Lincoln House Hotel London

Rude staff and TINY!

The Lincoln House Hotel is in a fairly good location (10 minute walk or short bus ride from Oxford Street). That and the ok prices (for London anyway) are where it's good points end.

The receptionist obviously hates her job as she was continuously rude to guests. The breakfasts were disorganised and slow (the room is tiny and you have to queue for long lengths of time). The staff don't seat you so despite waiting at the door like the sign asks we were pushed in front of 3 out of 9 mornings we were there. The food was pretty terrible as well.

There is no lift which is a HUGE deal trust me. My husband and I stayed on the ground floor but my fmaily styed on the third floor and had to hike up there which took a huge effort, especially on such a small staircase and with heavy luggage. You want to make sure you don't leave something in your room by accident.

The "bathrooms" are actually plastic port-s-loos which have been slapped in the centre of the existing room. Literally. The shower curtain was covered in pubic hair from the previous guests which was revolting and never cleaned despite our asking many times. You literally shower over the toilet. It's not even a one star bathroom.

I give it two start because of it's location. Otherwise I would have given it one. It was quite terrible and I would recommend you spend a little more money on your accommodation in London as you really do get what you pay for. If you do book here, only stay on the ground floor, even though it's noisy and the curtains don't close properly, those stairs were horrific.

Not bad for price and location- small rooms

GOOD POINTS

Good location- a couple of minutes walk to Oxford Street

Nice breakfast- plenty of food, good vegetarian options

Friendly staff

Clean rooms

Quiet

BAD POINTS

The rooms are *really* small- we had a standard double there was about a foot of space at the bottom of the bed and maybe 2 feet the other side and the space the door opened into

The bathrooms are also small- I'm sure I could've showered whilst using the toilet

Stairs- there aren't any lifts, the top floor is 96 steps from reception- so if you don't like stairs ask for a low floored room

Overall it's a good choice if you'll be out most of the time and just need somewhere clean and central to sleep and shower

Great place

It is a great place. I was there in May and June 2005 and I'm sure it will be the hotel for my next London-trip as well. The people are very kind and I slept always wonderful in the lovely rooms. I also can recommend the Lincoln House Hotel for all those, who are looking for a quite place during their visit in London.

PS: The picture shows the Buddha who sits in the breakfast room.

Small and friendly

We, four Austrian ladies, spent 7 nights at the Lincoln House in May, 2005. The rooms were very small but well equipped but the smallness of the rooms was made up by the huge hospitality we were shown by the manager and his extremely friendly staff. We would certainly use this cosy, central hotel again.

Don't expect a hotel - it's a B & B

Stayed here for 3 nights over Easter 2005. This really is hardly a hotel and really only a bed and breakfast. We were at the top of the building and the stairs are very steep. I am young and fit and still had problems up and down the stairs - where on 2nd floor is an electric shoe shine !! Must be where you need to stop and catch your breath - and shine your shoes :-) Anyway, as many people have stated, the showers were the funniest thing I saw all weekend. I am 5 feet four and nearly choked on the shower curtain - not for the claustraphobic !!! Also, when I asked for the Continental Breakfast, I was told I was looking at it - the toast ! Hardly filling when you plan to walk for most of the day around the City. Having said that, the staff were quite friendly, but be warned - there is NO LIFT and there are four floors - so try and ask for a lower or ground floor in advance if possible if you have problems with stairs. No offer to take your bags either. The other good laugh is reading the Visitors Book - try and read what the couple from Canada wrote about the shower - it's very funny !

If you don't mind cramped, small, tiny or very rough around the edges, then this is the B & B for you - do not expect a hotel of even 3 star quality. A lot of the ceilings have damp and paint is peeling. Our bedding had holes in it and it really didn't feel that clean. Still, we had a good laugh at the shower.

Average at best

Stayed here over New Years. I had a standard double room on the top floor. The room was clean, but very small. The bathroom was even smaller. I am 5'8" and barely had any room to move around. The breakfast was good, and the staff was friendly. Location is also very good, with both a tube stop and bus stop nearby. Overall, I would probably try to find another hotel. The hotel was really "budget" and I didn't think the price (85 Pounds) was that cheap.

Won't stay here again

The showers are extremely small and plastic,they are like port-a-pottys. The room was very cramped and tiny, not in the best repair. Avoid the scrambled eggs at breakfast, they were inedible. The servers at breakfast were friendly and efficient, but the front desk staff and the telephone reservationist were both rude and unhelpful. Altogether not the small, charming family run establishment glowingly described in the website. Not cheap either. Will stay elsewhere next time.

The smallest showers in London

This was the second hotel that my three friends and I stayed at in London during our multi-city vacation, and boy were we disappointed. The room was very small, but the bathroom... the bathroom was ridiculous. Now, keep in mind that we are budget travelers, so we do not expect perfection, but I am over 6' tall and I could barely fit into the shower that was built into the corner of this tiny room. For anyone staying here longer than one night, this is just a dreadful thing. The shower is for relaxation and relief, not something that you must hop in and out of as quickly as possible to avoid the annoyance that comes along with. Anyway, that aside, I must say that the breakfast was really impressive. I mean, you sit down and are served by very courteous people, and you receive o.j., coffee, toast, cereal, AND a hot entree. The rooms have a very nice little coffee/tea stand, which came in handy, and also free internet is available on a single computer in the foyer... so that was good too. Overall, the stay was okay. The good and the bad sort of evened out, but for less money, I'd advise travelers to stay at the Blue Bells Hotel in Notting Hill, and request the room on the ground floor next to the reception desk. Use the money you save on a nice breakfast in a nearby cafe.

Good choice for the price

Booked this hotel for 2 weeks and got a good £55 per night (tax and breakfast included) for a superior single. The location is quite good, 10 minutes walk from the tube and a bus stop 100 meters from the hotel. Have not had any problems with staff, they promptly changed my fridge that was not working on my first day. Breakfast was quite good and with cold and hot choices (toasts, sausages, beans, eggs, bacon...).

The room I had was quite small but I think this is the lot of many London hotels so I was not that bothered, especially for this price. I booked online and havn't had any problem at all doing it.

My only concern with this hotel was that my room was located on the 4th floor with no lift so it was quite a workout to get to it especially after a long sightseeing day. Try to ask a low floor room if you can. For the price, this hotel was a good pick.

Avoid Reservations by E-mail and a nasty reservations clerk

BE VERY CAREFUL MAKING RESERVATIONS> We never got to stay at Lincoln House because of a snafu with the reservation clerk -- DO NOT use e-mail to reserve with this hotel. (They do not have a secure site, so we sent separate e-mails to protect our credit card info). In our case, we sent all our credit card info EXCEPT our billing address. Upon request, we did this but the clerk did not check her e-mail for four or five days and we were informed that we "lost" our room. It took several inquiries to find out exactly what happened and we were told that this was our fault. The clerk was rude from the start and her admission of failing to check (or have the other staff check) her e-mail reservation mail convinced us that we were better off elsewhere.