We stayed at Marlin Waterloo from June 4 to June 9.
PROS
▪️Great location. The hotel is within walking distance to several great restaurants, Big Ben, Parliament, Westminster Abbey, London Eye, and a decent little grocery store. There is also an underground station and several bus lines extremely close.
▪️The front desk is staffed, so you can generally get help all day.
▪️There are laundry facilities in the basement. Soap is 1 GBP a box. Great asset to have when travelling.
▪️Although we did not use it, there is a small gym.
▪️Staff were generally friendly and aimed to please. Customer service was great.
▪️The rooms are comfortable for the most part and have housekeeping service every other day.
CONS
▪️The hotel could be a super stellar venue with some tightening up.
▪️The "restaurant" should either be full-service and go the distance OR just be a staffed bar with snacks. Other than breakfast, it was never clear if and when the so called "restaurant" was open for business. I think they are understaffed. They don't cook onsite, but order out for lackluster pizza from a local restuarant for quite a mark up. It is cheaper to leave the restaurant and get dinner elsewhere for takeout.
▪️Breakfast is sufficient but overpriced at 15GBP. Got to the local coffee shops in the neighborhood or a full English meal for 1/2 the price at the Corner Cafe.
▪️Staff don't fully bring things to closure. They are nice, but don't finish the job. There was a lot of handing things off or clear the