The Cumberland - A Guoman Hotel London

Having booked my trip to London and getting a good deal on this hotel via superbreaks I was looking forward so much to this. However reading several of the reviews on this site I was anxious...however I need not have been as my stay at the Cumberland was fantastic. The hotel reception staff were really nice and friendly. Up the lift (which wasn't crowded) to our room and it was very lush.....the bathroom stood out the most....massive bathroom glass throughout with fab shower etc the bedroom was the same lush and modern! Once settled in we layed back watched the large Plasma TV.......later that night we sampled a few cocktails in the bar....they have a weird policy here tho....all drinks are doubles and quite expensive. The location of the hotel is excellent and if the lift were to go right down we would be on the undergroud.....Overall 4/5 there was construction works going on...but that didn't bother us!This review I think VOIDS all those other negative reviews on this page.Go to London and stay here....

A trip to London (where I lived in the '80s and to which I've traveled for 25 years) with my 12 year old daughter was almost ruined by our awful experience at the over-rated, over-priced, over-hyped Cumberland Hotel near Hyde Park. Staff: surly, at best. Noise level: jack-hammering on the roof - need we say more? Basic amenities: on hot days, it would be really nice if the air conditioning actually worked (Yes, in the newly-remodeled and falsely-promoted Art+Tech rooms, for which I regretably paid a PREMIUM!) POOR room design, especially the incredibly awkward bathroom. No lights in the elevator lobby on the fifth floor, where we stayed (watch out for power cords draped across the floor, in the dark!). At half the price, this would have been...still a rip-off! And the staff DOESN'T CARE!

Stayed at Cumberland for 3 days and truly regretted having picked this hotel which was recommended by the agent. The staff at the concierge and check-in counter was absolutely rude and the porters were chatting amongst themselves and couldn't be bothered to assist the guests who were in need of their service.Our repeated requests to be assigned an air-conditioned room were ignored despite the fact that we had made prepayment for an air-conditioned room. A dusty fan was ultimately delivered to us on the day we left!!I would never in my lifetime set foot into the Cumberland Hotel.

I just returned from London (June 1, 2003) where I stayed at Le Meridien/The Cumberland for three nights. I read the (mostly scathing) reviews on this site and I must say that I REALLY liked the hotel, especially for the $60 price per night that I got through Priceline! There were some occaisonal far-away drilling noises, but never in the early morning (earliest was probably about 11 a.m.), and the fire alarm did go off once -- but again around 11 a.m., so I was up already. (It was a false alarm.)But let me start the whole long, boring story from the beginning...The lobby was not much to look at (many areas were boarded over with freshly painted graphics saying the usual "excuse our appearance", etc.), and being such a large hotel, quite bustling and busy. I checked in at the "Art + Tech" desk (hoping that I might get one of these fancy rooms if I smiled and was friendly), and the cheerful desk clerk informed me that he was putting me in a deluxe room (but not A + T), yet it was not yet ready (it was only 12:00 Noon)... He assured me that it was renovated (I asked), and I requested a double bed instead of two singles (which I got). When I came back later that day, I could not have been more pleased! The room was nearly brand-spanking new, with very comfortable modern furnishings (not the "olde-englishey" woody look with quilted bedspreads etc that I hate), wide screen TV, and a REALLY nice, spotless bathroom with a huge tub and power shower.The mini-bar wasn't functional yet but whenever I called room service for ice they were there within 5 minutes. My room didn't face the street (which I assume could be quite noisy, seeing as it is Oxford Street), but rather an empty courtyard. Nice & quiet.The hotel is smack-dab over the Marble Arch tube station on the Central Line, and there's a zillion bus stops within a block each way, which makes it really easy to get anywhere you want to be.If it weren't for the common areas of the hotel looking slightly shabby (certainly ld consider the room that I got defintely 4-star quality. Do Priceline customers at this property usually get "Standard" rooms and I was just lucky enough to get a "Deluxe"? I don't know. I always think that being friendly with the staff and NOT defensive and demanding really helps. Good Luck!

The staff were charming and could not have been more helpful. Yes the alterations do continue but it did not cause us any problems. The new rooms are super and the cost represents excellent value in a central hotel. We would certainly go again.

Stayed at the hotel in May 2003 - the building work is still going on and looks like its got a while to go yet.The new style rooms are great - Plasma TV's and good decor - well worth paying a little extra for!But as all the other reviews mention - the lifts are terrible - you need to queue to get them and the stairwell is a disgrace.Breakfast can be an hour long journey as you have to queue for the lifts, then queue for breakfast and when you've finished you need to join the queue again for the lifts.I'm sure all of the remodelling work will make this a very nice hotel when it's finished - probably in summer 2004!

Construction was an issue but the biggest problem was the staff - they were overworked and consequently didn't care in the slightest about keeping us waiting, ignoring our requests and being plain rude.

We queued for an hour to be checked in, only to be told that our room wasn't ready and we would have to come back in another hour, at which time it MAY be ready. There was nowhere to wait and we were told that they couldn't call us when it was ready because there were other guests to see to. We wasted three hours of a 48-hour weekend on attempting to get a pre-booked room key.

We requested a twin room and were given a double. The maid came to make up a second bed and didn't know how - we had to explain how to fit the sheets. The whole experience was unpleasant from start to finish.

AVOID!

I stayed here for a week in mid-October 2002. They were in the middle of renovating the hotel when I was there, and the construction workers made a fair amount of noise during the daylight hours. The room was small, but seemed typical for European rooms, and I don't think it had yet been renovated. If it had been renovated, they're not doing a very good job. I found the bed to be quite uncomfortable, so they lost 1 star for that. The in-room safe didn't work (dead battery), and although management kept saying they'd replace the battery they never did. In general, I found the hotel staff to be very nice and helpful. There could be a several minute wait for an elevator during the busy hours.

The free continental breakfast was decent, but they had hot breakfast food there too, and there was some confusion over who was entitled to the free hot breakfast. You could pay extra for the hot breakfast, but apparently people staying on some floors could get it for free, other floors couldn't. There was no indication of this until you tried to get the hot food--a simple sign would've been nice. The staff working there was very good--they quickly refilled your coffee/tea cup and cleaned your table.

Probably the best thing about the hotel was the very easy access to the underground. Simply walk out the front door, turn left for about 10 steps and you're at the Marble Arch entrance on the central line. Being on Oxford street, it's in a fairly modern, commercial, area with places like McDonald's, KFC, and Pizza Hut nearby, and the pedestrian traffic was usually hectic and crowded.

Being there on vacation, the easy access to the tube was great, and since I wasn't there much during the day the noise wasn't much of an issue. All in all, it's an OK hotel and I could stay there again once the renovation's over (if they replace the beds), but I'd definitely look at other places too.

Constuction at the Hotel Killed our trip.

Could not care attitude of the staff.

Things inside the room were not functional.

Had to be evacuated Three Times FOR FALSE FIRE ALARMs.

Very inconvenient to run at age 82. Wife also was a senior citizen

Paid 100 Pounds extra for the room

No plus ameneties were provided.

HAVE BEEN TO LONDON 51 times & this was the worst hotel where we lived

Elevators did not function well. Should be compensated for the in convenience suffered.

This hotel is in an excellent location at the corner of Edgware and Oxford at Marble Arch. The staff could not have been friendlier or more helpful - very professional. The newly-renovated rooms are nicely appointed (be sure to ask for a new one with a queen bed - the older style double-bed rooms are small and ugly). Our only concern was that there is NO staircase - just two elevators for such an enormous hotel is somewhat of a concern in the event of a fire! Perhaps they're putting one in as they remodel - sure hope so!