Marilyn Moore

I just returned from a stay at the Fielding Hotel in the Covenent Garden area of London. It was a nightmare. The hotel is very small, old, and dated, with tiny guest rooms. The en suite bathrooms are the size of a coat closet, with the toilet so close to the shower that you bumped your knees on the shower door. The person on duty (there was only one at any given time of day) provides no guest related services at all. There is no help offered with the guest's baggage. There is also no elevator, so guests are expected to haul everything up several flights of steep steps themselves. No matter now you huff and puff, and no matter how many trips up and down it takes, the person on duty (a man) just sits and watches. We were two women travelling alone. The steps up to the guest rooms are behind a narrow door and are so narrow and steep that modern day luggage barely fits, if at all. Our suitcases only fit through the doors and up the steps sideways. The rooms are so small that you cannot roll your luggage into your room as the bed is just behind the open door leaving an entrance of inches. So after hauling your luggage up the steps, you then have to pick it all up again and carry it over the bed. As the bathroom sink is in the sleeping area, and not in the bathroom, there is no space anywhere to store your luggage. But there are also no dressers or drawers in the room, so you must leave most of your clothing on the floor in your suitcase. As the luggage took up most of the available floorspace in the room, we had to step over our luggage to use the sink and get into the bathroom. The beds were as hard as a rock. My blanket had fresh lipstick stains on it. There is no clock in the room. I know ice is a much cherished commodity by Americans in London, but you should know, the Fielding provides none, zero. We were informed there used to be an ice machine, but it broke, and the owner had no intentions of replacing it. There is ice in the breakfast room/restaurant (I use that term extremely lightly as it is a small dark room in the basement) as I had some ice in my orange juice the first and last morning I ever ate there, but the person on duty did not offer to go downstairs and get any. The Fielding Hotel is a disappointment and should never, ever be considered by any traveller who expects even a small amount of guest services, and must be avoided entirely by the elderly or handicapped. Sorry to be so negative, but you all are better warned so you can avoid the extreme disappointment I felt during my stay in London. <BR>

Kay

Thanks you, MM, for the warning. I was considering that hotel until I found a better one (I hope, the trip is not until Oct.). All the guidebooks list the Fielding as charming and a great favorite of theatrical types. I wonder hy?!? You did a good deed with your travel advisory.

Kay

Kay: <BR> <BR>I am so happy to have saved you from the Fielding. I, too, booked the Fielding from write ups I had read. They were not particularly nice there either. Bad attitudes all around. <BR>

Marilyn

Kay: <BR> <BR>I am so happy to have saved you from the Fielding. I, too, booked the Fielding from write ups I had read. They were not particularly nice there either. Bad attitudes all around. <BR>

Marilyn

Kay: <BR> <BR>I am so happy to have saved you from the Fielding. I, too, booked the Fielding from write ups I had read. They were not particularly nice there either. Bad attitudes all around. <BR>

cheryl

I have never stayed at the Fielding, and I am sorry that you had such an unfortunate experience. While your room does seem even smaller than those I have experienced, I believe a lot has to do with expectations. I assume from your post that you are American. I have always stayed (happily) at 1 and 2 star hotels in Europe, and many of the things you mention are standard. Unlike inexpensive chain hotels in the States, I have never seen an ice machine or been offered ice, nor do I expect it. In fact, I am surprised that a hotel like that ever had an ice machine. Rooms tend to be very small, and bathrooms even smaller. And I always expect to carry my own bags, these hotels do not run to large staffs, usually there is just one person at the desk and a maid during the day. I travel with my own travel alarm clock, so I probably would not notice if there were no clock in the room. Some do, some don't as I recall. As far as the blanket, I would have asked for another one. Even I have my limits! I think in order to avoid a ruined trip in the future, you may want to stick with larger 3 or even 4 star hotels. Good luck in future travels.

