"Unfortunately, the experience fell well below our expectations and was not what we anticipated from a hotel of this standard, particularly given the positive reviews I had read before booking.
We specifically chose the hotel because of its proximity to the Royal Opera House, as we had tickets to see an opera that evening and were celebrating both my husband’s birthday and our 11th wedding anniversary. Sadly, what was supposed to be a special occasion was overshadowed by a number of disappointing experiences throughout our stay.
Arrival and valet parking
Prior to our stay, I called the hotel several times to ask about parking and the valet service. On each occasion, I was assured that someone would be outside to assist us with parking the car.
However, when we arrived, there was no clear signage indicating where the hotel valet parking was, only a taxi rank, and nobody outside to assist us. My husband had to go inside the hotel himself to find someone to help with the valet. This was not the smooth arrival we had been led to expect.
Check-in and security
At check-in, Roman at reception was pleasant and patient while I retrieved the PayPal confirmation email for our booking. He also recommended the hotel breakfast very highly and persuaded us to add it at a cost of £60 for two people.
Unfortunately, while I was checking in, my husband went to the downstairs toilets and encountered someone apparently taking drugs. We found this extremely concerning and frankly unacceptable in a hotel environment. I would strongly suggest that the hotel reviews its security and monitoring of the downstairs facilities.
What was particularly disappointing was that this was not an isolated incident during our evening. We later went to STK for dinner, and while dining there, we witnessed a party of four sitting opposite us. One of the individuals openly appeared to be sniffing a substance at the table. We found this extremely uncomfortable and concerning, particularly given the setting and the fact that this was taking place openly in the restaurant.
Taken together with what my husband had witnessed in the hotel toilets earlier that day, these incidents left us questioning the level of security and monitoring within the hotel and its associated facilities. This was particularly disappointing as we had chosen ME London for a special occasion and expected a safe, comfortable and high-standard environment.
The room
When we entered our room, we were immediately disappointed. We were allocated room 911, which was considerably smaller than we expected and did not resemble the room shown in the booking photographs.
The room shown online appeared to have a seating area for two people and a table, whereas our room had no such seating area. The bed also felt very small.
In addition, there was a persistent loud clacking noise coming from the air-conditioning system, which was another issue that affected our comfort.
Hotel entrance and staff outside
As we were leaving for the opera, there were several doormen/bouncers around the hotel entrance. As we walked past, one of them shouted, “TAXIIII?!” at us in an unnecessarily loud and obnoxious manner.
We politely declined, but the interaction was uncomfortable and completely unnecessary. It did not give us the impression of the professional and welcoming service we expected.
Noise during the night
When we returned to the hotel after the opera and dinner at STK, we found that the music from the rooftop bar was extremely loud.
The noise continued to such an extent that we struggled to sleep. The hotel really needs to address the soundproofing of its rooms, particularly when there is loud music being played from a rooftop bar.
For a hotel of this level, I would expect significantly better soundproofing. A good night’s sleep should be a basic expectation, and unfortunately this was not possible for us.
Breakfast
The breakfast was also disappointing, particularly because Roman had highly recommended it when we checked in and we had paid £60 for two people.
We expected a much greater variety given the price and the standard of the hotel. Instead, we were offered only a limited choice, consisting of one main plate and two sides, such as bread and fruit.
For £60 for two people, this was not what we expected and did not live up to the recommendation we had received at check-in.
Valet parking and departure
Our departure was another particularly frustrating experience.
When we checked out, we asked the staff to bring our Ferrari around to the front while we completed the checkout process. We understood that the car was being kept in an underground car park.
Upon collection, the car was taking an exceptionally long time to be brought around. We were left waiting for approximately half an hour, which became increasingly concerning as we had no idea what was happening with our vehicle and genuinely began to worry that something may have happened to the car.
Considering this was a five-star establishment offering a valet service, we would have expected the valet staff to be experienced and confident in handling the vehicles they were responsible for. Unfortunately, this did not appear to be the case. When the Ferrari was eventually brought around, the valet was unable to manoeuvre and get out of the car without assistance, and my husband had to help her get out of the vehicle.
This was particularly disappointing given the standard of hotel we believed we had booked and the expectations that come with a five-star valet service. We should not have been left waiting for such a prolonged period, nor should my husband have had to assist the valet with operating the vehicle.
I then raised the issue with Roman. I also queried the service charge that had been added to our bill.
I had already paid the bill and was unaware that a service charge would be added, as this had not been made clear to me. It was only after hearing another couple who were checking out complain that they would not be paying the service charge that I realised I had also been charged one.
I explained this to Roman, who was helpful and kindly removed and refunded the service charge. I appreciate his assistance with this, but I do feel that the charge should have been clearly communicated before payment.
Overall experience
Unfortunately, this was a very disappointing stay from start to finish.
We booked ME London expecting a high-quality experience and were particularly looking forward to celebrating my husband’s birthday and our 11th wedding anniversary. Instead, we experienced issues with the arrival and valet service, concerns regarding security, a room that did not match the photographs we had seen when booking, an uncomfortable level of noise, disappointing breakfast, an unnecessarily long wait for our vehicle and an unexpected service charge.
The incidents involving what we witnessed in the hotel toilets and later at STK were also particularly concerning and not something we would have expected during what was supposed to be a special celebration.
I appreciate that Roman was pleasant and helpful on the occasions when we dealt with him, particularly with the refund of the service charge. However, the overall experience was far below what we expected from ME London.
Sadly, based on this experience, I would not choose to stay at the hotel again and I would not recommend it based on our stay.
I hope the hotel takes this feedback seriously, particularly regarding the security, valet service, room presentation, noise levels, breakfast offering and communication surrounding additional charges."
