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Reviews of Shakespeare Hotel

3 out of 5
Shakespeare Hotel
22-28 Norfolk Square, Paddington, London, England

Reviews

7.2

Good

Rating 10 - Excellent. 184 out of 923 reviews" "
Rating 8 - Good. 356 out of 923 reviews" "
Rating 6 - Okay. 211 out of 923 reviews" "
Rating 4 - Poor. 112 out of 923 reviews" "
Rating 2 - Terrible. 60 out of 923 reviews" "

7.6/10

Cleanliness

7.8/10

Staff & service

6.6/10

Amenities

6.4/10

Property conditions & facilities

7.0/10

Eco-friendliness

Reviews

4/10 Poor

Richard

Noisy inside and outside
Stayed 1 night in May 2024

10/10 Excellent

David

Travelled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
The hotel was as expected. An old building, basic but functional as long as you don't mind a few stairs.
Stayed 2 nights in Apr 2024
Response from Monika on 21 May 2024
Dear guest, thank you for taking time to leave us a review. We are happy you were satisfied with your stay, we hope to see you stay with us again in the future. Kind regards, Shakespeare Hotel

8/10 Good

Fernanda

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Localização bem central, pertinho da estação de metrô Paddington. O hotel fica perto de alguns pubs e do ponto de partida de um ônibus hop-on hop-off. O único inconveniente é o barulho dos trens passando pelos trilhos, mas não chega a incomodar.
Stayed 7 nights in May 2024
Response from Monika on 21 May 2024
Dear guest, thank you for leaving us a review. We are happy to hear you had an overall pleasant stay. We hope to see you stay with us again in the future. Kind regards, Shakespeare Hotel

6/10 Okay

Susie

60 steps up no lift! Otherwise very convenient location.
Stayed 2 nights in May 2024
Response from Monika on 19 May 2024
Dear guest, thank you for taking time to leave us a review. Our hotel is located in old Victorian homes which prevents us from installing a lift. We appreciate your insight as it helps us improve the quality of our service in the future. Kind regards, Shakespeare Hotel

10/10 Excellent

Rana

Travelled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
The room was nice and clean, the beds were comfortable, the staff were really nice, the wi-fi worked and our overall experience was great. Would absolutely revisit again. Also got a free upgrade, which was greatly appreciated.
Stayed 1 night in May 2024
Response from Monika on 21 May 2024
Dear guest, thank you for taking time to leave us an excellent review. We are thrilled to hear you were satisfied with the service we have provided and your overall stay. We hope to see you stay with us again soon. Kind regards, Shakespeare Hotel

8/10 Good

Natalie

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Really good value for the money, lovely and clean.
Stayed 1 night in May 2024
Response from Monika on 17 May 2024
Dear guest, thank you for leaving us a review. We are happy to hear you had a pleasant stay and we hope to see you stay with us again in the future. Kind regards, Shakespeare Hotel

6/10 Okay

Gerald

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service
Disliked: Property conditions & facilities
We selected The Shakespeare because it’s close to Paddington. Unfortunately, the hotel doesn’t have a lift. Two of our rooms were on the fourth floor. There’s no AC, and it was a warm day when we arrived. One of the tubes runs under the hotel, so the whole building shakes and there’s a deep rumble whenever it passes. The double room that we booked was nice but the single rooms are quite small. Breakfast was very good.
Stayed 1 night in May 2024
Response from Monika on 17 May 2024
Dear guest, thank you for taking time to leave us a review. We are sorry to hear you were unsatisfied with your stay this time. Our hotel is located in restored Victorian homes which prevents us from installing an elevator. We appreciate your insight as it helps us improve the quality of our service in the future. Kind regards, Shakespeare Hotel

8/10 Good

Janis

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service
Stayed 1 night in May 2024
Response from Monika on 17 May 2024
Dear guest, thank you for taking time to leave us a review. We hope to see you stay with us again soon. Kind regards, Shakespeare Hotel

