The Ampersand Hotel Review

Great location next to lots of great eats! The room was small but had everything we needed. Would definitely stay here again.

Great rooms, views can vary, great base for the centre of London.

Beautiful hotel. The rooms are excellent and luxurious. The food is delicious and the drinks selection matches the hotels high quality standards. Staff are helpful and pleasant. Wish I had more excuses to use the hotel which is in the city I live in (annoyingly!)

Cute hotel, comfortable beds, nice showers, great location near bus and tube.

Clean & nice. Service minded. The cafe a bit old fashioned. Porter & Sail partnership / app a bit disappointing.

Ampersand hotel was very accommodating per out requests. The hotel was nice and clean. The front desk was exceptional.

Wonderful afternoon tea option for vegetarians. Beautiful setting and delicious food.

Lovely hotel, close to the tube station and handy for central London shopping.
The room was a little on the small side but that didn't bother us as it was such a nice room and we were only there for one night. The shower was amazing and I particularly liked the little extra touches such as Loccitane and Millar Harris toiletries , the fridge with complimentary water and juices and the newspaper left on our door in the morning. Oh I nearly forgot to mention the cute little rubber duck ! We will definitely choose to stay here again.

Lovely boutique hotel in South Ken, with the most amazing tea.

Visited for science themed afternoon tea. We had a big group so got a private room to ourselves. Food was tasty and there was lots of it. And the cakes look amazing! Dry ice was a nice touch to and the staff were really great, both attentive and good at knowing when to leave us to it.

We were a party of 15th ladies in the Games Room starting a hen party with afternoon tea. This was delicious with excellent, but not over enthusiastic attention from the staff. The quality of the food was superb and plates of extra food were brought out during the afternoon. An excellent experience.

Great afternoon tea and service although the theme is a little weak and pointless

The staff were friendly and helpful. With clean environment and comfortable chair.

Had cream tea with the family and it was excellent. Service and food was great and compared to other places it was good value for money too

Great hotel in south Kensington. 1 block to tube station. Plenty of neighborhood restaurants and shops. Quick walks to 3 excellent museums. Very friendly and accommodating staff. Walk to Harrods and Knightsbridge shopping.

Elevator, A/C, in-room safe & hairdryer, smartphone provided for local usage and International calls. Complimentary coffee maker, tea & beverages provided in room. Comfortable bed. Small but uncrowded fitness room. Excellent restaurant, Apero, with interesting science themed afternoon tea but occasionally slow service.

Room is stylish, well designed and with high ceiling. Bathroom comes up with warm flooring which is the best part I like. Location is almost next to Soth Kensington Tube.

I went here for afternoon tea it s a bit small but sometimes that s better especially with the waitress and waitresses. The service and manager was fantastic in customer service and everything. I came here for my birthday and truly it was a memory I won t forget. To Christopher and the Manager thank you very much truly I had such a lovely time. I will definitely come back here again because Christopher our waiter treated us very nicely and kindly. He gave us good customer service and it was brilliant. Thank you again for your service and hospitality.

We had a lovely stay here! Our room was not huge but very comfortable. Breakfast was lovely and we felt very welcome. Beautiful interior decor! Highly recommend.

Super friendly and helpful staff. Good rooms. Great location. The rubber duck was an awesome added touch!

Great place for afternoon tea, especially for the children. The lovely staff were all very friendly and attentive.

Thank you for making it fun to be out on a wet 'n' rainy day!

Thoroughly enjoyed the science-themed afternoon tea and meeting... lots of "oohs" and "ahhs" as we saw the magic unfold over tea.

Went for the science tea and it was absolutely fantastic. The decor is lovely but relaxed and the service was also great. My partner and I split a regular and a veggie tea and they were both great although I think the regular one was a little tastier. I couldn't finish what was on the tray but we could have had more as part of the tea.

The Ampersand Hotel is small but makes a luxurious impression. The rooms are cozy and clean and of course equipped with TV, fridge, safe etc. Even a small kettle and a mobile phone are provided. The hotel is easy to get to the metro or a bus stop, small shops are also within walking distance. I have not really checked the service, but the staff is friendly and competent. For a short-term trip you are definitely well taken care of here.

Excellent rooms at a great value in a perfect location

We reallyy enjoy staying here when in London. Nice rooms, good service and a very good breakfast. The rubber duck in the bath always makes us smile :)

Wonderfully situated hotel in South Kensington.
One minute to the South Kensington Underground station
and several bus stop provide potential rides in almost any direction in London.
Also very near many restaurants and shops.
The Victoria & Albert and Natural History museums are just around the corner.
This hotel has a charming bar if you would like an upscale meeting place.

The afternoon tea itself was very creative,it s of clever ideas and delicious treats. However the service left a little to be desired. Staff huddled around the coffee bar and were not the most attentive. The drawing room itself is very tight and navigating to your table is difficult. If you were on crutches or in a wheelchair this would be impossible. There is no cloakroom or space to put bags either. Overall the creativity and taste of the food earns this afternoon tea a 4/5 but the staff could do with some more training

Welcoming sitting area downstairs and lovely design upon entering. Also good to just grab a quick drink.

