Zedwell Underground Hotel Tottenham Court Road

I spontaneously booked a room here last week and was very satisfied with my stay despite the many negative reviews on here. First, you should be aware that the hotel is underground and has a very minimalist decor—which is exactly what they advertise, and I personally liked it a lot. However, if you have trouble with dark underground rooms, it's not the best choice. Check-in was very quick, the staff is friendly, and the atmosphere is very quiet and pleasant! I was lucky enough to try out both a single room for one night and a double room—if you have the opportunity, I would definitely book the double room!! It was significantly quieter than the single room (you could hear the tube there, but it wasn't super intrusive). Overall, I really liked the double room. As I said, it has a very minimalist but modern decor. The shower is in an open rain shower style, and despite a lot of water on the floor, it was very effective and pleasant. The room is very large by London standards; the bed could easily fit three people (it's also very comfortable) and to add it was also very clean—it was even cleaned daily (contrary to what some people here claim). The best thing by far is the hotel's location, with perfect connections and everything you need within easy reach. I didn't think charging £15 for luggage storage was appropriate, but all in all, the hotel is a very good choice for anyone seeking privacy, anonymity, peace, and functionality and perhaps only being in the room to sleep. The price-performance ratio is okay by London standards.

You get exactly what you pay for: a small room with a bed, a shower, and a toilet. Room was very clean and check in was smooth. The AC definitely needs improvement, so beware if you can’t deal with a too warm and humid room. While it’s a minimalistic hotel, some kind of shelving would definitely help make the small space more useful without disturbing the ‘aesthetic’. Bag storage costs 15£ for each bag, with staff giving discounts at random. Best to book storage online elsewhere. Very slight rumble from the tube as described by others wasn’t an issue for us, but free earplugs were provided. Overall, I still recommend this place since the location is excellent and you get exactly what’s described.

The hotel is in a perfect location central London right next to the underground station and bus stops. I thought that the name has underground because it is right next to Tottenham Court road underground station, but it turns out that the hotel is literally underground (level -4 and -5) so you have to sacrifice sunlight and rooms with views for the sake of a great location :D However, you do get a good night sleep! Rooms are really small with nothing included other than a bed, a toilet, shower and small sink. No closet or side-tables, no coffee and tea (but they do have free coffee and tea in the reception 24/7) So, the less luggage you have the better. Make sure to arrive on the time of checkin and not earlier because you'll pay extra fees for early check in and for leaving your luggage in the luggage storage room. People in the reception are friendly and helpful. Overall, it was an interesting experience with such an amazing location, but again, if you are seeking a room that has a window with view and sunlight you wouldn't find it here.

This hotel was great! Loved the area, the service and the room. They even upgraded my room and allowed me to check in an hour early free of charge. Would book again and recommend. My only notes is that they should have someone monitoring the common areas and hallways for tidiness. I stayed for 3 nights on the -5 floor and there was trash in the hallway in the same spot for days on end. Just a quick vacuum a day should do the trick! ;)

The positives: the location is fantastic—managing to be a few paces from a major Tube station while still on a street you can almost cross without checking for traffic (don’t actually do this!). The rooms were clean*. I heard no noise from other guests while in my room, at all. Everything else: This hotel advertises itself as having a minimalist, sleep-focused vibe, which was correct. I expected the lack of window, TV, telephone, clock, minibar, etc. What I didn’t expect was that there’s also a lack of any way to store your things—no luggage rack, no closet, no hangers/coat rack, no shelf, no bedside table, no counter in the bathroom. There’s a narrow edge to the sleeping carrell (about 3 inches wide) where you can put your phone to charge, and there’s the floor. That’s it. They provide you with one towel per guest—no washcloth, no hand towel, no bath mat. That’s it. Shampoo, but no conditioner. Not even a solid door to the bathroom—it’s made of (frosted) glass that slides and leaves a gap on all sides, plus a 2-inch hole that serves double-duty as doorknob and anti-privacy device. There’s one pillow per person, though staff will give you more. Two major concerns (apart from the metastatic minimalism): staff was sometimes combative and never helpful—getting fresh towels after our cleaning day was skipped took three attempts; the extra pillows took 18 hours, fresh sheets were delivered at the front desk after the towels showed up instead of the room being serviced, and then only one sheet per bed to replace the two sheets, pillowcases, and duvet cover we started with. Second, the room was air conditioned but not dehumidified—the lowest humidity we got (after leaving the room door open for 90 minutes) was about 75-80%, whether the AC was off or on, and despite humidity being low to moderate outside. Everything was damp—the bath towels never fully dried, toilet tissue was soggy, our books we purchased to take home became limp and bent out of shape. Both of us had coughs by the time we left from the constantly wet air. The worst part? The toilet smelled of sewage. There wasn’t a leak, but the chemistry of human waste means that the microscopic particles that normally lack much odor in dry environments are constantly active, and the entire place smelled of port-a-john. Not very lovely. So—it’s a safe enough place to stay if all you need is a crash pad and don’t mind humidity. For more than an overnight? Choose elsewhere. *I don’t count the odor issue as a cleaning problem, but that type of odor always decreases the perception of cleanliness.