4/10 Poor

Anjanee

Travelled with family, Travelled with group
Disliked: Amenities, property conditions & facilities
The room was quite small. There was no space to open your suitcase besides on top the bed. The beds were okay. It looked a bit run down. The bathrooms were tiny and the water was either boiling or freezing. The staff was helpful
Stayed 3 nights in May 2024
Response from Monika on 13 May 2024
Dear guest, thank you for taking time to leave us a review. We appreciate this as it helps us improved the quality of our service in the future. Kind regards, Shakespeare Hotel

8/10 Good

Debbie

Travelled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Situated very near Paddington station . Friendly staff and nice breakfast selection . Room was clean and had daily housekeeping although the room was very hot and we were unable to open any windows there was a fan we could use. Central location for everywhere we wanted to go to either by tube or on foot .
Stayed 3 nights in May 2024
Response from Monika on 13 May 2024
Dear guest, we are happy to hear that you enjoyed the location of the hotel as well as the amenities. Your feedback is important to us as it helps us improve the quality of our service in the future. Kind regards, Shakespeare Hotel

4/10 Poor

Hayley

Disliked: Cleanliness, amenities, property conditions & facilities
No lift, changed our room last minute and split our group into two rooms instead of one and barely enough room to move
Stayed 2 nights in May 2024
Response from Monika on 13 May 2024
Dear guest, we are sorry to hear you had a negative experience at our hotel. Unfortunately, there was a last minute maintenance issue with your room and we had to relocate your booking. Your feedback is important to us as it helps us improve the quality of our service in the future. Our sincere apologies. Kind regards, Shakespeare Hotel

6/10 Okay

Erin

Travelled with family
Disliked: Amenities
Hotel is in a good location, close to transportation.
Stayed 2 nights in Apr 2024
Response from Monika on 13 May 2024
Dear guest, thank you for leaving us a review. We appreciate this as it helps us improve the quality of our service. Kind regards, Shakespeare Hotel

10/10 Excellent

Amanda

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Excellent stay, walking distance to Paddington Station, sights, tours and eateries. Highly recommend.
Stayed 3 nights in Apr 2024
Response from Monika on 2 May 2024
Dear guest, thank you for your excellent review! We are happy to hear you were satisfied with your overall stay. We appreciate this as it helps us improve the quality of our services. Kind regards, Shakespeare Hotel

10/10 Excellent

TSUNGJUI

Stayed 10 nights in Apr 2024

4/10 Poor

HiuMei

Disliked: Cleanliness, property conditions & facilities
The place looks a bit dirty and it was noisy all over the stay
Stayed 1 night in Apr 2024
Response from Monika on 30 Apr 2024
Dear guest, we are sorry to hear that you had a negative experience at our hotel. As we are located in a close proximity to the underground station, there is some noise coming from the tunnels. However, there are regulations in place where the trains stop completely for the night to allow guests undisturbed sleep. Kind regards, Shakespeare Hotel

8/10 Good

Eleanor

Travelled with group
Excellent location. Generally helpful staff. The breakfast was excellent ; plentiful with a good variety of nutritious food. The staff in the e breakfast room were especially attentive. Everything was very clean. Our room was on the 4 th floor with no lift and narrow stairs. We are both in our 70’s and no help was offered for our luggage. Because the water in the room was labeled “ non-potable”, it would have been nice to have a bottle of drinking water provided.
Stayed 2 nights in Apr 2024
Response from Monika on 30 Apr 2024
Dear guest, thank you for taking time to leave us a review. We are happy to hear you were pleased with the location and the staff, however we are sorry for no drinking water in the room and the stairs in the building. Our hotel is located in restored Victorian era homes which prevents us from installing an elevator. We are not possible to supply guests with drinking water in the room due to the way water is stored in old buildings in Central London. We do offer several options for drinking water including a filtered water tap for refilling bottles near the reception, or alternatively a vending machine where we sell bottles of water. Kind regards, Shakespeare Hotel

