Back last month

Definitely not worth the price. Checked out early. Desk staff surly, unhelpful; bfast and cleaning staff good. Bathroom smaller than on boat or camper van. Furniture heavily worn, filthy stains inside drawers, bug crawling across floor. Kept our belongings in plastic bags hung in closet to avoid contamination. Room security poor- door bolt and frame flimsy; no locks or screens on windows. Front door security at street good. Quiet neighborhood and st, but noisy guests behind flimsy walls.

Beware

From being greeted with the fact that they had no record of my reservation the staff were uniformly unhelpful and inhospitable. The hotel has no elevators, and no staff to help you. I arrived with a broken ankle and my 86 year old mother, our room was on the second floor. There was no-one to help take our luggage upstairs. The one bright point was the young receptionist on our departure morning who did help carry a suitcase downstairs. Don't be a moment late for breakfast, which is served only between 8 and 9 am, there is no leeway, not even for a glass of juice. Very worn and tired hotel. Be prepared to sleep on mattress springs. There are many better hotels close by at the same or less rate.

Unimpressed, wouldn't return

My wife and I stayed at this hotel for two nights in mid september. We ended up with a basement room that was supposed to include a shower and bath. The shower never worked and the staff's answer was to simply use one of the public baths. If you stay at this place try and determine the room you'll get ahead of time. I found the basement room extremely cramped and in general feel the hotel needs some repair. The hotel is close to a tube stop so if that's important this might be worth while.

But aside from the included breakfast little about my stay at this hotel would cause me to return.

Renovation needed

We (family with one little child) stayed at the George for one weekend.

We had a room with shower and they just put in a shower cabin in one edge of the room. The WC was on the floor and more than 50 years old.

The third bed - where our girl slept - was extremly weared down in the middle. The wooden bench of our window was totaly wrecked and there must have been minimum 10 covers of paint on the window. The staff was friendly and the breakfast o.k. but thats not what you need most in a hotel. So I can't recommend the hotel since they dont improve and renovate the rooms.

Ok if you have luck with the room

Some of the staff are very nice but there are also unfriendly people among them. Good location. Very poor furniture, well I only expect a cupboard that doesn't fall apart when you open it. Nice breakfast. We were 5 people and we changee twice the rooms, so we have seen half a dozen of them. And there is a great difference in quality among rooms: you can find a nice wide room with garden views or a narrow, cave-like hole with no light nor ventilation in the basement. We had bad luck: we arrived during this summer heat-wave, and this hotel doesn't have air conditioned, so we suffered serious heat. The bathroom are really small. Conclusion it's a fine place if you have a little luck with the room and don't spend much time in it.

Ok at the time!

Stayed here in 2001, at the time under the impression that this was reasonable value for money. After living in the UK for a year, and travelling frequently to London, have discovered that one can book 3 or 4 star hotels in great areas for at least as much as we paid here for a twin room with no bathroom!! Definately a lesson learned. Personally I'd rather stay at the Radisson than here, and it sometimes can cost the same!!

OK if you don't want to spend any time at your hotel

I stayed at another one of the Cartwright Gardens hotels (the Euro) when I was 18. I remembered it fondly, so I tried to book it again for my honeymoon, but it was full, so we stayed at the George, right down the street.

The staff was helpful and friendly and the breakfast was quite good and filling. (They had a granola cereal every morning that was just wonderful!) But the hotel is far from homey and far from the type of place you would want to stay in for your honeymoon. We had a room with a private bath, and the bath was simply a converted closet. No joke.

You had to wedge yourself under the sink to use the toilet, and you could literally not turn around in the bathroom, it was so small. The beds had mattresses which sorely needed replacing - big dips in the middle and you felt the springs along every inch of your body. What I remembered as being a quiet neighborhood 10 years ago was far from it this time. Being so close to housing from the university of london and 2 pubs, every night we were awakened by loud drunken shouting.