Went for the science afternoon tea. Unfortunately compared to other teas it wasn't as good for overall quality. The science element while cute wasn't that great. The food was presented with minimal explanations.

all was amazing, the room was great, front desk very polite and helpful. I loved the umbrella in the room and asked if I can buy it and the lady on front desk said you can have it for free, usually we sell it but its free for you. That was an icing on the cake.



Would have given a 5* had this incidence not happened.

Great 2 night stay fantastic location staff could not do enough for us.

Booked through Expedia after reading numerous reviews on different sites, the hotel exceeded my expectations!
I stayed in this hotel for 6 nights in September 2013 in a double room with my husband. I must immediately underline the kindness and helpfulness of the staff: they brought me the suitcase, they helped us whenever we asked questions or requests, they always had a smile and nice words for us.
The room was small but elegantly furnished but simply and extremely clean: not a speck of dust or dirt in the closet and bedside table (for safety I passed a disinfectant wipe before storing my things, but it was not absolutely necessary) .
Sheets were changed often and bathroom amenities changed daily.
Due to a bit of fever or had to use room service: prices in line if not lower than those of London restaurants, speed of service (in 10/15 minutes I already had dinner in the room) and the food was not it was pretty good.
What about the library / games room on floor -1? Several books that you can read during your vacation, obviously in English, play station 3 and other games in this spacious room furnished with a sofa and armchairs where you can relax after a day spent seeing the beauties of the city.
Finally, it is very close to the South Kensington tube station and within walking distance of pubs, restaurants, Starbucks and Pret a Manger, so if you don't have breakfast at the hotel (it was a bit expensive, so we preferred to have it elsewhere) you will certainly not starve !

What I liked:
Very convenient location opposite the South Kensington underground station.
Original yet elegant design of the public spaces and rooms.
Egyptian cotton bed linens.
Two types of pillows: firm and soft.
Radiant heat and rain shower head in the bathroom.
iMacs and color printer available at all times.
Fast Wi-Fi.
Very friendly and professional staff.
Lunch in the drawing rooms.

What I didn't like:
Teeny size of the room.
Very confusing over-designed light controls.
Electronic do-not-disturb sign that can be turned on accidentally, resulting in no cleaning of the room that day.

The perfect stay. The highlight for me was sleeping in for the first time in years, the worlds comfiest bed, the light oculting curtains and sound deadenning throughout the room all come together for that perfect kip.

Excellent hotel. Really lovely design and great staff. Expensive but worth it!

Wonderful hotel with fantastic afternoon tea offered

Had, and am still having, a great time at the Ampersand Hotel. Fabulous hotel with immaculate rooms and lounge areas. All the staff are super friendly and ever so helpful in making our stay a success. Would certainly recommend this to all the people I care about.

Great stay at the Ampersand hotel, nice accommodations and food, alongside easy access to the tube.

My wife and I stayed at The Ampersand for our first trip to London and it could not have been a better choice. The room was great and much larger than we had anticipated, given reviews we had read. The service was great, as well. The hotel provides free daily water and soft drinks and even a local smart phone for use during your stay. But perhaps the best part was the location. Step from a major tube station and South Kensington is just a fantastic area.

Enjoyed afternoon tea here. Cute tea sets with sandwiches, scones and desserts. Quite a lot of food! Service was nice as well and friendly.

Nice boutique hotel. Well appointed rooms. Would definitely return. Only problem was it was a bit dark even with all the lights on

Fab afternoon tea with the unlimited prosecco. Very friendly staff in lovely surrounding. Would definitely recommend.

Ok place. Small and expensive like all hotels in London

Right I've not stayed here but I TRIED to book an afternoon tea here for a special occasion. Sent a couple of emails regarding availability and got one response back saying 'yes what time', to which I replied and guess what didn't get a response back. Left a voicemail which was not returned. And then find out online that it's all been booked up! Thanks

On site for a conference, Nothing was too much trouble, decoration was lovely, rooms very clean with lots of attention to detail.

Great service, staff & location is great too...will be back :O)

Visiting for a brief business meeting, but the place seems lovely.

We visited for afternoon tea and were blown away with the lovely Games Room we were given to celebrate for a friends Bridal Shower however that happy experience was severely dampened by the poor service and execution of the tea. The staff member who served us had a generally frosty demeanour and we were left to serve ourselves tea throughout most of the afternoon. The Bride was hoping for lovely cake stands and a real experience but all of the food was served on large platters and we had to ask for the red velvet cupcakes she had been promised as they had been forgotten.

Great afternoon with my girls. The place is cosy and modern with an excellent service. Loved the tiny dinosaur chocolates !!!

So where to begin with our stay at the Ampersand?

Location:
Location is spot on. It's very "centrally" (as central as you can get in London) located. Most of the major attractions are within walking distance. If not, the tube is right next to the hotel!

Pro's
+ Minibar
+ Location (as above)
+ Small touches - Umbrella, mobile phone, everything you may need
+ Bed - excellent nights sleep

Negatives (only minor things):
- No mirror on the desk area for my wife to get ready (hair/makeup)
- Shower, if you're on the tall side (5ft 10 +), you'll be eye level with the shower head.
- Breakfast not included with the price, stayed in similar 5* hotels and breakfast is usually included in all rates.