8/10 Good

Soenita

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Great location, wonderful staff!
Stayed 1 night in Apr 2024
Response from Monika on 25 Apr 2024
Dear guest,thank you for your great review, we are happy to hear that you were satisfied with the location of our hotel and the staff. We are hoping to see you staying with us again soon. Kind regards,Shakespeare Hotel

4/10 Poor

Colin

Travelled with family
Liked: Staff & service
Disliked: Amenities, property conditions & facilities
The GOOD: The staff were courteous and friendly. The location is great as it's walking distance to Paddington Station so getting around is easy on the Tube, especially going on the Elizabeth Line to the airport. There are many shops and restaurants around. On our 2nd stay at the hotel, I made a request to stay on the upper level of the building which the friendly staff granted. The BAD: On our first booking, we were placed in a room in the basement. The ceiling light was not working. It was hard to get the right water temperature with the shower as it was either too hot or too cold. The kettle is made of metal so take caution as it may burn your arm. The small table was wobbly. The worst thing about being in the basement room is that every 3 to 5 mins the underground train comes in and it's located under the room which is not only loud but rattles your bed too. You will not be able to sleep if your room is in the basement. The UGLY: The room does not look like anything in the picture. The picture showed 3 or 4 beds, but in actuality it was one bed with bunk beds. It still sleeps 4 though. The basement room is also located next to the hotel's dinning area. There were also boxes placed around the corridor of the basement. In my opinion, the basement room should not be rented out at all. It needs to be a store or a staff room. I would stay here again because of The GOOD reasons given.
Stayed 2 nights in Apr 2024
Response from Monika on 26 Apr 2024
Dear guest, thank you for sharing your insight with us. Our hotel is located in close proximity to the train station, however there are regulations in place where the trains stop during the night to allow residents of the area and hotel guests an undisturbed sleep. We offer different room types, we are sorry the images were not provided for all room types. We appreciate your insight as it will help us improve the quality of our service. We look forward to welcoming you soon again.Kind regards, Shakespeare Hotel

8/10 Good

Allison, Everett

Travelled with partner
Liked: Staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
We really enjoyed the Shakespeare. Paddington Station is half a block away. In Paddington Station there is a grocery store, pharmacy/drug store, several restaurants, a Burger King and many other shops. It's well lit and upscale. And so, so close to the Shakespeare.
Stayed 1 night in Apr 2024
Response from Monika on 26 Apr 2024
Dear guest,Thank you for taking the time to leave us a review!We appreciate this, as it helps us continue to grow. We look forward to hosting you again soon.Best Regards, Shakespeare Hotel

6/10 Okay

Nilfa

Liked: Cleanliness
Disliked: Staff & service
Lack of staff to help older people bring their luggage to the room wherein all of us are seniors 70 and place in the 3rd floor.
Stayed 2 nights in Apr 2024
Response from Monika on 25 Apr 2024
Dear guest, thank you for taking time to leave us a review! We value your insight, I am sorry to hear that noone offered you help with your luggage. We do have a luggage porter on site during peak hours and also our reception staff would be happy to help with your luggage. We will investigate this matter further and take proper action to ensure more support in the future. Kind regards, Shakespeare Hotel

10/10 Excellent

Christopher, Lincoln

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Great location, just 5 mins walk from Paddington station. Rental bikes close by also.
Stayed 1 night in Apr 2024
Response from Monika on 25 Apr 2024
Dear guest, Thank you for taking the time to leave us a review! We appreciate this, as it helps us continue to grow. We look forward to hosting you again soon.Best Regards, Shakespeare Hotel

10/10 Excellent

IRENE

Stayed 1 night in Mar 2024
Response from Monika on 1 May 2024
Dear guest, thank you for your excellent review! We hope to welcome you to our hotel again soon. Kind regards, Shakespeare Hotel

