- Restaurants |
- Nightlife |
- Shopping |
- Coffee |
- All
30 John Islip Street
London SW1P
Neighbourhood: Westminster
020 7630 1000
London SW1P
Neighbourhood: Westminster
020 7630 1000
- Nearest Transit:
-
Pimlico (Victoria)
- Price Range:
-
££
4 reviews for City Inn
All Reviews
The City Inn is located within a good walking distance to most of the sites you will want to visit while in London, even though the closest underground station is a bit of a hike.
Atmosphere - Modern, trendy, posh and recently updated in 2008.
Rooms - Bright, modern, small and Ikea-ish (the Americans will know what I mean). The rooms are perfect for two, at most. They include a light wood colored closet/ dresser combo with a useful workstation/ desk close at hand. The beds are low and futon-ish in style, but comfortable none the less. The television is an IMac with free internet access as well as a good number of television channels, including BBC1 - 4 and Sky1 - 4. The bathroom is bright white and makes good use of the space with a well placed sink, shower and water closet. Most (as I have stayed here a few times) bathrooms have a shaver outlet that provides the US traveler a plug for charging a cellular or a camera.
Food - Room service is decent but pricy. I recommend getting the breakfast buffet package w/ your room. It is served downstairs in the restaurant near the main lobby and it is an all you can eat buffet that is tasty w/ service well beyond that of a buffet. In addition, if you so choose, there is a Tesco Express within walking distance of the hotel. To find it just check your IMac computer.
Overall - The great service, reasonable price and close proximity make the City Inn the "in" place to be in London.
Ouch! I apologize for that one.
New hotel in Westminster -- although I only got to spend about 5 hours in my room, it was clean, functional and the bed was relatively comfortable (it might've been VERY comfy if I'd had more time to use it).
They have iMacs in every room so you get integrated internet/tv in one spot... internet access is complimentary (big plus in my book).
The baths have The White Company product (another plus). Overall, this is a great value -- not a posh hotel, but convenient for any tourist or business professional. While the nearest tube station isn't right around the corner, they had a taxi queue right outside (convenient).
If you aspire to live like a local in London, the City Inn isn't a great bet. If, however, you've come to see the major tourist sites - Westminster Abbey, the Tate Britain, Big Ben, the National Gallery - and want to be very close to them, this hotel is right on the money especially given a room here can be had for as low as 99 pounds per night.
Besides being in a location that was a fairly long, meandering walk from the tube and not near anything I was chiefly interested in, the City Inn was disappointing in a couple of other ways.
The first thing I noticed upon entering my room's bathroom was a foul smell emanating from the drain. I poured a bit of shampoo down in and hoped for the best. The next morning the stench was even worse. I called down and explained the situation. The front desk person told me they didn't have anything available in my "room class" and that when they did she would ring me. I was eventually moved to another room where odour was not an issue. Still, the whole ordeal was a right pain in the arse.
The wifi, though free, was crap. Given my work, a stable connection is of absolute importance. The City Inn definitely failed me in this regard. When I was able to connect, it was painfully slow. I inquired with the front desk about this and they said they had received other complaints; nothing about the situation changed during my three night stay.
Were it my choice, I'd not choose to stay again at the City Inn.
City Inn is a chic reasonably priced hotel in the city of Westminster just off the River Thames. Two friends of mine stayed here when they visited London and enjoyed the in house lounge and artful City Café. They had no problems navigating the city, because there's a Mac computer in each room!
