Cornish Pasty Blog

The first paragraph is a very brief summary and the rest is a much longer review.

We booked and stayed one night in August 2009. Hotel 55 was extremely easy to find coming out of the station. The garden facing room ensured a peaceful night, though there is room noise from neighbouring rooms using shower/bath. The bed is one of the most comfortable I have ever slept in at a hotel. The bathroom was smart, the shower powerful but make sure the plug is open in the sink when you turn the tap on, to reduce the chance of the vigorous water pressure causing a spillage. The staff were welcoming, patient and very helpful. Continental breakfast was available in a very light and airy conservatory. This is definitely a hotel we would return to if we needed to spend the night in London and will recommend to friends.



We booked and stayed one night at the hotel in August 2009. Hotel 55 is a very easy hotel to locate. On leaving Ealing North train station, (a very quaint almost rural feel to it), one turns left and walks along what is Station Road, the car approach to the station. (From the Hotel 55 website it says walk along Queen's Drive, which is the road with a row of shops in it but one can just as easily just stay on Station Road, which runs parallel, the only advantage of the former is it affords one a pavement. On reaching a set of traffic lights, which are in view within 100 meters of walking away from the station, there's just the matter of turning right and the hotel is the first on the right.



The hotel itself is boutique-ish but I would almost say a little tired. Unlike premium hotels, where all maintenance is kept from the eyes of guests, tools, equipment and large laundry bags were in view from the stairs as one climbed to the first floor. Reception was very helpful, especially as I was not listening when told our room number and not see it tucked under the stapled receipt; I also forgot about the room card feature, where it must be placed in a holder on the wall to activate the lights, air con etc., which necessitated another trip to reception. The two staff we had dealings with were genuine in their desire to help us have a great stay.

The room was on the far side of the building away from the road, I had booked this and we had what was referred to as a Garden Facing room. We did not open the window and were unaffected by any road or train noise (the station being only a few hundred metres away but we wouldn't have known that if we hadn't arrived there and walked the very short distance to the hotel).

I did have visions of sitting looking out over the garden but our room was directly above the long conservatory, where the Japanese restaurant was situated and continental breakfast was served; we could only see a few bushes from where we were. I did wonder whether we were given that room as it was the only one not booked or because we didn't book directly with the hotel, where the price was only a few pounds different, but that would be disingenuous of me given that we really enjoyed our stay.

The room was small but there was room to get around the bed and room in the passageway from the door to put cases for opening. The bed was King Size and extremely comfy, with it's orthopedic mattress. The flat screen had a good picture, though with interference on Channel 5 in particular. The direction adjustable lamps were bright.

The bathroom was smart with a bath and shower at one end. The shower was powerful with slightly adjustable jets via the showerhead. The water in the sink was very strong an,d if the lever is pulled too briskly, water will shoot out of the sink, but once is enough to teach one not to do it again. A small shower/bath gel and shampoo are provided, along with a good quality mini soap. The towels were the white fluffy ones that are a pleasure to use, stored in a rack but with two hooks on the back of the doors where they could be hung.

It was nice to have complementary bottles of water, a small still and larger sparkly, given that it was a hot trip on the underground.

I initially thought that we didn't have a fridge but there was one, just that it was tucked away in the wardrobe, along with a safe. The wardrobe had a reasonable sized section to hang clothes for a number of days, given that half of one side was occupied.

Wifi was suggested as being available and I could see and connect to it; unfortunately the connection reported No Internet Access. As I always have a tethered option with me, which is a much more secure option, I didn't take it up with reception. There was a wired network point on the vanity shelf in the room as an option too.

Continental breakfast was served in the conservatory where the Japanese restaurant operates lunchtimes and at night. It was clean, tidy, smart and airy, very comfortable with seating also out on the decking looking over the garden, though I didn't see the tables out there laid for breakfast. We didn't get to try the restaurant as it was closed for a week for staff holidays and opened the night after we were there.

This is definitely a hotel we would return to if we needed to spend the night in London and will recommend to friends.