David Lowe

Review of Sofitel St James

Arrival was not the best, concierge were not on po...

Arrival was not the best, concierge were not on point. (Busy laughing and chatting amongst themselves while i waited in my limo). Carried my 3 bags in from my limo as they were too occupied chatting, so when they eventually did ask if i needed help, i was rather abrupt in my response (which i cannot repeat here). Check in was good, but when i got to my room, it was clearly not what i paid for. I booked a Luxury King Room, it was neither. Bed was a queen, the mattress was old and creaky, the phone didn't work and the sofa was hard as a rock as it was a sofa bed. When i spoke to reception (i had to go down to the lobby as the phone wasn't working), i asked if i was in the correct room, they said yes. I asked them about the bed being a queen and not a king, and they said "a King room doesn't mean a king bed"...(um, yes it does, and it says so on the hotels own website). Long story short, i was room moved around 11pm to a wheelchair accessible room that night which had a king bed.

I received a call from the General Manager the next morning, who was genuinely concerned about the events of the previous night. He offered to move me again to a suite for the last night of my 2 night stay, which i accepted. I packed my bags and went out for amazing steak lunch with a friend (great recommendation by the hotel concierge). My bags were moved to the suite whilst i was at lunch and i collected my new room keys at reception on my return.

The suite was magnificent..! It was the "Lord Lawrence Olivier Suite" and it was the most amazing suite i have ever stayed in. The GM also sent a bottle of Champagne and a large fruit tray with compliments of the hotel. I know mistakes are made, we are all human, i guess it was my turn to have a few mistakes all happen at the same time. But what really impresses me is how mistakes are rectified. Sofitel did this perfectly. What was looking like a terrible end to my 4 weeks holiday in Europe, turned into one of the highlights of the trip. I would definitely give Sofitel London St James another "go" as their efforts to make amends and to impress was exemplary. (The in-room dining is superb, i only had a club sandwich, but it was a delicious work of art). Checkout was fast and charming, and the farewell felt genuine. I look forward to my return.