Gainsborough Hotel Reviews

I have stayed at this hotel before as the location is perfect. When I checked in I was told I had been upgraded to a double room, again perfect. The only down side was that the room had no windows, very disconcerting!

Stayed here for 3 nights and overall very impressed. Read other reviews saying problems with staff and a nightclub under the hotel. On arrival and throughout the whole stay the staff were very helpful and we were on the ground floor and heard no noise from any nightclub (when I spoke to one of the staff they said the nightclub shut in nov 2011 anyway). Rooms were ok for the price, quite small but had everything you needed. The best thing about this hotel is its location, right in the middle of south Kensington next to the museums, tube, great shops and great restaurants. For the price in that area of London I would say it was a bargain. Would stay there again

Changed room after one night. No window, bad perfume smell and adjacent to the elevator.
New room was better but still not very fresh. Expensive and non-functioning Wi-Fi.
Boring service.

Nice hotel, friendly staff, reasonable price for the area. Everything necessary provided, no concerns or complaints. Would definitely stay again. Thanks.

I stopped over one night in one of their single rooms, which had all the standard things you'd expect (ensuite, TV etc.) and everything was of adequate quality. The room was on the small side but I was only stopping one night so didn't bother me too much - I could imagine someone stopping for longer may want to opt for one of the larger rooms if they like their space. Other than that, breakfast was a bit on the disappointing side (for what you pay) and I wish I'd gone with my first thought of finding something in one of the nearby cafes.

A very friendly hotel in the Capital city, very quiet a peaceful ideally located to museums and Albert Hall

Room was very good but a little on the small side with a brick wall view , but it was clean and very pleasant , would stay again

Maybe if it was 30c on a hot London night an open window may have some benefit. But when the temp outside is -5c and you can hear the footfall and every lorry/coach passing your bedroom window all night through what appeared to be a gap in the window frame it may not be your idea of a restful sleep. Reception were given 15 hours to either;
a) Repair the window frame
b) Move me to another room
c) Inform me why they couldn't do either.
They did none of the three things, sufferance compounded, no one at reception desk when returning back.Hey ho, first and last time.

Clean cut price rooms loved the bar in sister hotel

Perfect for a reasonably priced one-night stay for one person. Room was small with single bed but very good price for London especially in Kensington very near museums etc. Some traffic noise in my room

The staff were rude, we had to run the hot water ( what a joke ) for an hour before we got any through as the staff said the room was left empty for a few weeks, the ac and heating was broken.

It's not always easy to find a reasonably priced, clean hotel with good customer service. This hotel had all three. Compared to others I have stayed in it was way ahead of them. A bit more expensive than some but in the end worth it for one night.

Although the common areas were fine, the bedroom and bathroom was very shabby and in desperate need of update. The shower was cold on one morning which I reported to the hotel - I was told this was because I was on the 4th floor! Also the fittings were loose. However, it was fine the next morning. The room was stuffy with air conditioning that didn't seem to work but that had a pipe out of the window! It was clean though. The staff were friendly and helpful - it is in a good location but in desperate need of update.

What a shame. Good location, good price, but a room with no windows. Not at any price thanks, and you should tell people before they book.

Night staff was less than pleased to welcome me,room was a shoe box, ensuite dirty tired and in need of renovation,i paid £60 which is cheap,but not if the accommodation and beds keep you up all night!ordered the angus steak burger,got a 2p burger van burger with under done oven chips-will be avoiding at all costs,how they can charge £200 plus is a statement of the area only.avoid.

Overall good - room only a single - but decor rather dingy and dripping tap in sink.

The room was very very small for a double.
You could not open the wardrobe door as the bed was in the way.
It was more a standard single room rather than a executive twin

Room was comfortable although single bed. TV functional but old style. No free wi-fi. Good location for museums and public transport.

Nice London Hotel with close links to some of the best bits of London lots of coffee shops near by.

Nice but the water at night was almost cold I needed a hot shower, couldn't have one that was the only down side, it was raining outside thus the need of a shower everything else I found fine, I would book again, itn was close to the underground when we got to the hotel, we obviously set off the wrong way and headed for the Albert and Victoria museums- wrong, we needed to go straight out it would have been much quicker I have difficulty with walking

An excellent hotel with first class service.

Excellent value at the £99 last-minute rate, but I would not have wanted to pay the full advertised rate

Good location for that part of town, reasonable quality for price. Bar was unimpressive but plenty nearby, staff very helpful though.

The staff were very nice in letting us check in a little after the 11pm cut off, but I did call several times to let them know we would arrive late and no one answered. As far as the room, the bed was a bit squeaky and uncomfortable, the toilet was hard to flush and some sort of alarm went off in the middle of the night waking us up in terrified shrieks with no explanation the next morning.

Great location, helpful staff and value for money

Hotel was value for money in terms of location but some of the staff were quite rude.

Room & bathroom was very clean and reasonably decorated. Bed comfy. No sleep due to night club next door which had music playing until after 0400 and we got no sleep as noise reverberated through bed !! Never will we stay there again & i would not recommend it!!

Hotel was situated next to a late night club that didn't shut until 6 in the morning. I asked for a new room for the second night because of the noise, which the staff obligingly sorted for me only to find a bed bug in my bed in the morning!
Late rooms should take this hotel off their list or at the very least reduce the star rating.

My friend and I stayed for one night. The room was lovely, clean and the beds very comfortable which was perfect for us as we merely needed a place to lay our heads after a night out. The only negatives are that there were no free plug sockets (we needed to charge phones and cameras and had to unplug the hotel's electrical items including the phone in order to do so), and that we couldn't find the kettle and tea making facilities - we eventually found them stashed away in a drawer under the TV. Other than that, great, and I'd stay again.

