Grange Beauchamp

So dated and dirty. There are hundreds of hotels for the same price or less that are far nicer and safer. My room key was a metal lock key, that any previous guest could have duplicated. It also had the room number taped to it, for added poor security. So the room could have been broken into any time. Then when inside, there was no catch or lock to stop anyone getting in if they had a copy of the key. The room smelt of old dirt. I bet this was a nice room a decade ago. The bathroom is just grubby and beyond tired. And reception staff are functional but show no hospitality.

We booked this hotel as my Husband was taking part in the London marathon and we also wanted to be near a friend's hotel a few streets away. We booked the room via the Secret Escapes website and I suspect this is why we ended up with the room that we did (Rm 302). The hotel is on a quiet-ish street near Russell Square. We received a warm greeting on checking in and the reception area looked clean and maintained. The staff were friendly and helpful during our stay. The hotel has a lift. We were told on arrival that the hotel had decided to start breakfast on Sunday an hour earlier due to the marathon which I thought was a nice touch. It didn't affect us though as we had made other arrangements for breakfast. Our room was on the top floor at the far end of a fairly long very narrow corridor. Due to the age of the building there was an odd slope to the floor of the room and the windows are only single glazed. The room had two windows but one looked out onto a roof area. There was noticeable noise from outside in the evening with the windows shut and we could hear noisy people returning to another property across the street. The drinks making tray was in the wardrobe and the kettle power cable was strangely fitted through the shelf so it could not be removed. I'm quite short so this was above my head height. Also if you like decent coffee, bring your own bags as there were just sticks of instant in the room. There was no bottled water provided and no fridge. The sheets, pillowcases and duvet cover appeared clean and in good condition but the bedding beneath them seemed very old and in need of replacement. Pillows were either lumpy or hard and the mattress very soft. Toiletries were provided in the bathroom and the towels were reasonable. The decor was rather tired and in need of refurbishment. The ceiling had an odd grill panel which was quite disconcerting as at night I could see flashing led lights through it. On closer inspection with a torch it appeared to be something to do with the WiFi. There were coffee stains and luggage scuffs in a few places on the wallpaper which could have easily been cleaned off (I tried one with a wet wipe and it came off easily). Unfortunately there was also something near our room that made a constant low pitched whirring and was very annoying. Had we been staying longer than two nights, I would have complained about it. I had seen various reviews about basement rooms and people having to argue to get room sizes they had paid for. We contacted the hotel directly to ask not to be put in a basement room and they did reply to say they would try to accommodate this. Before arriving I checked the hotel website for details on their rooms. Our booking details through Secret Escapes stated that we were booking a Superior Double. On the Beauchamp website this is the only room type that has a king size bed rather than a queen. The other room type, a Classic Double is a queen size bed and a much smaller room. On the Grange Hotels website there are three other hotels listed. All three name their rooms Classic Double and Executive Double, the Beauchamp is the only one of the four that has different room names. When we arrived at our room we noticed how small it was and the bed appeared to only be a queen, not a king size. I queried this with reception as soon as we arrived in the room and was told that the room was correctly allocated and that the larger room was an Executive Double, except according to their website, this hotel doesn't have Executive Doubles! I suspect this was a case of, well they've got a cheap deal on the room price, we'll put them in the cheapest room. I will be taking that up with Secret Escapes. I also pointed this error out to the hotel at the time. Had we paid the full rate and been staying longer, I would have made more of a fuss about it. Reception said they would get the website corrected, however three months on, it hasn't changed. It is misleading and something to be aware of. We didn't eat at the hotel so cannot comment on the food. I'm not sure I would book here again unless it was a very good deal on the price as the hotel is quite conveniently located.

This hotel was a great find. Situated on a quiet street just off Russell Square. Transport links are good with regular buses at the end of the road and Russell Square tube station about 10 minute walk away. Lovely Italian owned cafe in Russell Square itself - a must visit! Hotel is small but our room was big enough for us as we didn’t spend a lot of time in the hotel. It is clean and our room was serviced every day. Good facilities in the room and the air con was very definitely welcome in the heat! Small bar and dining room. We didn’t eat at the hotel but the menu looked okay and drinks weren’t over priced in comparison with prices outside of the hotel. Would definitely recommend.