The rooms were cleaned very well every day, but the facilities were just too uncomfortable and so, after 6 nights of what would have been a 10 night stay, we moved to a hotel in Notting Hill (The Pembridge Court - at, unfortunately, nearly three times the price). I can't say enough wonderful things about the Pembridge Court, but that's another review.

The George would be a fine place for backpackers or others not requiring many (or hardly any) creature comforts. If you're not that kind of traveller, then the George, unfortunately, is not for you.

Great return trip

Had stayed at the George a few years back and always remembered how friendly the staff were. Nothing's changed from that score but the hotel has had a make-over and the room I had was newly painted and furnished and the place was much nicer than I remembered. This was a pleasant surprise. I had a room without a bathroom as this was much cheaper and the bathroom I shared with other guests (never had to wait to use it) was only just along the corridor and down about 6 steps. I arrived early as my plane flew in at 6.30 a.m.! Very attractive and friendly receptionist who was also from Australia. Checking in was easy as they had my emailed information at the desk but my room wasn't ready. No problem, they took my bags, sent me into breakfast (which they didn't charge me for) and then I went out for a bit of sightseeing while they cleaned my room. Good location which was only about a 10 minutes walk from Soho. The breakfasts there are something else and you can eat enough to carry you through to lunch.Apparently, due to the Gulf War, London's suffering from a lack of tourists this year so they've reduced prices to try to attract more customers. Every cloud has a silver lining and my room was about the same price that I paid 4 years ago.The free use of the guest computer to do my emails was a bonus. This hotel's a gem.

Great value, would return!

Enjoyed our stay at George Hotel. The off-season rate was great, 61 pounds for double w/shower. Location is about 4-5 blocks from British Musuem (and lots of bookshops). Our room faced back and could have used a little fresh paint and carpet, but neverless was quite clean and we received fresh towels etc. daily. We would recommend having a room w/shower in winter months as hallway shower and toilet room were quite cold (rest of rooms nice and warm).The staff were friendly and very helpful with directions and suggestions for eating out. Also nice is there's free internet access available.The breakfast, though, capped it for us! There is plenty of juice and breakfast cereals to choose from. But while you're on holiday, why not indulge in the English breakfast? The food is fresh and there's plenty of it (sausage, bacon (bit salty), toast, eggs, beans, tomato).All in all, a nice stay and would definitely come back to it!

Good Enough To Return

Stayed there in 1994 with two friends in a triple. Liked it so much that I remembered it and booked it again this year (haven't been to London in the interim).

I don't think it has changed much, but my recent 2002 booking experience in was very pleasant. They were able to offer us a double for 55 pounds a night. This is their special rate for winter. The bath is next door, not ensuite. Extremely friendly staff who took the booking right away by phone and credit card, no faxes or hassle.

The hotel is part of a series of very similar hotels in a crescent of 19th-century Bloomsbury row houses called Cartwright Gardens. You can see a photo on the hotel's website if you search on the web for it. Any of those hotels offer similar quality (at least, they looked so on the outside) and prices, so if the George is booked, try Jenkins, Crescent, Mentone hotels.

On my last trip, I recall: chintz window curtains, clean rooms and bathrooms, pleasant vague Victorian feel, quiet street in front (with tennis court for guests in summer), and a nice breakfast room which served a piping hot full English breakfast (with English bangers, eggs, choices of toast, etc.) that was absolutely delicious.

Best of all, it's walking distance to the British Museum. It's not in a major shopping/cafe area, being rather quiet (though not dangerous or anything), but I zipped around on the subway. It did not strike me as a crowded, touristy, backpacker heaven type of neighborhood (of course, being Bloomsbury), so this hotel is a real bargain.

I recall it being run by friendly young people used to American travellers. If you are looking for a place run by "innkeepers Mr and Mrs X" who know you by name and fuss over you at breakfast, this is not the place for you. And if you're saving London for a special once-in-a-lifetime first visit, and want the full experience, you might want to find something more expensive and fancy in a fancier neighborhood.

If you're a frequent traveller and have been to London before, and just want a casual place to park, this is a good base.