Carlton Hotel
2-star hotel · London, London
Guests rate nearly every hotel highly: half the hotels in London are rated 8.2 out of 10 or more. So our score shows how a hotel compares with the rest, not how luxurious it is.
- Rated higher than 5% of London hotels
- 54% of guest comments are praise
- 70% of guest photos show no damage
How this score is made
- Rated higher than 5% of London hotels. Compared with 5,640 hotels in London. Counts for 50% of the score.
- 54% of guest comments are praise. 345 praise, 293 complain. Counts for 30% of the score.
- 70% of guest photos show no damage. 42 of 60 photos. Counts for 20% of the score.
- Serious reports are never counted in. They are flagged beside the score, because one matters even when everything else is good.
- $158 a nighttypical for two, before tax · from $78
- 2 min walkto the nearest station
- 297 guest reviewsfrom the last 2 years
- 60 guest photostheirs, not the hotel's
At a glance
For
- A station within walking distanceA station is 128 m away
- Location198 praise · 0 complain
Against
- On a main road: Gray's Inn Road22 m from the building
- Guest photos show wear and dirt18 of the 60 photos guests took, and 1 of the hotel's 21
- Quiet at night76 complain · 10 praise
- Room size69 complain · 2 praise
- Room condition46 complain · 0 praise
What guests reported
What guests say
297 reviews from the last 2 years. Most praised: location (198 guests). Weakest: room size, where 69 of the 71 who mention it complain.
Location1980Strength
Sorry, crappy room, but cose to train station!
Booking network, August 2026, rated 1/10 by this guest
It’s a budget hotel in a really good location.
Google, July 2026, rated 4/5 by this guest
Staff4823Mostly good
The staff where nice and the basic facilities were fine for the price.
Booking network, June 2026, rated 6/10 by this guest
Staff were nice and helpful
Booking network, September 2026, rated 7/10 by this guest
Elevator was broken and the staff wasn’t the friendliest.
Booking network, September 2026, rated 7/10 by this guest
Cleanliness4926Mostly good
Clean rooms with all the basic stuff you need -fresh towels every day!
Booking network, September 2026, rated 7/10 by this guest
Good value for money, clean, good location.
Booking network, June 2026, rated 8/10 by this guest
The room was dirty, and the hotel windows were broken, so they could not be closed properly.
Booking network, July 2026, rated 2/10 by this guest
Value2626Split
The charges could be better for the amenities provided.
Booking network, September 2026, rated 1/10 by this guest
Very expensive for what it is!
Booking network, August 2026, rated 3/10 by this guest
Cheap but that's all it's worth
Booking network, July 2026, rated 2/10 by this guest
Beds1227Weak spot
The bed was a very small double we just about managed to lay in it together and it was not comfy at all didn't sleep much.
Booking network, August 2026, rated 3/10 by this guest
Just a bit noisy, beds were a bit squeaky and the pillows wasn’t that comfortable
Booking network, September 2026, rated 6/10 by this guest
The mattress was dreadful.
Booking network, September 2026, rated 5/10 by this guest
Quiet at night1076Weak spot
No AC, tiny double bed, shower too small to even turn for a grown up, very noisy during the nights.
Booking network, July 2026, rated 2/10 by this guest
The PowerPoints also almost fried our phones, so we couldn’t charge our phones, the fan clicked, and the light didn’t work.
Booking network, July 2026, rated 3/10 by this guest
The constant wailing of ambulances and police cars.And people talking very late at night.
Booking network, June 2026, rated 7/10 by this guest
Room size269Weak spot
We got the smallest room all the way on the top floor, no air conditioning, a super small bathroom, and a bed of 140x200.
Google, August 2026, rated 1/5 by this guest
It has a tiny room for two, and that's all there is to it.
Google, October 2026, rated 3/5 by this guest
Very small cramped room.
Booking network, August 2026, rated 4/10 by this guest
Room condition046Weak spot
The hotel is run down , the rooms are run down and dirty, the place feels dirty , the furniture is damaged and out dated and not very clean at al it looks nothing like the pictures , it feels more like a hostel i was not comfortable at all
Booking network, August 2026, rated 2/10 by this guest
Cheap, great location, outdated amenities don't bother me for the price.
Booking network, July 2026, rated 5/10 by this guest
Too few mentions to judge: views, breakfast and food.
Who stays, and their score out of 10
From every review of the last two years that gives a score and says who travelled, including those with no words.
All 872 Google ratings
Problems guests raised
Raised most: heating and air conditioning, in 76 of 297 reviews.
Heating and air conditioning76 of 2971 in 4 reviews
It was a warm night and the ceiling fan did not work properly as you could hardly feel any breeze from it.
Booking network, September 2026, rated 4/10 by this guest
It was hot in the room I was thankful for the fan and a window that I could leave open.
Booking network, August 2026, rated 7/10 by this guest
The lift60 of 2971 in 5 reviews
The hotel only has one lift
Booking network, July 2026, rated 8/10 by this guest
Luckily, the guy manning the front desk helped me with my heavy luggage up to the 4th floor.