8/10 Good

Crystal

Stayed 5 nights in Mar 2024
Response from Monika on 26 Apr 2024
Dear guest,Thank you for taking the time to leave us a review!We appreciate this, as it helps us continue to grow. We look forward to hosting you again soon.Best Regards, Shakespeare Hotel

8/10 Good

Katherine

Travelled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
2 minutes walk to the tube and main line station. Lots of places to eat in the neighbourhood with easy access to all the sites and central London. The square has recently been renovated and buildings decorated. The staff at the hotel are super nice and helpful, letting us leave our luggage at hotel before & after check out. The room was clean and bright with a fridge and tea/coffee making facilities. The on suite was clean with soap & towel’s provided. We were on the 4th floor and no lift but not a problem as we are fit. We look forward to staying again.
Stayed 2 nights in Apr 2024
Response from Monika on 26 Apr 2024
Dear guest, thank you for taking time to leave us this lovely review! We are thrilled to hear you were happy staying at our hotel and we look forward to welcoming you again soon. Kind regards, Shakespeare Hotel

4/10 Poor

Julia

Travelled with partner
Disliked: Staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
This hotel was an exploration of gaslighting. What do I mean by that? Well, our room had a balcony, on which was a table and some chairs. A sign visible from inside the room forbade us from going onto the balcony. So why, then, were there a table and chairs on the balcony, except to make people who were not staying at the hotel think that there was balcony access? Our stay was riddled with contradictions like this. No potable water in the bathrooms, but a glass sitting next to the sink. A game room, but, oh wait, it costs a pound to play per individual game. I got a distinct sense that I had been bamboozled somehow, and now that I was in their care, all they wanted was to extract as much money from me as possible before sending me on my way. Not only is the water not potable in the bathrooms, but our bathroom had the bonus feature of having a strong swampy odor. (We lovingly nicknamed it the "Stink Room.") This odor got a bit better when you propped the door open, but that, of course, allowed the stink into the room proper. The shower in the bathrooms also was unacceptable. I had a broken ankle during my visit, and the bottom of the shower was so slippery, I was scared to bathe because I was afraid that I would fall. This is something that can be remedied with a plastic mat, which is not expensive to fix. We paid extra for breakfast, which was a mistake. The buffet had the same choices every day, everything was lukewarm, and the coffee was shockingly bitter.
Stayed 6 nights in Mar 2024
Response from Monika on 25 Apr 2024
Dear guest, we are sorry to hear you had a negative experience staying at our hotel. We regret to inform you that our balconies have a limited access due to safety regulations regarding the railing height. Our balcony rooms are subject to availability as we have different room allocations. The water is non-potable from bathroom sinks in the majority of central London, due to the way water is stored in historic buildings. We do offer several sources of water, including a free drinking fountain in the lobby to re-fill water bottles, and a vending machine to get large bottled water. Please know we will forward your issues with the room to our maintenance and we will get is fixed soon. We appreciate your insight as it helps improve the quality of our service in the future. Kind regards, Shakespeare Hotel

8/10 Good

Fiona CFChai

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Named after the world’s famous Shakespeare. Went to see The Merchant of Venice Shakespeare’s play few days earlier. A fan of Paddington Bear & the train station was named after the lovable bear born in Peru. These were my reasons to sample this hotel. I am a member of London’s Hospitality Institute doing my own research about the quality of UK’s hotels!
Stayed 1 night in Mar 2024
Response from Monika on 25 Apr 2024
Dear guest, thank you for your lovely review including these interesting facts. We are happy to hear you enjoyed your overall stay, especially the excellent location. Feedback like yours has been useful for us to improve our quality, so I appreciate you taking the time to provide your insight.Kind regards, Shakespeare Hotel

