, museums and more.
But whatever you do - DO NOT BOOK THIS HOTEL!
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Date of stay: May 2024
Value
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Location
Cleanliness
Service
Sleep Quality
Trip type: Travelled with family
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
This Hotel is a travesty and needs to be closed down. Upon entry there is sign that reads new management, aware of issues but no refunds possible! It advertises so much and delivers so little. Rotting carpet held together with gaffer tape on the stairs, stained carpets everywhere. Our room had used soap, body wash and hair in the bath and a used blanket thown in the bottom of the wardrobe. No amenties, no mini bar, no facilities for tea/coffee, no robes or hair dryer. All of this is promised on the web site along with lovely looking rooms. It's all lies. Our mattress was stained and falling apart, curtains stained and falling apart, badly worn out upolstery, broken handles on the drawers, a toilet that didn't flush properly and a hand basin with no plug or draincover. One roll of toilet paper was supplied and we had to ask for more on two occasions and were only given one roll at a time. The 'Continental' breakfast was very very basic and you're expected to eat it on low slung salon chairs on tables with no tablecothes while looking at stained, filthy carpet. The whole place is neglected and uncared for evidenced by the broken rotten plastic greenery adorning the window sills upon arrival. We chose this hotel on location which was good and a shared name. We're ashamed of the shared name.
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Date of stay: July 2024
Value
Rooms
Location
Cleanliness
Service
Sleep Quality
Trip type: Travelled as a couple
Room Tip:Just don't go. The reviews speak for themselves.
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
There are no words to describe the poor standard of this hotel which in the hands of capable people would also have potential It is difficult to list the series of negative experiences of the structure but also and above all of the staff who make everything worse Incompetent and rude The room on the lower floor (basement) is dirty with curtains full of stains, only one little man in the wardrobe and the fridge bar is empty and turned off The tub was brown and without a glass The room is not redone nor is the bathroom cleaned But has anyone really given 4 stars to this hotel?? In the corridor in front of our room (very difficult to access because the lock was also broken) abandoned on the floor were workers' shoes, ironing boards, cots with movable mattresses and vacuum cleaners. The smell of mold came from the first steps and the carpet was unclassifiable Breakfast the following morning was the icing on the cake... the waitress snorted and complained for a simple request for a plate to place the bread on and to the request for a napkin (paper) the response was negative!! We don't have any more!!!! In my entire life (I am 61 years old) I have never come across a lack of professionalism and decorum like the one I encountered in this hotel! Obviously I advise against anyone staying there
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Date of stay: January 2024Trip type: Travelled with friends
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
The Worst hotel experience I’ve ever had and for it to be in this country and of all places the Capital is SHOCKING. We were suppose to check Wednesday 15th June for one night, it was the location as to why I picked this hotel and to think so many sites are advertising this hotel is unbelievable. On check in after a 5 hour drive we were greeted to a young lady in tears shouting at the top of her voice , turns out she was a member of staff who had not been paid for weeks she warned us not to stay here and even if we didn’t stay we would have trouble getting our money back as she said they are good at keeping punters money , there was also an elderly American tourist who confirmed the hotels not the best and her and her husband had complained about their room and the state of the hotel , they were devastated as they were stuck there we were only staying one night. We demanded to check the room before we would check in and thought about the warning signs we escorted the receptionist who was embarrassed and claimed it was his first day and his English wasn’t the best. We arrived at a room on the second floor , the window was wide open obviously because it was lika furnace no air con or fans to cool the room , it was small dingy and the bed was scruffy and room was dirty , there was two flat pillows with no pillow cases on them , the head board was full of stains of some kind , with that my girlfriend demanded to check the mattress and to our horror it was the dirtiest mattress I have ever seen it was full of stains and it was that old it had split it must of been from the First World War it was that old, with that we left the room we had seen enough we went down stairs and I demanded my money back and demanded to speak to the manager , there were people Queuing up in reception as there was only one member of staff and so called manager was hiding., over all the hotel is a