Beth

What Cheryl says about bathrooms is definitely true. I believe most older English hotels originally had shared baths. More and more are adding "en suite" bathrooms because American tourists prefer them. But they have to be squeezed into an already small room, possibly where the closet used to be. We stayed in a lot of different B&B's and small hotels on our two trips in the UK, and often found showers we could barely fit into, and washtands in the room. <BR>That said, I think the complete lack of any storage space for clothes would drive me crazy too. That seems a bit extreme.

kam

I think what we're describing here are typical 1-2 star hotels--very small with very small bathrooms and sinks in the room. If you want more, you need to pop for the 3-4 stars places. It's your choice. We've stayed in many of these small hotels, but we always know what we're getting into and pack and plan accordingly. If we're going on business or need to bring "dress up" clothes, we try to book in the 3-4 star range. I remember staying in the room that the Queen occupied up in Barrow-in-Furness.(she was there to christen a ship) No bathroom! Just a sink and a shower stall in the room, although the room was spacious and nicely decorated with a fireplace etc. The adjoining room which my family also occupied had been Prince Philip's--he had the bathroom, complete with toilet! This was, however, 30+ years ago and the hotel, The Victoria, is probably long gone. Marilyn, you've done everybody a service by describing the typical 1-2 star hotel. I read a lot of posts where I know the hotels and know that many Americans are not going to be satisfied. People who want more just need to pay more. That said, Marilyn, the lipstick on the blanket was beyond the pale, not acceptable even in a budget hotel. Let's hope they just overlooked it. I hope you managed to have a good trip to London anyway. Did you try to switch hotels?? No vacation should be ruined by accomodations.

Susan

Marilyn, <BR>You are so right!! We stayed at the Fielding hotel in 1995 as it had been described as a small but charming hotel. Small it was, charming it was not! The location is excellent if you want to be close to the Royal Opera house and theatres however that is perhaps the only positive comment I can make. There is definitely no attempt to give any service whatsoever. I have never seen such a small bathroom. I don't know if it was noisy when you were there but if you had the window open the noise from the foot traffic on the cobblestones below was deafening. I thought given its tucked away location it would be quiet but that whole Covent Garden area is very busy -especially on the weekends. This year we stayed at the Travelinn on the Southbank -had a great room - large, good sized bath and all the amenities for 60pds. As you can walk out the door and around the corner and onto the Westminster bridge, we won't stay anywhere else on future trips. <BR> <BR>Susan

lynn

Susan: <BR> <BR>We stayed at the Travel Inn London County Hall as well, based on recommendations from this forum, and we loved it. I'd read more than a few horror stories about London accommodations and decided to forego "charming" for "dependable." <BR> <BR>The location was unbeatable and the rooms were large and comfortable. They had tea making items and even a heated towel drying rack, which came in very handy for drying our laundry! And I believe all rooms are 60 pounds per night, as you mentioned. <BR> <BR>Sorry about your experience Marilyn. Thanks to everyone for sharing both the good and the bad though...we booked all of our reservations based on comments from this forum, and they were all great. <BR> <BR>Better luck next time. <BR> <BR>

graziella

Sorry about your unpleasant experience marilyn, don t you belive that all two stars hotels in Europe are like that many are very good, in the continent I mean , I do not go that oftenn to GB, <BR>but just to mentionen one two stars chain the Arcade Hotels are excellent, they are two stars, but are clean, confortable and in good locations...and many more are like the Arcade...

Marilyn

Thank you everybody for all your comments. As I travel a lot (I am leaving for a Turkey/Greece cruise on June 23rd), I plan to go "on line" and get reactions to any hotels that I may consider in the future. I am sorry I did not in the case of the Fielding. However, I was successful with my choice in Paris (Le Colbert) and in Bath (Harington Hotel), so 1 out of 3 isn't horrible. Again to all, thanks, especially you, Susan, who personally lived the Fielding experience!!

Jo

Hi Marilyn - just being curious here... how much did the Fielding Hotel cost and what did that include? Just comparing it with some of the (also bad) hotels I've stayed at in Earls Court area. I think London accommodation is very very overpriced for what you get - and the lower down the market they are the ruder they seem to be! Surely courtesy should be free. <BR>Better luck next time <BR>Jo <BR>

Marilyn

Jo: I need to refresh my memory as to the cost of the Fielding but will respond tomorrow. It was not that cheap. That's my gripe. I did not get what I paid for. The cost included room only. Breakfast was extra. Apparently, common courtesy was extra also. <BR>

