Caring Hotel

I’ve been in bigger prison cells (just joking).

We were only in London for 2 days so this is the only place we stayed at, so there’s no other hotel to compare to. I heard London is very pricey so we wanted something fairly nice at a decent price. It ended up being pretty hefty for a 2 night stay (around $ 300USD, if I remembered correctly).
The rooms are fairly small. We opted to get one with it’s own bathroom but there are options of using a shared bathroom (I believe it’s only shared between 2 – 3 rooms, so it’s not too bad). The staff was very helpful with booking tours, advice on things to do, and figuring out how to get back to airport to catch our flight. Though some staff members know a bit more than others, everyone was definitely helpful.
If you’re looking for an elegant and classy hotel, The Caring Hotel is not for you… it is what they name themselves… they’re a caring hotel, good service… and they include breakfast, which is good. Overall, we had a pleasant stay but the actual hotel is not the best that can be, but it’s definitely good.

We stayed at this (small) hotel for nine nights (we returned home four days ago). We found it via Unilocal and don’t regret staying there, but I can only give it a lukewarm recommendation.
First, the positives: all of the staff were very pleasant, they were responsive to my e-​mails, the hotel was very clean, and the neighborhood was very peaceful, safe & convenient (we returned late a few times and never doubted the safety of our surroundings, plus the hotel is only about a ten-​minute walk from Paddington Station [so we were able to walk to/​from the hotel after/​before taking the Heathrow Express train] and just several blocks from the Queensway tube station & a bus stop). A continental breakfast is included in the room price, although it’s very basic — but the coffee was surprisingly good. Also, there’s free WiFi (they don’t guarantee that it will reach the rooms, but it did indeed work in our room).
Now, for the negatives: the mattress was «as hard as a rock» and consequently we slept horribly, plus the headboards were a piece of junk and they swayed violently if we even moved an inch. The top sheet was queen-​size and the bed was king-​size (it was actually two twin beds pushed together), so the sheet didn’t even come close to being big enough. The towels were not only miniscule, but they also had the consistency of a brillo pad. The pieces of soap — which were doled out very stingily (we had to ask for more a few times) — were literally only about an inch long and about a half-​inch wide (*very* difficult to use!) — and they were unwrapped, strangely. The toilet paper was also doled out very stingily and we had to ask for more a few times (they only give you an extra roll if you have almost nothing left), plus it was also unwrapped (there’s a pattern…). When the liquid (hand) soap was running low, the Housekeeping person simply mixed it with *water* instead of refilling it with more liquid soap (!). Since I knew in advance that the hotel doesn’t have A/​C (and having traveled quite extensively throughout Europe, I’m very aware of that phenomenon), I asked if they had a fan they could leave in our room and they did — but it turned out that the cage surrounding it fell apart while it was running and it could easily have injured my husband. There was also an electrical socket that was damaged and had exposed wiring. Also, the toilet kept running forever and it didn’t even stop when we jiggled the button thing (it didn’t have a handle). The two rooms across the hall from ours shared a bathroom in the hallway that was next to our room, and the occupants (two different families during our stay) kept slamming the bathroom door; especially late at night. We requested that the desk person speak to each family, but that only helped temporarily — and what the heck does it take to get the hotel to post a sign on that bathroom door (asking people to please not slam the door)?!
Be aware of the fact that there’s no elevator (lift) and there are lots of stairs up to the various floors of rooms, plus the breakfast room is one flight below the entry level.

This is a very good hotel to stay at for the price. I stayed for 6 nights for £57/​night in a double room with shower and sink only. The room was comfortable and had a TV. My only problem was that the drapes didn’t quite close all the way. Actually, really wasn’t enough of a bother to me to complain.
On the 7^th night, I had to switch to a single room with just a sink, because I decided to stay in the hotel longer than my original reservation and that’s all they had available for a Saturday night.
The breakfast service was your basic cereals, juices, mixed fruit and hard boiled egg. They also provided 2 pieces of toast per person.
Staff at the front desk were friendly and gave helpful advice.
Neighborhood is quiet and right smack in the middle of 4 tube stops. Nearest tube stop is Queensway about 3 blocks away. Also, nearby Queensway street has many convenient ethnic restaurants, takeaways and shops.

In London hängt meiner Meinung nach alles von den gewünschten Aktivitäten ab und somit dann die Auswahl der Lage des entsprechenden Hotels. Die Taxen sind nämlich super teuer.
Aus der Sightseeing-​Perspektive liegt das Hotel Caring ganz in Ordnung und es kostet nicht viel. Die Erwartungshaltung sollte allerdings von Anfang an eher gedämpft sein. Die Preisklasse unter 100 Euro hat meiner Meinung nach nicht mal 1 Stern verdient.
Die Stadt macht trotzdem einen riesen Spaß.

Caring Hotel is a great place to stay if you are on a budget but want a room of your own. I stayed there in January ’08 and it was everything I needed at an insanely cheap price. I had a single room with a shared bathroom in the hall for 35 pounds/​night ($ 70 at the time). This was a bunch cheaper than other places.
The Neighborhood.
The neighborhood is Paddington though Unilocal calls it Bayswater. It’s a safe relaxed neighborhood with shops and houses and no street people (think like parts of Sunset in SF), walking distance to two Tube stations and Hyde Park (Like Golden Gate Park). I never felt weird or scared when I walked back to the hotel at night.
The room:
I was out walking around London most of the day so I just wanted a a basic comfy room and I got it.
It had a good bed, a sink, a TV with antenna reception. (2 BBC channels and Sky TV which is like FOX) and a closet. It has a heater, and it got a bit warm at times, but I opened the window. Street noise wasn’t a problem as I was on the 3^rd floor. However no elevator just stairs, for me no big deal. And the hotel staff was really helpful and carried my suitcase up the to my room when I got there on the first day and arranged a taxi on the last to get me to the Tube station. (easy without suitcase, a bit of a pain with one)
Bathroom situation. It was cheaper to get a room that shared a bathroom down the hall with the other shared rooms. I think I shared it with two other rooms, but it was never a problem because January is the off season and in the 10 DAYS that I was there, I never had to wait to use the bathroom or shower ever. It was just like having my own for less money. So really no problem at all.
Breakfest was included, I usually didn’t stop for it, because it was served earlier than I got up, but I had it one day. Fried egg, potatoes, toast or cereal. Juice (grapefruit I think).
Service, Service was basic but really nice. It’s a nice looking but inexpensive place so don’t expect all fancy service or room service, but the staff is really nice and attentive. They have 24/​hr front desk, so you can come back at any time rather than having to worry about being locked out. This is important.
Upon arrival they took my bags up 3 flights of stairs to my room. They reserved a cab for the trip back to the Tube station with my suitcase. The manager recommended a nearby coin laundry when I needed to do laundry during the middle of my trip. He recommended a decently priced lunch place (but never actually got there).
They had one of those things that allow you to plug more than one appliance into an outlet. (There was only one outlet in the room and I wanted to charge both PDA and shaver over night).
Maid came in every day, but not too early.
And all for $ 70/​night.
For a cheap ‘base of operations’ in a decent neighborhood, you can’t beat the Caring Hotel