disgrace I’ve taken photos and I’m still waiting for refund and I’m gonna report the hotel to south Kensington city council as this hotel needs condemning , as I was trying to find a replacement hotel this hotel was offering rooms at a price of £1000.00 per night including breakfast this hotel is scamming money out of innocent Travellers. We refused to check in and we were informed my refund would not be refunded for at least 24 hours . The hotel manager refused to come out of hiding while I demanded to speak regarding the shocking state of the room and my full refund back . We had to try and find a replacement hotel but this Becoming impossible as all the hotels were doubling or the prices or they were reporting fully booked. I’ve taken photos of the room and hotel and im still trying to get my refund back
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Date of stay: June 2022Trip type: Travelled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
On the page it says that they speak Spanish. LIE! We got there and he neither spoke nor made any attempt to understand each other, which was the first failure. The rooms look like they are in a building in ruins, dirty, neglected, broken... the bathroom is ridiculous, if you sit down to do your things with the door ajar you will bump between the door and the sink. There is also no gel, my shampoo or a dryer, so we had to go to the supermarket ourselves to buy it to maintain hygiene, because after asking for it, they never brought it to us either. What to say about breakfast? Uuuf... poor, shabby and quite incomplete. Breakfast is supposed to be from 8 to 10, but if you go down at 9, half of the things are no longer there, and they don't replenish them either, and they already offer little quantity and little variety... although of course, it can also be It happens that suddenly one day they don't even provide breakfast, as happened to us one day when we went down to have breakfast and were confronted by other guests who that day had not had breakfast all morning! Last but not least, the amount of £50 they charge you as a deposit as soon as you arrive and without prior notice. Maybe I'm missing more details, the truth is there are too many! But I hope that with this type of information it will help other people not to sting by hiring this hotel.
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Date of stay: December 2023
Value
Location
Service
Trip type: Travelled as a couple
Room Tip:Por ese precio hay hoteles mejores por zonas próximas, NO LO RECOMIENDO PARA NADA!
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
DO NOT STAY HERE! Quite literally the worst London hotel I have ever stayed in and I work in London regularly. The lift was broken and I had over 70 stairs to climb, the headboard was so dirty that I slept across the bottom of the bed to avoid it. The duvet was duck feather and smelt sweaty and dirty. The curtains were old and torn, the carpet was so worn that it was missing in places. No mirror in the bedroom, no tea or coffee making facilities and an old fridge that did not work. TV control was dirty and did not work so I couldn’t use the TV. There was an air conditioning unit with a large vent that had to hang through an open window. All the paintwork was dirty and stained and the furniture was falling apart.
As for the bathroom, it was so awful that I did not bother to shower. Luckily I was only there one night. I was provided with just enough toilet roll (less than half a roll), no bath mat, no toiletries other than a small bar of soap. The bath was so rusty and dirty and there was hair in the plug hole. Paint was coming off the walls.
They appeared to have a continental breakfast option which was included in my stay but knowing how dirty my room was I really didn’t want to risk eating or drinking from the kitchen so I decided to skip breakfast.
It looked like the hotel had been bought decades ago and hadn’t been touched since. Please do yourself a favour and stay elsewhere. I’m surprised they are allowed to stay open.
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Date of stay: March 2022Trip type: Travelled on business
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Booked in for one night. Received the same request as the other reviewers for £50 security deposit and that we could not use contact less and had to use a pin under the security camera. Was then informed that payment was not received on booking for the room so had to pay on the spot, the receptionist then took payment and walked off with my partners driving licence. On returning the receptionist then copied down the debit card details without asking, and then gave us a different check out time to described (incidentally, 1 hour ahead of check in time, I'd put money on them not getting around all the rooms in an hour) Got to the room and the receptionist had chased us up the stairs because the payment hadn't gone through, after confirming it had before we trekked up, and insisted we pay again. Checked mobile banking and found the payment did infact go through when booking originally, and the new payments are going to "the Colonnade Hotel", whoever they are... checked the receipts from reception and found the colonnade address is on another street.
