I was both apprehensive and excited about using a Secret Hotel for a weekend trip to the city. I’d planned the trip as a surprise for my boyfriend’s birthday as we both really love coming down to London.
My budget for all the activities I’d planned for the weekend didn’t leave as much as I’d hoped for in terms of accommodation, but I didn’t want to compromise on location or comfort. I also wasn’t at all keen on a hostel, so I thought why not give it a try!
I booked a ‘mystery hotel’ for us in the West End, as I wanted to be close to Oxford Street (typical girl!) and also the theatres (you can’t do London properly without seeing a show!).
First of all, the price: £90/night for a solid four star… This was roughly 40% cheaper than the normal cost of booking a standard room in that same hotel around those dates… Not bad!
I’m pleased to say that our stay at the hotel did not disappoint, and it was a relief to see that the majority of the facilities included within the hotel description were available at no extra charge (many of the booking agents I checked were keen to note that price was for ‘room only’).
A major complaint of mine was the pretty late check in time, as we got in to London around midday but couldn’t check in until 3pm. However, I did double check the website and this was listed on the hotel details before booking so I suppose that’s more of an issue with the hotel itself (and possibly my excellent organisational skills…)
Also, the hotel wasn’t quite as close to Oxford Street as the description would lead you to believe… It’s definitely worth crosschecking with Google maps as much as possible, and using supplementary sites like SecretHotels.eu help fill in the gaps around hotel descriptions.
Overall, a positive experience that I’d highly recommend if you have a limited budget and the stomach for a peppering of risk on your next trip… However, having gone through the experience, I can definitely say that it’s not for everybody – families with small children, business travellers etc – if it feels like too much of a risk, then it usually is!
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