10/10 Excellent

Valeria

Travelled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Stayed here with my sister for the weekend and it was lovely! Amazing and attentive staff. The hotel is located near various public transportation options which made getting your different parts of the city easy. There’s also a lot of dining options nearby that were delicious! Room was clean and bed was comfortable. I didn’t mind the stairs and loved the aesthetic of the hotel. It does get a bit noisy at night but it is a city after all so it wasn’t a problem for me. Definitely recommend!
Stayed 2 nights in Mar 2024
Response from Monika on 25 Apr 2024
Dear guest, thank you so much for your excellent review! We are pleased to hear you had a great stay, your words will be forwarded to our staff as it is truly rewarding to hear. Kind regards, Shakespeare Hotel

10/10 Excellent

Enid

Travelled with family and small children
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Beautiful room.
Stayed 3 nights in Mar 2024
Response from Monika on 25 Apr 2024
Dear guest,thank you for your great review, we are happy to hear that you were satisfied with the location of our hotel and the staff. We are hoping to see you staying with us again soon. Kind regards,Shakespeare Hotel

4/10 Poor

kayleigh

Travelled with family and small children
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service
Disliked: Property conditions & facilities
We booked a family room. We didnt know it was in the basement. Felt like we were sleeping in the underground tube station! The trains didnt stop until midnight, started again at 5am, none of us slept at all! £122 to be awake all night long, it was awful.
Stayed 1 night in Mar 2024
Response from Monika on 24 Apr 2024
Dear guest, thank you for taking time to leave us a review! We are sorry that you had a negative experience at our hotel this time around. We are located in a close proximity to the underground and Central London, sadly this means the underground tunnel is quite close by to our hotel. Our sincere apologies, feedback like yours helps us improve our quality, thank you for taking the time to provide us your insight. Kind regards, Shakespeare Hotel

4/10 Poor

John, MIAMI

Travelled with partner
Disliked: Cleanliness, amenities, property conditions & facilities
There was a continuous smell of sewer at all times. The bathroom door had to remain closed!!! Our room was no. 331 Having no lift was a great inconvenience and there was no help offered to carry our suitcases to the 3rd floor up narrow and steep staircases. Due to groups of teenagers there was constant noise, shouting, laughing and shhhhing up to midnights
Stayed 3 nights in Feb 2024
Response from Monika on 24 Apr 2024
Dear guest, thank you for taking time to leave us a review! We are sorry to hear you had a negative experience at our hotel this time around, we always thrive to improve our services and your feedback helps us. Please mind we do have a luggage porter available at peak times to help with luggage. Kind regards, Shakespeare Hotel

4/10 Poor

Ash

Business traveller
Liked: Cleanliness
Disliked: Amenities, property conditions & facilities
The walls are paper thin. The hotel shakes from the underground tube until midnight and then from 5:45am. There was a lack of control of some incredibly annoying French teenagers drinking, throwing up, running around the hotel and making out in the corridors until after 2am. Worst hotel experience I have ever had.
Stayed 1 night in Feb 2024

8/10 Good

Concetta

Stayed 1 night in Feb 2024
Response from Monika on 24 Apr 2024
Dear guest, Thank you for taking the time to leave us a review!We appreciate this, as it helps us continue to grow. We look forward to hosting you again soon.Best Regards,Shakespeare Hotel

6/10 Okay

Victoria

Liked: Staff & service
Disliked: Cleanliness, amenities, property conditions & facilities
The hotel was in an area I liked but I did not think the room was very clean. My towels always smelled like smoke.
Stayed 2 nights in Feb 2024

8/10 Good

Suhair

Travelled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service
Stayed 1 night in Feb 2024

8/10 Good

Michelle

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Great value for money
The property is great for the money you pay, very clean and the staff is friendly. Also kept my luggage for the day after check-out, which I really appreciated. The location is just by Paddington station, so very central, with everything in reach, both by bus and train. Would definitely recommend overall!
Stayed 2 nights in Feb 2024

