Caring Hotel

“Family stay”

Very good stay. Very cordial and helpful staff. I stayed here with my family and we thoroughly enjoyed our stay. The complementary continental breakfast in the morning was good.

“Almost great, until the name became a bit ironic, and the guest in Room 10 got sick.”

There is a lot about this hotel that is really good - almost great. Great location near Paddington, but not in the part which is just streets with hotel after hotel, each one with paint peeling in slightly different shades of whitebeige. The part of Craven Hill Gardens where the hotel is located i… more

There is a lot about this hotel that is really good - almost great. Great location near Paddington, but not in the part which is just streets with hotel after hotel, each one with paint peeling in slightly different shades of whitebeige. The part of Craven Hill Gardens where the hotel is located is mostly residential and quite lovely, as are the immediately surrounding streets. (Tip: follow your Maps App to find the hotel the first time. My dead phone battery left me wandering until I found the right section by accident). The hotel is a converted terraced townhouse, previously a grand single family. In the building's most recent renovation/decoration/update. a very good job was done. with money being spent in the right places. The entrance, hallways and stairs are not flashy or luxe (which i have no problem with) as the investment has been made in the rooms, which are very comfortable, surprisingly roomy and well appointed with the right amount of attractive, well made furniture. The large bed had a fantastic mattress. The bathroom was the right size (adequate, not large) with good quality fixtures and a great shower with strong water pressure and lots of hot water. So, why was it not great, but almost great. The following is admittedly a small, slightly grumpy point - but here we go: Turning on the television, while not usually a challenge, was this time. (that wasn't the problem, btw. i'm not that precious). I grabbed the 300 button remote and went down to the front desk to check if I was not pushing the right button or combination of buttons or if it was something else. The serious but efficient front desk clerk put the batteries in and out, handed the remote back and said "Try again. If it still doesn't work, maintenance will have to take a look, but they don't work weekends so it won't happen until Monday" which was delivered in very much a "sucks to be you" disinterested tone. I'm a fan of crisp efficiency, but when the hotel calls itself "Caring" the name shouldn't only be ironic. A less tiny, petty and Karen-like point presented itself in the middle of the night when the guest in Room 10 (I was in Room 9) had an unfortunate "health issue" in the middle of the night and again first thing in the morning. Nothing is worse than not feeling well when you are travelling and Room 10 guest had my full sympathy. The reason I was so aware of the time, frequency and nature of his "health issue" is because the wall between Rooms 9 and 10 is only a visual barrier apparently. As a result, when Room 10 Guest was first experiencing moments of discomfort and distress I was startled awake because I thought the person in distress was in my room and only a metre or so away from me. As the suffering of Room 10 Guest continued and then was repeated (twice) I realised I have never been in a room with less sound proofing. The only noise from my room had been the television (as I did master the complexity of the remote) so I really hoped that the discomfort of Room 10 did not include the knowledge that his uncomfortable experience could be overheard. There is a reasonable expectation when staying in a hotel room that your reasonable sounds of living won't be overheard, so I think the potential for shared life moments between Rooms 9 and 10 is a valid point to raise. Other than not wanting to stay in Rooms 9 (which is otherwise a really lovely room! or Room 10 I would not hesitate to stay at Caring Hotel again - where I will not expect an effusive welcome back from the stoic front desk clerk.

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