The window frame is rotting, the window lock has fallen off, and we're 4 floors up - DO NOT BRING A CHILD HERE! The bed sheets are torn, the mattress is an map of stains. The door peep hole has been damaged and can be seen through into the room. The head board is filthy. 3 shampoo sachets one hand towel one bath towel and a soap between two people? No cups, no kettle, the mini fridge is empty unplugged in a cupboard. The electronics PAT tests are 4 years old. There is an unplugged AC unit on its side under the desk. The bath frame also looks rotten, the shower head is covered in scale, and the bath is stained. The taps leak. The toilet flusher was broken when we came in (I fixed this one out of necessity). There's a 'state of the art flat screen TV' on standby in the corner, with no remote and no buttons, and the WiFi password was never given to us. There's a 'z-bed' on one of the landings, folded and pushed to the side, it has been there all day. We walked in this evening, the front door was on the latch, reception was not manned, and we were not stopped, anyone could walk in.
My guess - the Colonnade bought out the Cranley right before lock down, lost or dropped the staff, hired whoever they could when reopening but can't afford to keep the hotel up. Whoever they got in to manage it is trying to keep revenue up by double charging and holding security deposits based on this experience and other reviews.
Not recommended.
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Date of stay: February 2022Trip type: Travelled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
London, United Kingdom12 contributions2 helpful votes
Hi!
Not sure this is a question so much as an observation...
Agree tea making facilty would be nice, that said I find quite a few small hotels don't have this facility. We were only here for one night and had a very nice 'Persian' meal in the evening, breakfast in the morning and afternoon tea, cakes and sandwiches on the way out... All meals included a pot of tea so we didn't miss the tea making facilty... having said that if we are staying in a small hotel for a couple of nights or more we do, as you suggest, tend to bring a travel kettle unless the reviews suggest this facility is available or we've been there previously and know a kettle is available.
As for the hairdryer... I haven't really got enough hair these days to worry about that! 😬
Cambridge, United Kingdom189 contributions89 helpful votes
See my review:
We booked one night away to the Cranley Hotel back in August for the month of October. At the time, the reviews were very favourable and it looked great. Nearer the time, however, the ratings went down and we had cause for concern even before we arrived there. Nevertheless, we remained positive and expected good things of this boutique hotel. It's in an excellent location, near to Cromwell Road and South Kensington and from the outside, looks charming and sophisticated. We arrived at midday, knowing that we could not check in until 2pm, so we left our luggage there and actually returned at 4pm, quite tired and wanting some relaxing time before going out in the evening. The Manager told us that we had been upgraded from an Executive Room to a Suite - so far so good... I put the key in the door, but it was already unlocked, so we walked in... there was a large bag of rubbish just inside, the bed was unmade and the light was on in the bathroom, so clearly, the room had NOT been made up since the previous guests had departed. It was quite musty and looking out from the French windows, there was a bike outside and old cans of soft drinks on the patio table... The Manager apologised and set to to get it cleaned but it really wasn't good enough...
Overall, the room was pleasant but tired - the whole place needs a good spruce up - the decor was a bit faded and peeling in places and parts of the carpet were worn. It has so much potential.
Included in our package was a glass of bubbly (not chilled) and "canapés" - actually postage stamp pieces of pitta bread topped with hummus, tzatziki etc... very odd - we were expecting some nice smoked salmon or vol au vents... We knew that only a Continental Breakfast was included but it was particularly disappointing. You order it the night before (goodness knows why)... we chose petit pain (only to find out that they were off the menu the next morning), croissants and pain au chocolate - very small and ordinary and the Danish pastries never turned up. The nasty Hovis thick sliced bread was meant to be toasted but had barely seen a toaster and was flabby... really no excuse, when you can now get decent Sourdough bread and other specialities quite easily... no fruit or yoghurt on offer either.
Such a shame, as it could have been really nice. At least the bed was very comfortable and the bathroom was fine.
Could try much harder, Cranley...
There are more places to choose from in the London area.
ALSO KNOWN AS
cranley hotel london
LOCATION
United KingdomEnglandLondonEarls Court / South Kensington
NUMBER OF ROOMS
39
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