Courthouse Hotel Kempinski - London, United Kingdom 

Having heard of the kempinski brand before, I was quite excited about my stay. Alas, it can only be described as a disaster, made all the more poignant by the fact that the room was ridiculously expensive. It started with the hotel reception and personnel who - while not rude - were certainly very indifferent. Upon checking into my room I found a litany of little nuisances - my shower head fell off, the bath plug wouldn't close, and there was a giant dirty stain on the carpet. But worse was yet to come. Sleep was an impossibility that night because my room was adjacent to an archaic elevator which made an awful squeeky wheel sound each time it passed my room. The sound was intermittent, so each time I went out of my room to investigate, I couldn't pinpoint the problem. When I finally figured it out, they promised to stop using the elevator for the evening, yet started it again at 6 am, at which point I'd had a grand glorious 4 hours of sleep. The next day they moved me to another room, but once again there was an issue - TV reception was bad. The breakfast buffet was also of a low quality, particularly the smoked salmon which tasted very low grade. In complaining to the hotel about these issues there never appeared to be any manager on duty, or the ones that were on duty had no power to remedy the situation. In short, if you are looking to pay 5 star prices for a 3 star (at best) experience, then this place is ideal. Otherwise, I'd steer well clear.

Booked again through lastminute.com Check in was very efficient and we were upgraded free of charge. The staff were very polite and helpful. The room was lovely, spacious with a large bathroom. Outside the hotel is Liberties and Carnaby Street, with Oxford Street and all the other West end attractions on your doorstep. This hotel is famous because it was once a 'Courthouse' and they have tried to keep some features. The bar is lovely - very trendy yet tables far enough apart to be private. Have a look inside the old 'cells'. you can sit in there and have a drink too ( I think you have to book this tho) Overall the hotel was very clean, very attractive and modern. Cannot comment about the food as we didnt eat there - but did have some wine in the bar - which if you are willing to pay ?20 or thereabouts for a bottle of house wine, is much more relaxing then the many bustling bars outside.