10/10 Excellent

Kevin

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Excellent budget hotel Paddington
Excellent budget hotel. Stayed in another hotel in the street for the same price and left after one night due to the terrible state and found this place a few doors down. Like i said same price but much better value for money, the property has obviously been invested in substantially and the room while compact was comfortable with a hot shower, breakfast was adequate (fresh waffles were the best) and the staff were friendly.
Stayed 1 night in Feb 2024

2/10 Terrible

Ashwini

Disliked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Stayed 1 night in Jan 2024

8/10 Good

Loo Chi Pong, Wanchai

Conveniently located - a stone’s throw away from Paddington Station. But the steep stairs are tricky to navigate if you have bulky luggages
Stayed 1 night in Jan 2024

10/10 Excellent

RUDI, Sheffield

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Looked after my case for me was kept behind reception so knew it was safe unlike some hotels I have been to recently
Stayed 3 nights in Jan 2024

6/10 Okay

Cheryl

Liked: Staff & service
Stayed 5 nights in Dec 2023

6/10 Okay

Verified traveller

Disliked: Property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Very small room with smaller shower and toilet. Very lumpy bed that dipped to one side.
Stayed 2 nights in Jan 2024

8/10 Good

Cemil

Stayed 1 night in Jan 2024

6/10 Okay

Cheryl

Liked: Staff & service
Disliked: Property conditions & facilities
En-suite was needed for mobility challenged elder with small service dog. That only came with very small 9’x5’ room spanning stairs above and below. Very narrow (UK twin) bed abutted wall with non-insulated window. Hours for heating carefully controlled but Reception very responsive to turning it back on. Small but great hot shower. Taxi assistance depended on duty receptionist. WiFi acceptable. Higher speeds can be purchased. In room (sink) water marked Non Potable. In room info card out of date. Bottled water available in dispenser on ground floor. Breakfast food was great! If getting Full English buy ticket from Reception first. Complementary breakfast more than adequate. Be prepared for lots of stairs! Morning and day staff were exceptional, friendly, helpful and professional. Harry Potter would have given his ‘room under the stairs’ 5 stars! But he was a magician! Owners should seriously graduate to better insulated windows to control heat costs and improve customer comfort. Maintenance response was very good and much appreciated. Thank him please.
Stayed 1 night in Jan 2024

6/10 Okay

Nicola

Liked: Cleanliness, property conditions & facilities
Stayed 1 night in Jan 2024

6/10 Okay

DEBRA

Stayed 1 night in Dec 2023

8/10 Good

Victor

Travelled with group
Liked: Staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Hotel is like 2 blocks near Paddington station, which is ideal if you're traveling to the Heathrow Airport. The The hotel does not have a lift, so it was harsh to take the narrow stairs up to the 3rd floor with lots of luggage weighting around 70 pounds. Lots of souvenirs shops and places to eat (fast food chains like mcdonalds, KFC, coffe shops) near the hotel.
Stayed 1 night in Dec 2023

6/10 Okay

Lisa

Stayed 7 nights in Dec 2023

6/10 Okay

Masood

Liked: Cleanliness
Stayed 2 nights in Dec 2023
Response from Kind Regards, Grace on 6 Jan 2024
Dear Masood, Thank you for taking the time to leave a review. We appreciate your feedback.

2/10 Terrible

fares

Stayed 1 night in Dec 2023

8/10 Good

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
I was pleasantly surprised.
My room was perfectly acceptable for the price I paid. The room was very well lit, with a high ceiling which gave a sense of space. The bed was fairly comfortable and the sheets were fresh and clean. My room, including the bathroom was extremely clean, the shower worked really well. The downsides - no soundproofing, you can hear the other guests in their rooms, and no shower mat so it was a bit slippy.
Stayed 1 night in Dec 2023
Response from Kind Regards, Grace on 6 Jan 2024
Hello,Thank you for taking the time to write a review. We are so glad you enjoyed your stay! Thank you for your kind comments about our hotel, we greatly appreciate it, as it helps us continue to grow. We hope to host you again soon!