We had a fantastic room which was on split floors, the lower smaller floor had a chaise longue and small eating area within the bay with large windows allowing us to overlook Kensington Palace and the green grass of Hyde Park. There was great view of the park from both the upper and lower floors, but unfortunately it was raining rather hard so we didn’t make the morning run around the park trails.

We were immediately amazed by the service from the moment we walked in. From being called your name at all times with such friendly staff and a hand written welcome letter from the hotel’s manager Andrew Pike, it is this sort of attention to detail that allowed the Milestone to be voted for the best service in the world and No.1 British hotel by Conde Nast.

The hotel is grade 2 listed and was originally built as two townhouses, the first known, Kensington House was built around 1689. It is amazing to think how big these houses would have been, to be able to be converted into a hotel which houses 45 bedrooms, 12 suites and 6 two bedroom apartments! AND this doesn’t include the spa, swimming pool, gym, kitchens, bars and entrance halls etc.

We didn’t get to try the internal Cheneston’s restaurant as we were hungry for a nice prime fillet steak. The concierge recommended Brasserie Chez Gerard which was a perfect choice as a) The steak was absolutely fantastic and b) It was only a 2 minute walk along Kensington High Street.

From the hotel all the main museums were only a short walk away so we decided to go and visit the National History Museum. Even after about 10 trips there I am still amazed by the dinosaur skeletons which are still in amazing condition after millions of years. Unfortunately we couldn’t visit the new Darwin Exhibition as it’s not opening until Friday this week. Due to the time it took to go around we were a bit too tired to see the Wildlife photographer of the year exhibition so we need to plan a return visit shortly. Maybe we can coincide this with Hyde Park’s Winter Wonderland Outdoor Ice Skating

Today I got a reply from the Apex City Hotel London. It was a very pleasant letter from Yousif Al-Wagga the general manager of the Apex Hotels group giving hiis sincere apolgies for the problems I experienced with the Apex City of London Hotel.

They have taken appropriate action to ensure that such mistakes are not repeated… what ever that means, and have given me a complimentary stay including breakfast.

I am really pleased with this as it was quite expensive to stay there and was a shame that I had an unlucky series of events. I do honestly belive it was a one off and look forward to my second visit.

Thank you Apex

This weekend I went to London and stayed at the Apex City Hotel near Tower Bridge. The hotel looked fantastic.

But unfortunately from the moment of booking nothing went as expected from a four star hotel. A few of these issues are minor but over the course of the weekend just added up and fuelled my discontent.

The most influential event in writing a complaint letter to the Apex City Hotel in London, was early Sunday morning I was arguably awoken by the hotel fire alarm. This isn’t the reason I am ranting, I am frustrated by the way the incident occurred and the handling of this situation.

On this Sunday morning the fire alarm was set off. However in the room I was sleeping in, 318, this noise seemed to be coming from outside in the distance such as a car alarm. At not one moment did I think it was the fire alarm! It seemed too quiet. So after around thirty five minutes of the alarm ringing I decided to ring reception as I was starting to have second thoughts that maybe something indeed is wrong. Expecting to hear that it’s just a car alarm outside and the police have been informed. I was informed to leave the room immediately there is a risk of a fire.

After leaving the room I realised that the entrance I came through was now blocked off, and were puzzled on how to exit the building. These were the fire doors which had automatically shut, however there was no clear indication that this was indeed the way out, nor any sign saying to push the doors for exit. I always expected in times like this that it would be soo easy to find your way out but I was wrong.

After I realised how to get out of the building and quickly passed down the stairs I was bypassed the fire brigade coming up. I then went across the road and stood with all the other guests opposite the hotel.

At no point was I told what was happening and no head count took place. Seemingly I wasn’t the only guest with the problem of the volume of the alarm, as several other guests came down after I had.

All of us are extremely fortunate that this wasn’t a real fire, I honestly feel if it had have been there would have been a real disaster at hand and our lives would have been in danger.

I would like to know why there is not an automated phone call from the fire alarm system which is secondary to the alarm, with a recorded message to inform you of a potential risk?

Why staff members didn’t ensure that all guests were out of the rooms?
Why a headcount didn’t take place?
Why an explanation of what was happening was given?
And of course how such an alarm could be so quiet in certain rooms?
I am completely mesmerised by how the staff at this hotel could possibly be so unorganised in the event of a fire, it was obvious no one knew what to do.

After all of this I couldn’t have what I wanted for breakfast nor had any hot water, the fire alarm had tripped off the gas.

AND THEN… on checking out I was told by the girl at the reception desk when trying to settle my bill in these exact words, “You will need another method of paying as the credit card machine is not working”.

I felt this to be extremely rude and her entire attitude towards guests this day astonishing.

I explained to her that I had opened my account on my credit card and this being the only form of payment I have. Where she replied “well lets hope that your lucky” before snatching the card off me and trying it in the machine. I tried explaining to her that this is the only form of payment I have, and what am I supposed to do if the machine is out of order? She then starting moaning to me about how all the guests are unhappy this morning… this is not the kind of service I expect in a local bed and breakfast let alone a four star hotel in London.

I feel that no one should be spoken to like this, especially in front of other guests about myself not being able to pay the bill, which was very embarrassing.

I do feel that my experience at this hotel was probably a one off due to the situation, and maybe the extra stress the staff was under. But none the less the staff should be better trained to handle these situations.

Complaint letter on its way…