Mercure London Staines upon Thames Hotel 3 stars

We needed a place to stay 3 nights after arriving from Dublin as we knew we weren't going to be spending much time those 3 days with things to attend to in London. We only chose this hotel based on its location between Windsor and London, and claims that the hotel was being upgraded. There was what appeared to be a reasonable offer for B&B for 'pay now' rates, and photos showed amazing river views. The rooms seemed to have been refurbished, so we decided to give the hotel a go thinking the bad reviews were a thing of the past. Two employees stood out for us; genuinely kind and helpful throughout our 3-day stay, namely Yasser and Anna at reception. What could go wrong, we thought. Reception when called kept giving excuses for not being able to call us a taxi. After 2 harrowing hours attempting to get a taxi from Heathrow, we arrived at about 10pm at this Mercure hotel. Laura at reception was kind and we asked about food places around. We thought we could order from the room another time, but were told that local calls from the room will be charged. All food outlets were soon to close we were told, so we opted for a Turkish food delivery. Food would not be sent up, but we'd have to get it from reception. There are no elevators in the hotel and it is like going around a maze to get to the various rooms. The room had what we needed surprisingly, but was tiny, and had a tiny window. Air-conditioning was non-existent. An hour of waiting for the food and nothing. The guy that had taken over at reception was unhelpful, saying her knew nothing, but to wait. We realised at 3am that nothing was coming. A bad start. Daylight revealed the true state of the hotel. There appeared to be minor attempts at repair work here and there. The carpeting is horrid. Only one corridor among the maze of them had new carpeting. The old building structure is in fact very beautiful but has been allowed to fall into a state of disrepair. Something unsettling we observed was that they had young people seated at the ends of corridors appearing to be plain-clothed security personnel. Breakfast was surprisingly passable/acceptable, but we found that there is a cook rather than a chef. I don't think lunch or dinner is served anymore. The breakfast restaurant was by a beautiful river. We hoped this would redeem the bad experience. Refugee parents and children in school uniforms seemed to be coming in for breakfast in the same room. They are living there long-term we soon found out. We believe some hotel owners would be leveraging on the refugee situation to gain business. Shouldn't guests be notified? Can't believe this is a Mercure hotel. It was priced like a Mercure, but was not good value. Highly doubt we would return.

a little tired but fine for a night or two, easy parking onsite, a lovely location for walks along the Thames

Overall good just a couple of points to take forwards

Great stay here, very welcoming and a good location with good amenities around the area. I used it to stay overnight and then went onto Thorpe park. Lovely welcome when we were there, and staff were friendly.

Good stay, but I was horrified by the entrance area & the floors. Could not find the room easily, got lost 2-3 times. (However I must admit, I was already very eager to get into the room when I arrived at the hotel.) The room itself was totally OK, so in very good condition. Overall: It was a good stay and the hotel's location is great, i.e. at the river. (However, I had no time to enjoy it by daylight as I had to rush to Windsor next morning.)