The Ampersand Hotel

We had planned to stay at The Ampersand Hotel during a July trip to London, but accidentally booked the reservation for June 8–11 instead of July 8–11. When we realized the mistake, we contacted American Express Travel and asked them to reach out to the hotel to see if the reservation could be moved to the correct July dates. The hotel responded directly to us and applied a one-night no-show fee. I understand that the hotel may have been technically within its booking terms. The issue is the lack of flexibility or hospitality. This was an obvious date-entry mistake, not a cancelled trip or an attempt to avoid payment. We were still traveling to London, still needed a hotel for July 8–11, and would have stayed at The Ampersand if they had been willing to apply the booking, or even some portion of the charge, toward the correct dates. A credit, partial accommodation, or more constructive service-recovery response would have gone a long way. Instead, the hotel chose strict enforcement of the fee and gave us no reason to trust them with the actual July stay. Based on how this was handled, we chose not to rebook The Ampersand. For a hotel at this level, I expected a more customer-oriented approach.

Great location, friendly welcome, smart and stylish hotel. Very relaxing overnight stay, good shower, everything we needed.

Wonderful stay. Brilliant reception team. Best breakfast in London. Outstanding hospitality. A must stay if visiting London

Absolutely charming hotel with amazing staff. Excellent location in South Kensington. Can’t wait to come back.

Attentive staff, excellent location. Very comfortable rooms with no beige in sight