Second stay at this property and in the year since I last stayed, it seems like competence has depleted. Two of us staying in a Double with Balcony for 6 nights to celebrate a friend's birthday (friend was staying in their own double room). The double with balcony is TIGHT for a couple, especially unpacked. For longer stays, look elsewhere, storage will be a problem. The Pros: Patio was nice and spacious! Wish we got to use it more often but a bit chilly in March, unfortunately. Location, location, location... proximity to the Gloucester Road Tube, grocery, restaurants, pubs, pharmacy... all stumbling distance away!). The bed was comfortable for us. Housekeeping did great job, daily, keeping the room tidy. Good water pressure. Air conditioning kept the room cool! The negatives: The first thing that I immediately will notice is how staff will make a person FEEL. This is what guests will remember the most. And should be included in the training of staff in any hospitality position. I am also noticing in reviews of other guests on other platforms, the attitude of staff towards guests was noted. Immediately started off on the wrong foot the day of check-in, when we arrived about an hour before the posted check-in time. I inquired if our room was ready and the woman checking me in said, "well, check-in time is not until 3pm." Okay, fair, but instead of that response, how has this woman not been trained to respond, "Sorry, your room is not quite ready yet, but we would be happy to hold your luggage and notify you the moment that it is ready!" Hospitality 101. Several mornings, no greeting from staff in the lobby. The staff seemed perplexed that we requested ice on a daily basis (no in room ice buckets nor refrigerators so had to purchase ziplock baggies) to keep drinks/ waters cold. Even a one star property should have ice available. By night 3, a staff member notified us the ice maker was broken and there was none available. Question: In a property where breakfast is served daily, how is there no ice to keep food items/ beverages cold? The next evening, I asked another staff member if the ice maker had been fixed and she looked at me as if I were speaking another language and said there was no problem with the ice maker. How confusing of an experience for me! No facial tissues in the bathroom. The door between the bedroom and bathroom entrance would slam shut, no soft close so we needed to stuff a shoe in the door jam so it wouldn't wake the other person in the middle of the night. Bathrooms were dated and had dirty/ tarnished fixtures. Cracked sink. Bathroom mirror was built for someone 5'6". Clearly it was a replacement mirror because the previous mirror markings/ mountings were still on the wall. Sliding shower door would not stay shut so had to stuff a towel in the doorway on the floor to keep the door from opening and getting the bathroom floor soaked. I didn't bring these details to the attention of the staff because I found them unapproachable on day one. If the staff is going to give me a hard time about ice, how are they going to react to having to solve an ACTUAL problem? The love is in the details, and when you are traveling, it is all details... which goes unnoticed by the staff at this location. Should send the lobby a copy of Emily Post's "Etiquette," in care of the manager, who held his daily morning meeting in the lobby at 10:30am. Who holds a daily management meeting in front of guests??? Will be staying at another property at Gloucester Road next visit.…