Sara

Marilyn, What you have said about The Fielding is out of order, what you said is probably all true, but its also very libelious!! And you Americans know all about that. In the UK we do not complain in such public places as you have done, we write to the ETB and they would look into the matter, and if as you found it they would then do something about it. London certainly does NOT have the monopoly on bad/expensive/dirty/unhelpful hotels. Your Motels are just as in your movies, someone smoking a cigerette, and just points you in the direction of a room, and breakfast comes out of a machine? <BR>As someone pointed out - if you cant pay for upper grades then dont complain about what you do get, And what you call expensive probably is dirt cheap in London. <BR>

s.fowler

I'm not a legal eagle BUT: If something is true I don't think it is libel. Of course the question arises concerning the hotel's claims versus the client's expectations. <BR> <BR>In rereading I do see truth in the idea that our poster had some unreasonable expectations at that price level. [And it is certainly cultural re: what is "charming"] On the other hand there are hotels with the same lack of amenities AND surprisingly good service for the price: St. Margaret's on Bedford Place comes to mind. <BR> <BR>I think there are at least two issues here: One: the belief that the hotel may have been misrepresented to someone. Two: different ways in different cultures of dealing with disatisfaction, both inside and outside the legal system. One thing that is fascinating about the internet to those of us who study it in some manner is it's extra-nationality. This machine is presumably in New York, but posts come in from all over the world. In the UK the kind of complaining that Americans do seems very out of line, both culturally [and perhaps legally... but again not my field.] Granted America is a litigious society, but it's hard to know where the functionality of "keeping a stiff upper lip" versus getting what you think you are paying for begin and end.

Ruth

Hi fellow travelers, <BR> <BR>For those interested, according to "The Idiot's Guide to London", c.1999, the Fielding Hotel double rooms are $149 - $169. We all know that at Hampton Inns, Comfort Inns, etc. in the United States, you can pay half that (in rural areas, less!) and have a lovely, big clean room with an extended continental breakfast and a swimming pool outside. So our motels here are not "just the same" as stated above. Let's face it - it's just much more expensive to stay & eat in London, apparently. All the travel guides warn us of this problem, so I think we have to research a lot before we go to avoid situations like the one Marilyn found herself in. This discussion has taught me not to base my hotel choice solely on travel guides' write-ups. The Fielding is given one-two stars right along with other hotels that I've never heard anything bad about, in fact, hotels that I've heard very good things about! And this is in the "travel bibles." I guess you just can't do too much reseach on these subjects - thank goodness for the Internet!

sally

I have often had a problem when travelling o/s with the attitude of Americans eg - everything is best in the US and pretty awful everywhere else. However, on the subject of London hotels,nothing bad enough can be said!It is not a matter of unrealistic expectations - the sordid truth is that hotels in London are the most expensive and the worst value in the entire world. I have stayed in a range from 2-4 star and every single one of the them has been shabby,things broken,or tiny rooms or lousy service,unpleasant people or a combination. Torn sheets,staff fighting in the corridor!!,fire alarms going off from 3am-6am you name it. The sooner all the travellers to London complain loudly and often,perhaps the message will penetrate. Preferably write to the British Tourist Board. PS I now use serviced apartments - I don't feel so ripped off.

elaine

sally, <BR>I am sorry to hear of your extraordinary bad luck, but I will say that I have not had the same hotel experiences you have had in London. I too have stayed in places ranging from 2-4 stars, and have found pleasant rooms, polite and accommodating service, <BR>facilities in good repair, and bathrooms ranging from small but clean and functional to large and luxurious. I live in New York, which is certainly an expensive city, and while I have also found London to be extremely expensive <BR>as I translate everything in dollars, I have not felt in the least taken advantage of or deceived. I pay the same prices in restaurants and newstands and shops and hotels as the Brits do, And I do not hold up our American chain hotels and motels as such a fine example. While some chains may be reliable, many of their participating hotels are antiseptic but souless to my mind, and a cookie-cutter hotel is not what I prefer when I travel, although I insist on absolute cleanliness and I hate shabbiness. And I have stayed in chain hotels in the US like a couple of Best Westerns I could name, that were in deplorable condition. <BR>I certainly agree that any bad hotel experiences should be reported to the appropriate agencies, parent companies, etc. I also agree that guidebooks don't always have the most recent or specific information we need. So buy a usually reliable guide (in my experience) like one of Gustafson's <BR>"Cheap Sleeps in ..." books, or search or ask on this forum,would all be my advice. That said, based on marilyn's advice, I will not try the Fielding.

louise

now I'm really concerned!! My family and I (2 daughters 12 and 14) have reserved at the Park International in London for 6 days, arriving June 19...can anyone reassure me?