One Star Service, Four Star Price

Hotel looked decent from their website and seemed to be a good deal; however, we found this not to be the case. The staff was extremely rude and unhelpful (it took 1 ½ days to receive an iron. When we finally did, the cleaning staff harassed us for it back and then the slammed door on our face when we remarked that we hadn't had a chance to use it yet). The front desk staff failed to supply us with straight-forward answers concerning the phone rates (the end result: a 125 pound phone bill.)

Even the hotel's telephone switch board was rude when I inquired about how to use their telephone services. We also requested a non-smoking room prior to our arrival and had to settle for a smoking room. The hotel is not located in a convenient location to the downtown area (cab fare to downtown averaged 21 pounds-as about the same fare from the London train station to this hotel.) To be fair, one could take the Victoria which isn't far from the hotel; this however does not run after hours and is a hassle to use if you carry heavy bags or suitcases. Concerning the overall review of this hotel, we would not recommend staying here unless you were on a business leave, even then you shouldn't expect four-star service.

Absolutely Brilliant

This hotel is excellent. I stayed there for my 21st birthday and although they were very busy as it was christmas time they made my stay very special. My friends emailled them beforehand to tell them it was a special celebration and they really pulled out all the stops. It was so good that I'm now taking my boyfriend there for his 21st and I know we will love it.

Also you can get fantastic deals from the Britannia Website. It's a waste to go anywhere else!

The location is great and so are the views!

Recommended for anyone!

Fab Hotel in a Fab location!

We got this hotel for a bargain price so this may be why I was so impressed with it. When we arrived we were imeadiately upgraded to a jacuzzi suite ( not sure why!). The room had it's own spiral staircase, was very spacious with leather sofas a nice big comfortable bed. We had a nice balcony with lovely views down the Thames. We stayed at the hotel on the hottest day on British record so the air con was a godsend and the jacuzzi a real luxury after sightseeing up and down London all day in the blistering heat! The breakfasts were fantastic lots of fresh fruit and plenty for those who want a big fry up! We did eat in the Pizzaria on two occasions as it was very cheap ( for London) and open til late. The location in the docklands is great and there are plenty of nice quite bars and pubs for the evenings if you don't fancy trying to wrestle your way into the centre of London. A friend of mine paid £40 on a late deal for the jacuzzi suite. A absolute bargain - you're not going to get this standard for this price anywhere else in London.

Perhaps the best Britannia hotel

If you check this site you will discover that Britannia hotels are infamous for providing tired/sometimes dirty facilities and apathetic/sometimes dirty staff in landmark buildings in fabulously convenient city centre locations. Well this Britannia hotel proves to be the exception to the rule. It is modern, clean, 'up-market' and staff by enthusiast people but is located in the sterile wastelands of London's Docklands district. That said, the weekeend rates are a real bargain.

Not charming, but O.K. if you can get a bargain

The Britannia International Hotel has the feelingof a hotel that has seen better days, but is trying bravely to live up to some higher standards only now on a tight budget. The building is an ugly, cement 1970's type structure that I'm sure passed for contemporary when it was made. It looks a bit dowdy now. Inside, it tries to look very classy and traditional--at least as classy and traditional as you can look on its seemingly tight budget.

I'm sure it was once a true 4 star property when new, but it is really more of a 3 star now. Some of the former restaurant facilities now seem closed. There is no shop in the lobby to buy necessities. There is, however, a room with 2 computers in the lobby with free internet access.

The service and rooms are really up and down. The first room we got was quite run down (the bathroom door did not close, the wallpaper was tattered, the furniture battered). The second room we were given was much more cheery. Also, the breakfast on the first couple of days was excellent--fresh fruit, excellent hot choices. By the weekend, the fresh fruit was no longer offered, and the hot choices no longer so carefully prepared.

Also, the service at the desk varied by the person. One experience could be quite pleasant, the next disinterested.

Our stay was definitely tarnished by a Friday night dance party hosted in the ballroom underneath our room. Really loud, thumping music until 4 AM! When we called down at 2:30 AM to complain, the person at the desk told us that everyone was complaining, and that the hotel had decided to host this party, and that there was nothing that they could do and then hung up the phone on us! The next morning at breakfast everyone looked very tired, and it all everyone was talking about was how they could get no sleep, even the folks on the higher floors. Make sure you inquire whether one of these is going to go on during your stay, as it seemed that these parties were regular events staged throughout England.

The location is O.K. It is easy to get to central London on the new Jubilee line, with only about a 7 minute walk to the station. The neighborhood, though interesting, is definitely not what you think of as traditional London. If you are looking for quaint charm, this is not your place.

All tolled, this is not a bad choice if you can get a real bargain. I would not go out of my way, though, if I had to pay anything near the rack rate.

I love the Docklands

We had a party of 5 stay here in June 2003 for 4 nights. I loved the area even though it is still largely under construction. The hotel is one of the older building in the area, but not so old that the rooms were small. Most the buildings in the area are either new or still under construction. There is a huge mall on the first 2 stories of the new Canada One buildings to the right of the Canary Warf tube station.

Also there are cafes and bars along the outdoors court that really got rocking on the weekends. This is really going to be a bueatiful area when all the construction is done. It is a tube ride away from all the main attractions. But the tube station is only about a 2 minute walk from the hotel across the bridges over the canals. I would definately stay here again.

Lovely stay!

We stayed here on a few weeks ago and had a lovely stay. We searched on the internet and managed to get the jacuzzi room at £69 instead of £240!The jacuzzi was more of a spa bath which wasnt brilliant, but the room was very clean, had a lovely view and the service was excellent. The staff were helpful and the meal was nice.Room service was quite cheap and arrived reasonably quickly.We would defiantely stay there again but not bother paying extra for the jacuzzi room.

Good Service

I took my partner her as part of his birthday present. On arrival the hotel does look nice although the area was a bit boring. I was very disapointed with my room on arrival the wallpaper was pealing and the furniture was worn and shabby not at all how it was described. However I did make a complaint and the staff could not have been more helpful, we were given a new room which was outstanding and the staff were on hand at all times. They were brillant, but if we had not moved rooms I would have been very annoyed.

Good space, but getting a little worn

My husband and I stayed for 4 nights in late August 2003. We were recommended the hotel as part of a wedding booking. The hotel looks good from the glossy pictures, but sadly is getting a little threadbare. There is no "cosy" feeling in the lobby, dining hall, or guest rooms. On the good side, the guest room was unusually large for a London hotel, with a nice large wardrobe (but very few clothes hangers!). The lighting around the dressing area was very poor, and the lighting in the bathroom was terrible. Like so many hotels, taking a shower over the bath results in flooding the entire bathroom. Furniture was fairly tasteless mass produced reproduction but fully functional.

There is very little in the nearby area, so we relied on the tube and DLR to get around. Despite all these seemingly negative comments, we booked the room on a last minute rate of GBP 49 per night (cancelled our original full-price booking and rebooked with new rates), and we were very satisfied with what we got for the price. This is London after all. As someone who normally travels with business I expect a better standard, but would also expect to pay 3 times the price. But for a private short trip at the cheap rate, this was good enough.

Totally relaxing

Me and the missus totally enojoyed the 2 nights room only stay at the britannia in the Docklands. The hotel is very nice and clean and the room we received was over looking the thames and straight over to the canary Wharf and HSBC buildings. Public transport is great, however you porbably will not need it as you have 2 main underground shopping centres/restaurants/cinemas only minutes away next to the canry wharf.

We did eat at the hotel, therefore I can not comment of the quality of the food, but the dinning area looked fantastic.

Shop around for deals as we saved over 100 pounds by looking on the net.