Ramada Encore London West

We had a very enjoyable stay at the Ramada. The hotel was nicely decorated, the rooms were a good size, with all the facilities you would expect (tea/coffee, AC etc) and kept very clean, good selection for breakfast, 5 mins walk to metro so London very accessible and all for very cheap rate by London's standards. The only down sides, as other reviewers have mentioned, are that the beds are very creaky and because of the wood flooring, the noise of people in the hallways can be quite loud. I can't honestly say that these faults affected us too much but nevertheless I can see how they could easily really annoy some people and I'm surprised that these relatively simple problems haven't been rectified by the hotel, because once they do rectify these, then it most definitely will be a gem of a hotel.

We arrived late on Friday night and the hotel was very busy but car park spaces were still available. In fact we got lost on the way and I called the hotel for directions and the chap on reception was really helpful.

Saturday we were up really early to go into London for the day, the tube station is literally just a 2 minute walk away and gets you straight into the centre of London. On return we had a drink in the bar before changing and eating a lovely dinner in the "Wok around the World" restaurant. My only one complaint would be that they had run out of Spring Rolls for the starter and they are my favourite!!!!

We have 2 children aged 12 and 6 and I would like to say how thrilled I was to find a tiny little play area in the hotel discreetly hidden behind a screen by the bar. This enabled my Husband and I to have a drink with our friends whilst my 6 year old played with the wooden train set and little "laptop". So thank you to whoever came up with that idea, it was greatly appreciated!

All in all I had a fantastic stay - we will definately return when we come back to London.

The positive note - it's clean.

The negatives:

1. Location. It is a 5 minute walk from the nearest tube station (Acton North). This is a 40 minute Tube ride from central London. The hotel is situated between a self storage depot, and a VERY busy main road (poilice sirens through the night). TIP if you really must stay here turn right after the ticket barriers at Acton North Tube station and then go straight on past the Tesco and across the road. Ramada are too embarrased by this place to label it so the signs just say "hotel".

2. Decor. Spartan. Something went wrong with the design here - it is possible to be Scandanavian (simplicity and plenty of wood) and be comfortable. The designers for this hotel didn't get this.

3. Restaurant. Style , service and food quality ok - for a motorway service station but appalling for a hotel. I have eaten in better works canteens. On my forst night the service was very slow despite the fact there were only 20 people (I counted them). The main course arrived cold. The menu is unimaginative and limited. Don't plan to eat in if you are staying for more than a couple of nights.

Basically this is Rmamada's attempt to copy the Premier Inn budget format, and they have got it wrong.

My advice if you are visiting London is to book in to one of the real Premier Inns (Docklands Excel for example) which are more convieient for central London and avoid this place like the plague!