Saco London Bridge Bermondsey

This is a newer hotel and costs £100 for 1 night for 2 adults and a teenager. The room had stunning views and you could see Tower Bridge. The room is literally next to the railway and you can see all the trains go by but it was not noisy at all. Clearly their acoustics team deserves a pat on the back. This was nearly a 1 star review as the female receptionist beginning with the letter S couldn't be bothered to smile when we arrived and was more interested in selling us breakfast twice (Wetherspoons around the corner). However the evening manager was significantly better getting us two extra pillows on top of the normal extra. It is so close (10-15 min walk) to Tower of London, The Shard and Tower Bridge.

The location of this hotel is great, which is one of the reasons I chose it. The staff at the hotel were welcoming. However, when dealing with customer service I was made to feel like I was hassling the person. The reason I initially contacted customer service was because during my stay, I woke up during the night to find two bed bugs on my bed. I checked in to the hotel on 18th June and was given room 208. After a long day, I fell asleep with the light on (thankfully). When I woke I found a bug on the cover. I removed the bug and quickly fell back to sleep. A short while later, I woke again and again found another bug. This time I thought it was odd and took a quick video (screenshot of the video attached). The next day after the breakfast service, I discreetly spoke to the receptionist to let her know but I didn't want to cause a fuss. The receptionist was prompt in having me moved and told me she would contact pest control to have the room checked. She confirmed my contact details to have the report from pest control sent to me. I was happy with this but was concerned that if anything got into my bags/clothes, I would be bringing them into another room, as no disinfectant was provided. Before checkout, I asked another receptionist whether there was any update on the report from pest control. Again the receptionist was nice and polite, she apologised for my experience and looked at my file(?) However, nothing was noted about my experience nor about pest control. She told me to contact the customer care team if I didn't hear anything. Almost a week past and I managed to get in touch with customer service. Their initial reply was that no infestation had been found. I replied with my story and I was made to feel like an inconvenience. They attached the report which states no bugs were found. I showed them the video which I had recorded and it was ignored. I advised that I would be sharing the experience and their reply was that they would not be responding any further. Apart from the bed bugs, in both rooms, there was a foul smell from the bathroom. I'm not sure whether it was the toilet, shower or both. There was a residue in the sink from teeth brushing and there was visible dirt caught in the door frames. In the first room, there was a brown dirt mark above the bathroom door handle! The carpets had clumps of hair and in the first room, I found a pill when sitting on the chair. The the second room, there was a ton of crumbs caught around the edging of the chair. These were all visible to the naked eye. I would hate to see what was beneath the surface. Walking down the corridors there was also a smell of BO from the cleaners. I know given the time it year everyone sweats but it is not the nicest smell to walk into when checking into a hotel. I wouldn't recommend booking late checkout here. I did not booked this but had I, I would have been extremely disappointed as before the 12pm checkout time, a cleaner knocked repeatedly on the door to ask me what time I would be leaving. I picked to stay in this hotel as I previously lived in the area and know that it is a new hotel. I stupidly thought given the age of the hotel it would be a pleasant stay. After the experience the first night, I could not relax during my stay. I returned home like a zombie due to the lack of sleep. My family and friends were keen to stay at this hotel until I shared my experience with them. Unfortunately, Travelodge have refused to refund my money despite everything.

Booked and paid for a room 3 months in advance. On the evening of my booking this week, as I was making my way across a hot and sticky London, they called me to say they had re sold my room to someone else (for a lot more money I am sure) and so moved me across London to a totally different location and older hotel. Don't trust this company if you secure a booking - they only care about how much money they can make. Couldn't be bothered to check if there was a neighbouring hotel much closer that could accommodate me.