Square or Trendy? :The Sloane Square Hotel in London.

It is like putting a square peg in a round hole: the Sloane Square Hotel comes across as all cool and trendy on one hand and then all square and anal in another...try as it might it kind of comes out lacking finesse.
Let me explain:

As far as location is concerned it couldn't be in a better place: right in the heart of Chelsea on Sloane Square and a stone's throw from everything! And when the sun is shining you couldn't be happier as you saunter out into the ebb and flow of human traffic that makes this area ,up and around King's Rd and Sloane Street, such a desirable place to be walking around.

But 3 mns into our check- in things started to get decidedly iffy:
"Can I have the credit card you reserved with please..."
My sister hands over her Amex.
"Oh! we don't take American Express" she replied with an air of  determination ." Don't you have another card?"
" I made the reservation with this card!!" replied my sister frostily.
"You can reserve with Amex but just not pay with it"explained the uncomfortable young lady . "Don't you have another card?".... it was getting positively freezing in reception.
"NO!" replied my sister determined to hold her ground and the receptionist had no other  choice but to accept it. So we bandaged the wrong foot we started on and moved on....with forced smiles on our weary faces: the receptionist proceeded to explain to us that wifi connection was £6.00 a day...(ridiculous in this day and age and an unnecessary expense)  but !...  that the second laptop was free....small victory but half arsed at best.

Onto breakfast:it is £16 but if you book in advance it is £12....so what do you do? You bloody book in advance...and hope that you have made a good deal with the God's of breakfast buffets....

So on to the room: it was on the top floor and overlooked the square:fabulous! A nice sized room,comfy bed and enough snacks and tempting tidbits to keep us munching into the wee hours of the morning. The closet space was small and not much in the shelf area but it was good enough for our brief stay.The only real disappointment was the shower and lack thereof of any water pressure...the trickle that came out of the shower head would barely make a dent in my thick hair let alone rinse a well lathered head.Thankfully my hair wasn't the issue but our bodies sure were  ... We may as well have been strapped to the windscreen of a car and had better luck with the spurts of water from the windscreen wipers !

*we bought the Evian...mini bars are treacherous!*

Onto breakfast:the  deal was off with the God's of the Breakfast Buffets....the buffet was a real disappointment: no big whoop....just your basics that lacked lustre and appeal. What intrigued us the most was the large basket filled with "fresh" loaves that were never cut into,nor on offer for that matter and may very well have been a cunning prop....Hmmmm.

*reception as seen from restaurant*

At the end of the day: location,location,location... prevails and they have good rates when other hotels in the area are too expensive for this time of the year.The Sloane Square Hotel has a nice vibe to it regardless of it wanting desperately to come across as a trendy hotel... The fact that they have outside seating at the Chelsea Brasserie (their in-house restaurant)  for the smokers and the trendy Happy hour punters is a point in their favour as well as being neighbours with the extremely popular "The Botanist"restaurant next door.

NB: I love the modern and fun artwork in reception and in the Chelsea Brasserie.