Jolly Hotel St Ermin's
 

I did the Priceline thing and ended up with this Jolly Hotel St Ermin's for $85/night in May. Anyone know this place? Is it a Jolly good time?

What city is it in?

Oh, I see from TripAdvisor it's in London.
What star-rating is it?
So far as I know, no one has ever reported this hotel before on BetterBidding.com or BiddingForTravel.com - so you get to be a trailblazer.
Looks like it's perfectly respectable and reasonably convenient.

It's 4 star to Priceline. But we all know that such ratings don't mean much.

I hope you'll post the winning bid on one of the boards, so people will know about it in the future.

Jolly is a well-known Italian chain, so I doubt the rooms will be bad. And quite frequently at various Priceline hotels, people are given the opportunity to upgrade to a club floor or executive room for a fee in the $20-40 USD range. I don't know if that would apply here, but it might.

I haven't stayed there, but I've heard good things about it. :)

St Ermins has been around for more than 100 years - was a well known hotel long before it became a Jolly property. The location simply cannot be beat. It is about a 1 min walk from St James Park tube station, close to B'ham Palace, Parliament Square/Big Ben/Westminster Abbey and walking distance from Victoria Station, It is just behind New Scotland Yard.

Hi Imhornet
I stayed at the Jolly St Ermin's in Nov 2003 and I have to tell you that I was sorely disappointed.
The Positives: Great location around the cornor from the St. James station and just across the street from the New Scotland Yard.It is walking distance to alot and generally conveninient.It has really nice "bones". The building is old and it had some pretty features, nice view from the lobby up to the second floor. Good achitectural detail,a nice little bar with a cozy fireplace, etc.
Now the negatives: The room size is small but not terrible and certainly fine for a long w/end stay. There was enough storage space for luggage and clothing and the bath size was adequate. That being said, the room was filthy. This came as a huge surprise because it is an Italian chain and I guess I expected the accomodations to be immaculate as most hotels I've experienced in Italy. The bathroom was not mopped or swept in what must've been weeks. Dust balls everywhere! The valet to press your slacks was so dusty that when I used it, it got my clothes dirty. The bedspreads were stained with old makeup and the carpeting had seen better days. I don't mind old, I mind dirty.
As far as the front desk, the employees were also disappointing. No one had suggestions for restaurants("I'm new here" not "let me get you some suggestions") and when I requested a cab, I was told I would get one quicker if I went out and called one myself. Not the answer you want to hear on a rainy evening...
To their credit, when I lodged a complaint, I was sent a $95 credit on my credit card approximately 6 months later. Some satisfaction, but I would have preferred a better experience during my stay.
Hope this is helpful, forewarned is forearmed they say!

To elg105:

Question: Why didn't you politely, but firmly, ask for a different room? I sure would have.

Correct about the room, I've done so in the past. But note that the condition of the room was not the only objection to the hotel. I had gotten like you, a great rate on this trip and thought "I'll just deal". Not all that much time spent in the room, yadda, yadda. My comments here are meant to share my experience good and bad.

I don't see any other objects to the hotel. Restaurant suggestions from staff are usually worthless from hotels, any. So what else is there?

We stayed at this hotel in October 2003 and it was a wonderful choice. Our room was not large but large enough. It was tastefully decorated and very clean. I think you will enjoy your choice.

Imhornet
Still feel that my experience was an accurate report on this hotel,good and bad. You asked for feedback, you got it!
Good travels to you.

"Still feel that my experience was an accurate report on this hotel,good and bad. You asked for feedback, you got it!"

The reason for an opinion is just as important as the opinion itself. Anyone can spout off. The question is whether the opinion has any validity or relevance. You read lots of very negative opinions on the board based on stuff like "they lost my reservation," "they didn't have handicap facilities," etc., stuff that is either an unlikely event or not relevant to my decision. You simply can't take what anyone says at face value without knowing the underlying reason, especially when the opinion is different from everyone else's.

You said that the place was dirty. OK. I'd ask for a clean room. Then what's the problem? Instead of answering rationally, you get all huffy. Calm done and try to be rational for a moment.

And what is more important. you do not want to imagine what kind of room you would get for $85 if you did not use priceline.

elg105m thanks for the review. I'm planning my first trip to London and don't know what to expect from a 4* hotel there. Your review was helpful. Jolly Hotel St. Ermin's is showing up in the winning Priceline bids on biddingfortravel.com.

I stayed at the St. Ermin's when it was a Hilton property, several years ago. At that time the hotel had at least two classes of rooms: "regular" rooms and "unleaded", er, "executive" rooms. The difference was substantial. If that dichotomy still exists, it could explain some of the differences in opinon here.

Imhornet
I hadn't seen this thread for a few weeks, and now I saw these recent remarks. First,I don't think I was acting "huffy" when I answered your query accurately. Sorry if my observation of the condition of the room, the lackadaisical attitude of the staff and the generally unhelpful treatment we witnessed was not what you thought you would hear. I believe that I reported this information in an honest,unbiased manner and threw it out here in this forum for fodorites to read and either learn from it or not. I had no ulterior motive in writing it other than to share an experience. But, just one last point. The company obviously felt there was some substance to my complaint by refunding me some of the money that the hotel had charged. Nuff said, the end!

I'm staying there in May also via PL. I'll post a report upon return.

A lot can happen in a hotel over a two year period; unless there are some more "recent" reviews on TripAdvisor, etc., you'll just have to wait and see.
At $85 per night in London...expecting more is one thing and actually getting it is something else. Sometimes things that are "cheap" turn out to be just that.