Booking network, August 2026, rated 10/10 by this guest
Something broken in the room41 of 2971 in 7 reviews
Lights and ceiling fan not working.
Booking network, June 2026, rated 5/10 by this guest
The window was broken so felt like I was sleeping inside an early 90s’ rave.
Booking network, July 2026, rated 1/10 by this guest
Problems in the bathroom37 of 2971 in 8 reviews
Very congested space and there was no water in the bathroom and toilet next day around 8 Am so quite disappointing.
Booking network, August 2026, rated 6/10 by this guest
The smell of which lingered in the hallway and wafted up through the drain in the shower.
Booking network, June 2026, rated 3/10 by this guest
Unpleasant surroundings16 of 2971 in 19 reviews
Just expect the tiniest of rooms and not the most savory neighbourhood.
Booking network, June 2026, rated 8/10 by this guest
Smell of someone smoking wafted into the room, not a nice area to be walking around at night, lift wasn't working, tap in bathroom needs fixing
Booking network, July 2026, rated 4/10 by this guest
Not as shown or booked15 of 2971 in 20 reviews
Nothing close with the pictures.
Booking network, July 2026, rated 1/10 by this guest
Which they showed in pictures was way more different than the reality.
Booking network, July 2026, rated 1/10 by this guest
Serious reports
14 in 297 reviews, most common first. Shown beside the score, never averaged into it.
A physical hazard12 of 297 reviews
Bathroom fitments broken shower barely worked, and hot water tap on sink was broken, and had a hot tap coming out of the wall, the very small TV in room had a dangerous connection in the back of the TV and the main plug only had 2pins as the 3rd pin was broken a highly dangerous situation
Booking network, July 2026, rated 1/10 by this guest
Opening window for ventilation a dangerous operation (heavy sash with no weights or friction to keep it from crashing down).
Booking network, July 2026, rated 4/10 by this guest
Something stolen2 of 297 reviews
We did and discovered much later that one bag had been entered and goods worth Euros50 had gone missing.
Tripadvisor, June 2026, rated 2/5 by this guest
Left luggage with receptionist but had some goods stolen from one of the bags.
Booking network, July 2026, rated 5/10 by this guest
These are guests' own accounts from their reviews. We have not verified them, and the hotel may dispute them. A report is counted only when the guest says it happened at the hotel and holds the hotel responsible.
Photos, checked
18 of the 60 guest photos we checked show damage or dirt (30%).
Guest photos showing damage or dirt18 of 6030%
Of 60 guest photos, 18 show damage or dirt: stains in 5, dirty surfaces in 5, peeling paint or cracks in 4 and rust or limescale in 4, and some photos show more than one. Of the hotel's own 21, 1 do.
What it advertises, against the photos
The hotel says it has no swimming pool, spa, gym or hot tub.
Price, place and rooms
Price
$158 is a typical night, from 214 dates checked in the coming year.
A typical night, month by month
Cheapest month: Jan 2027, $78Dearest month: May 2027, $182
Lowest advertised nightly rate for two adults; taxes and local fees are not included. Shown in US dollars.
Nearby
The nearest station is 128 m away by road, about 2 minutes on foot. There are 13 bars or clubs within 200 metres.
- Nearest main road: Gray's Inn Road22 m
- Nearest shop: Morrisons Daily1 min walk59 m by road
- Nearest station2 min walk128 m by road
- The British Museum25 min walk1.8 km by road
- Big Ben4.0 km
- Buckingham Palace4.6 km
- Tower Bridge5.0 km
The lines are 5, 10 and 15 minutes on foot.
Distances follow the streets, not straight lines.
Rooms
5 room types, from 6 to 10 m².
- Single Room - En Suite6 m²Sleeps 1
- Double Room Ensuite8 m²Sleeps 2
- Quadruple En-Suite10 m²Sleeps 42 Double bed
- Twin Room en suite10 m²Sleeps 2
- Triple Room - En Suite10 m²Sleeps 31 Twin bed + 1 Double bed
From the hotel's own room descriptions, checked against each room's photos.
How it compares
How it ranks
Guests who booked rate it 6.1 out of 10. Only 5% of the 5,640 hotels in London are rated lower, and a typical one is rated 8.2.
Every review site, out of 100
If room condition matters to you
Here, 46 of the 46 guests who mention room condition complain. These nearby hotels do better on it.
More hotels in London
The nearest first, with our score for each.
How we know
297 reviews counted · 81 photos checked · updated 12 October 2026
- We collected this hotel's 893 most recent reviews from Google, Tripadvisor and the Booking network. 297 of them describe a stay in the last 2 years and are the ones counted here; the rest were 207 older, 109 in other languages and 280 with a score but no words.
- The hotel replied to 1 of its 200 newest Google reviews.
- 0 in every 100 reviews thank a staff member by name.
- 1 review mentions a free upgrade, a cake or a gift.
- We looked at 81 photos: the first 21 of the hotel's own and the 60 newest from guests.
- Every number on this page is counted, not estimated. Anything in quotation marks is a guest's own words.