Sonder the Gilbert

I loved the location of this hotel, in a nice, quiet street. Not that far to walk to either Earls Court or Gloucester Road Tube stations - which then lead into London and other parts. Room was compact, bed was nice and pillows were also soft. The only issue was, while I knew there was no air conditioning in the room, the window that was in the room, would not stay open to allow any fresh air or a cool breeze in. If you want to wake up in a sauna - this was the room for you! Despite the sauna like room, the bathroom and the room itself was clean, compact and met my needs. I had plenty of water, which helped, even if it went warm after 30 mins, but it was still water.

Sonder The Gilbert apartment might look nice, but it's a horror to stay in. It's a very small apartment with no a/c or bar fridge. Our bottles of water become warm very quickly, or chocolates melted within an hour or less. Our room was so hot and stuffy that it was impossible to sleep in. No air was coming into the slight gap where the window was open. We were given a fan to use, but it was useless. On fan speed 3, it was so slow that it was like speed 1, ineffective, and only circulating hot air in the room. The shower was funny, too. One minute, warm water, next minute cold water, alternating throughout the whole shower. We asked for a change of room but was told that there was none available and that all the rooms were the same, which was not true. My daughter's room was a lot cooler. The passage way outside our room, lobby, and even the outside of the hotel apartment was cooler. We expected a nice room but were given an oven.

I slept here for one night after traveling in from France before going back to the US. This boutique hotel is in a lovely and quiet neighborhood of London, I believe the Chelsea/Kensington Garden area (though don't quote me). Check in was easy, I had arranged an hour early check in and it was ready right on time. The room is small yes, but extremely well appointed. I was on the basement level of rooms and you can see people walking on the street above from the window. The room was big enough for me (European hotel rooms can be notoriously small) but it was not a problem for me. The room and bathroom were immaculate. The bathroom was very small but very well decorated to the point I took a photo because I would like to update my own bathroom which is quite small at home, to look like this. There is a fan in the room and although it wasn't hot, I used it for white noise. The bed was comfortable and clean. The neighborhood is great and the Gloucester Underground station is about an 8 min walk from the hotel. If you need to get to and from Heathrow there is a train from that station that goes directly there. However, unfortunately the train as not working (of course) when I needed it. However, I was directed to take another line to Paddington Station where I could then pick up the Heathrow Express train (not part of the Tube although directly out of the station (for 25 euros) and only takes 15min to get to Terminal 2, and 20 min to Terminal 5. I had a very nice experience at this hotel and would do another short stay. It might be tougher to stay for a long time in a small room so consider that but I really liked it there. Staff there were very nice and there was even someone at the desk to quickly check me out when I left at 0530. Everything is very modern there, it is tech driven, including using the TV. You have to use your own subscriptions to the many streaming channels they have. I did miss having regular TV but it was only for a night and a lot of hotels are doing this.

Disaster. I got an email the day I was due to check in saying I was being moved to another Sonder hotel because there was a problem at The Gilbert. No notice. I had to book into a hotel next door. Luckily they had space & I’ll get a refund but I won’t go near a Sonder hotel again. Also you have to pay extra to check in before 4pm!!!!

This hotel is cute, tidy but with tiny rooms. We had a double room and could hardly open both suitcases at the same time. Also no airconditioning and we visited London during a heatwave so it was tough. The room was quite noisy since the doors, walls nor windows didn’t keep noise out very well, had to sleep with earplugs. But mattress was good and comfy, room in good condition. Staff very friendly. Location lovely, in a peaceful neighbourhood, near a tube station straight from the airport in some 30mins and maybe 20mins from Piccadilly circus station. If I were to pop by London with just a trolley, this could be an ok aoption to stay at for a couple of nights, but not in the middle of summer, tho.

+ve: Location was good. Room was clean and comfortable. -ve: They need soft close doors and better sound insulation between rooms - someone decided to slam doors for 2 hours between 3-5am in the morning and talk (not very loudly) and we could hear it all. It was awful. There’s no phone or staffed reception, so normally I’d call for some support - but there was nothing. Also, the shower ran very hot and very cold - no consistency. Very unpleasant. Wanted to speak to reception on check out but they had no interest.

A wonderful experience Sonder offers a unique product... great prices and locations! It eliminates services you may or may not need (room service, maid service, bar/restaurant). What they provide is 5 star... comfy room, wifi, tea/coffee... A fabulous concept for those who want a bargain and lovely accomodations. Then the people! A caring and helpful staff that goes out of their way to help you...a lot of hotels have nice staffs but these people are exceptional..Anastasiya, Sadia, Arturo... thanks so much for making my stay special.

Lovely new hotel in great area. Brilliant transport links nearby. Rooms all freshly carpeted and painted. We had an issue with our shower in room B04 so we needed to relocate to room 204. Both rooms at back of hotel, overlooking a quiet mews, so extremely quiet. Added bonus that our window opened a good amount to let fresh air in. Rooms at front of building will be noisier as traffic going by. Bed extremely comfy, Davines toiletries, which are premium quality. Had we not had to move room then it would have been a 5 out of 5!