I had a very nice relaxing and peaceful stay at The Gainsborough, staff were very pleasant- complimentary tea/coffee upon arrival .Hotel situated in a superb location and Grand district.
Well Worth The Money! will be returning soon ;-)

The only complaint I had was that the wifi network was unreliable and kept disappearing- bought a voucher for 24 hours but could get on the internet for few minutes in the morning & was unable to reconnect. Would have expected a partial refund.....

This hotel claims to provide the feel of English country living in London - and they go a long way to making that true! Indeed, you can believe all their claims.
The location is a fairly quiet street between the Natural History Museum and the 'village' of South Kensington - each 3 minutes away. The Reception fits the country house atmosphere - the receptionists are seated behind a table, not standing behind a countrer. Check-in is relaxed and quick, with documentation pre-prepared.
When making my booking, the Late Roms site clearly stated that the price was for a small single room but with en suite facilities. I dropped lucky - I was shown to a ground floor double room, quite spacious, confortably furnished, and with an excellent modern bathroom. OK, the room was 'landlocked' and did not have natural light, but the AC ventilation was good, and for a short stay in London looking out of the window is not a top priority. The hospitality tray was generous, the toiletries excellent, the bed and towels comfortable, the wardrobe courtesy light worked, and the wifi (modestly charged for a London hotel) good.
Being a small London hotel the public rooms are limited, but the reception lounge was large and comfortable, and a bar was available. The hotel does not have a restaurant other than for breakfast, but this is wise as the choice of restaurants of all types within 5 minutes walk is almost over-whelming, and reasonably priced. The hotel's claim of 24 hour room and lounge service is credible (though not sampled), and the range of items attractive.
The breakfast expereince was an unexpected treat, and brought again the country house experience. The breakfast room is a true dining room, with fresh white linen tablecloths. Cereals, fruit, and cold cuts are an a buffet, but tea and coffee, and the hot breakfast is waiter served! Orders were taken promptly, the food cooked freshly to order, and delivered remarkably quickly - shaming most 4 and 5 star hotels, and far more relaxing than the buffet scrum of most London hotels. Though not included in the room price, breakfast was reasonably priced (continental or full), though again there are local alternatives for those who wish. The only criticism of the breakfast was the slightly limited range of choice, but the quality and freshness were excellent.
The final advantages of The Gainsborough are its staff and its accessibility. All staff are courteous, helpful, and interested in providing a good expereince for the guest. The location is five minutes walk from South Kensington underground, with Circle, District, and Piccadilly lines it is well placed yet out of the turmoil, and directly linked to Heathrow. Hitherto I have 'trawled' on Late Rooms for my London stays - from now on The Gainsborough will be the first choice.

My girlfriend and I stayed here on a Saturday evening to attend a friend's birthday party. The staff were friendly and helpful and the room was clean and decent enough for a night's stay. The hotel is in a good central area and South Kensington underground station is a 2 min walk away.
However there was constant noise from people outside as there is a private club only a few doors away on the same street. Also the people living opposite the hotel were making a lot of noise on their balcony. This completely ruined what would have otherwise been a good hotel experience.

Had a very pleasant stay here the staff were very helpful and friendly. The only negative for us is that we were next to the lift which wouldnt have been too bad but it seemed to be in use all night.
Location is great next to natural history museum and lots of little cafes and delicatessens. We used our oyster card and it was perfect. The bus goes from near the hotel to Harrods and down to Picadilly. Mom is disabled and uses crutches so last time we had to use taxis all the time so this
location was great.
Definitely recommend it however we never had the breakfast in the hotel as it was about £15 per person so we decided it was too expensive.

Nice friendly hotel, super room, comfortable bed. Woken at 4am by fire alarm, which stopped after a few seconds. Kept awake by techno dance music from nearby club till 6am.

I arrived late and left early so I really only needed a bed for the night. The room was very small but clean and functional. However, the walls are paper thin and I was bombarded by the different tv programmes from adjacent rooms.

We stayed here for two nights and felt the hotel was in a really good location in a very nice area of London. The hotel was very clean and well presented, and the staff were mostly very attentive. The first room we were given was up to standard, the aircon did not work and there were broken knobs and handles on the furniture, although it was still clean. Once we complained about these problems the staff were extremely helpful and even though it was very late they were able to move us to another room which was perfect. The room was a good size, with everything in the bathroom you would expect. The only other downside was that on the final night of our stay the music for a club nearby was quite loud, we had no problems sleeping through it but others may be different.

The hotel itself is ideally situated for access to V&A, Natural History, & Science Museums with good transport links. My room was small but more than adequate with very comfortable large single bed. Late rooms.com booking meant good valuecfor money. I would definitely stay again if I can get same discounted price

Room/hotel decor was modern and up to date as long as you were living in 1922. bed was too soft for my acheing back. all just about OK. breakfast OK-ish, a bit pricey and they twice (twice!!) got my daughter's order wrong. How hard is it to remember 'sausage, bacon and beans'?!
on the plus side the receptionist did phone me just after chjeck out to advise I'd left my keys behind so on that note alone tyhey get a 6...

Staff were friendly and willing to store unneeded luggage the following day.
The bedroom was comfortable + quiet.
Bathroom mediocre -- shower and bath-towels were worn-out! Ditto, the t.v. set.
The breakfast was good, and inexpensive by London standards. Breakfast-room pleasantly spacious.
The hotel's location is excellent: West End etc. accessible by Tube in less than half an hour; and S. Kensington museums 10 minutes' walk away.