All in all, we loved the hotel and are quite likely to use it again should we find ourselves back in London.

It was recommended by the receptionist of the hotel we stayed. We didn't stay at the Ampersand hotel. Anyway, we had their "Science afternoon tea" and it was amazing and fun. The set was decorated by "scientific equipments" and the food was delicious. The waiters and waitress were super friendly and thoroughly explained how it works and the ingredients. If you want to have high tea in London, the Ampersand hotel is definitely recommended.

Very well located, very good service, very nice rooms.

Exceptional front desk staff. Luxurious and clean. I had a nice and comfortable experience. Loved the bathroom, very modern and blissful to relax in. The receptionist was lovely and helped send me the massage therapist from the mind calm massage practice next door as i had terrible migraines after my long trip. The therapist from there gives 20% off massage to their guests, sweet!! Will definitely return. Great staff, great facilities.

It's a great hotel, located withing stumbling range of the South Kensington tube stop.

Our suite at the Ampersand had two cozy rooms and a bath. The sitting room had two mini-fridges stocked with complimentary still and fizzy waters, Cokes, juices, bottle of Absolut vodka (Half-consumed left by previous guest?), and a 189 ml bottle of semi-skim milk. The refrigerators marble-topped cabinet was the kitchen-area. It had a Nespresso machine with coffee pods. In trying to fire-up the Nespresso machine that first day in London, I fiddled with the switches on wall controlling each electrical outlet, I learned some eight hours later - that I had cut power to the two fridges .

The kitchen amenities included a microwave, toaster and an electric tea kettle. TVs abounded in the suite, with one in the sitting room, another in the bedroom, and a third in the bathroom. The bathroom TV was perched on the wall, in position to be watched whilst soaking in a deep bathtub.

Each morning, a London Times would be found hanging on the doorknob. To top things off, there were two butter cookies in the kitchen area that the cookie fairy would magically replace soon after consumed.

The hotel had no ice machines, something one takes for granted in the US, and the ice tray in the fridge was empty. So, the first evening I filled the ice tray for tomorrow, and called room service for ice. It arrived promptly and, to celebrate, it was single-malt for all.

Oh, the WiFi was a bit slow. If you are counting on streaming Netflix to one of the welter of TVs, you will be SOL.

Nice place good stuff and service but in room not enough light to dark to do meakup in room

Brilliantly thought out science themed afternoon tea.

Beautiful hotel in a fun neighborhood. Excellent service from all staff, great breakfast and coffee, easy underground access, fun to walk about each evening choosing restaurants. Museums down the street.

Everything perfect, unbeatable location and very correct service. There were some incidents during my stay that were effectively resolved by the entire reception team.

Very Fancy science afternoon tea in the Wine Room :)

Science-themed tea is quite good, creative and delicious.

Got upgraded without asking to a deluxe room. Room was not massive but big enough. It was well appointed with excellent fittings and comfortable bed. Definitely a cut above a normal "business hotel". The location couldn't be better, as you literally fall out of the hotel and into the tube station or one of several cafes and bars. Would definitely stay again.

Very good afternoon tea. A very hot day but the inside was cool. I really enjoyed the scones.

Very nice hotel with well-appointed rooms but lacking basic utilities like USB sockets. great location for getting around London, satisfactory desk good breakfast highly recommended

Disappointing. Staff were professional but lacked warmth. The room was stylish but vibrated, can only assume this was the tube passing under the hotel. Some of the tech didn t work or was outdated (iPhone dock for iPhone 4). Average

The Ampersand has friendly helpful staff and is located near good shopping, restaurants and pubs. The room was very clean and comfortable. We also had a great meal at their restaurant the Apero!

Great location, great staff would get a 5 but loses a star for the restaurant / bar

We chose the hotel based on the immediate area it is in. We normally stay on the main road, but this was very close to the tube stop and had a queue of taxis right outside the hotel constantly as a result. The neighborhood was fantastic, but the hotel left a little to be desired. It's definitely cuter in photographs, and they do a great job marketing the property - but once inside I realized it was better in pictures. Not bad, mind you but I wish I knew that the pictures were better than reality. Our room was quiet as requested, and the free minibar was a pleasant surprise but it was a dark, dark small room. I also wish the bathroom had a bathtub, but it had nice heated floors and the fixtures were the best part of the room. The interior of the room was dark, which added to the already bleak London sky. (Though I like cave-like interiors, I think lighter colors in a dark small room would be better.) I felt the staff were a bit hover-y at times, or just absent altogether. Not really in-between. I actually felt uncomfortable walking through the lobby or asking the staff for anything, which I don't normally feel at all wherever I go. Now that I think about it, it was the same kind of feeling I had when I worked at a corporation whose staff feared big corporate layoffs at any minute. ln any case, I did like the location so I may give the hotel another go. Maybe I will try a room in another part of the hotel and the staff might be a little more genuine the next time I'm there...