SUMNER HOTEL

The Sumner has not retained any of its former glory – although remnants are noticeable. I see it is still billing itself as a 4-star hotel, and I could see why that might have been once-upon-a-time. But not now. It is fading, and fading quickly. It’s a 2-star level place now. Kind of like a cheap Motel 6. The water from the shower came out hot and then cold, but not mixed. And if you showered at the same time as anyone in any other room, it just trickled out. It’s still clean, but not pristine. I mean, adequately clean – I would not criticize it for that alone. My assessment is that they just did not have the funds to weather the pandemic, and that pushed them over the brink. Nothing is updated. The downstairs study/library and entrance are still really nice. But the rest has aged. The pillows were old, thin, flat, and hard. The bedding and beds were fine, but old and not high quality. The temp control in this room was not as nice as other hotels we stayed at – it managed, but lots of swirling air that felt breezy.
But here’s where it all fell apart and the main reason for my complaint – no elevators. We were on the 5th floor (58 steps up). Not nice, open, wide stairways. But a narrow, winding staircase with steep steps. It took me 10 minutes every time to get up to the room, and I had to stop twice each time (I'm older, but even in my younger days, that amount of stair-climbing would have been irritating). They have 2 elevators, but neither was operational. And from how the staff talked, it sounded like they are not going to be back in service any time soon. I had the distinct impression they could not afford the semi-annual inspection. I begged for a room on a lower floor, but they said they did not have one. If we had planned to stay any longer, I would have gone somewhere else. You could see the hints of what it once was, but I really think the pandemic brought them to their knees. If I were in the hotel business, this would be a prime opportunity to buy and fix up, because all the potential is still there. But in the meantime….I would not recommend staying here.

The hotel itself was pretty good for your standard middle of London small hotel in an old building. Creaky floors and cramped spaces. But the staff did well, the location was great, and our room was very quiet and clean. The only thing that really bothered us was the saggy mattresses. They need to be updated yesterday. We stuffed pillows underneath the middle of the bed to bolster it. Our backs were really unhappy after a couple of nights, and we are not large people.