The Voyage Hotel Paddington, Sonder

Horrible experience. Room was extremely small. A/C didn’t work. No elevator. Worst hotel I’ve been in my life. Beware.

Booked via *******. Was surprised on arrival that it is a non-staffed hotel, so spent 25 minutes with a slow and somewhat dysfunctional Sonder app trying to get the access codes to open the front door (and then room door). Room was very small - somewhere between a pod room and a normal room. So small that the mirror is half behind a cupboard, and the bathroom door only opens 70% of the way into the side of the bed. Fit and finishing is not great - electrical buttons falling out of their holder, shower door knob hanging on by a thread. It’s a bed and roof, for GBP300 a night. It is something I will forget and never remember within a few weeks.

Stayed at the Voyage while on a business trip. Just within my stay of less than a week, there was mandatory test of fire alarm system, boiler maintenance that stopped water supply (with no upfront notice), and AC testing with mandatory access to all rooms. The hotel is cold and soulless. There is limited staff at front desk who does the bare minimum because hotel tries to automate everything through the app (front door code, room door code). If you are land on an early flight, cross your fingers that the self-serve luggage lockers aren't all full, otherwise they won't store luggage for you. You're communicating with robots so have to pay extra if want to check in earlier or check out later. Note when booking that lower level does not mean floor one or two, but literally basement. You need walk down a flight of rickety stairs, and can hear every pedestrian walking by and cars driving by. At one point I switched to a 4th floor room, and the hotel's design is ridiculous where there is only one elevator that services part of the hotel. So I had to carry my heavy luggage up myself and thankfully ran into a handyman/cleaner on the second floor who helped me carry the luggage up. Do not book if you have bad back and cannot carry luggage up and down four floors. One morning I woke up and there was no water. There was no prior notification and I was going to pick up my food delivery anyway so thought I'd ask at front desk. The front desk mean girls looked at me as if I’m dumb and just said "engineer is coming". No apologies for water stopping at all. I went back to room and saw staff responded to my question via app while I was in the lobby, which was also completely non-apologetic and also doesn’t justify front desk being annoyed when being asked. 4th floor is TINY. Was by myself but don't understand how that room would have fit 2 guests. No cleaning service during stay. Only picked this hotel for location and hugely regretted it. Also don't get tricked by the photos, it's not that nice.

My 7-night stay (May 12-19, 2025) at Sonder @ Voyage in Paddington was an unmitigated disaster from start to finish. Upon checking in, I discovered there was NO HOT WATER in the entire building, a critical issue the reception staff failed to disclose. I wasted time unpacking and stood under an icy cold shower for 10-15 minutes before realizing the system was completely faulty. Sonder's "service recovery" was non-existent: * They offered only "free cancellation," ignoring the fact that last-minute hotels in London cost a fortune, leaving me financially disadvantaged. * After hours of fruitless calls and no solutions, I was incredibly told to walk 10 minutes to another Sonder hotel at 10 PM just to shower. * They eventually moved me to Sonder The Henry for one night only, forcing me to vacate by 12 PM the next day, leaving me effectively homeless again. * They proposed unsuitable alternatives (e.g., Sonder Gilbert, 50 mins from my seminar), which I rejected, but they then used this to deny a refund. * They have refused to fully refund my original booking (and my colleague's, May 17-19, for joint meetings)despite their fundamental breach of contract (no hot water!). Their offer of a mere £150 compensation is insulting. * A Sonder Customer Officer even personally promised will look into this and ensure I get my refund but went missing after that. This incompetence forced me to spend hundreds more on last-minute alternative accommodation (Airbnb, then Berjaya Hotel for myself and my colleague), and incur significant additional transport costs (multiple taxi fares just to move my luggage). The constant stress, anxiety, and the physical strain of repeatedly shifting heavy luggage between temporary accommodations directly resulted in a significant shoulder injury. I have since incurred over S$1800 (~£1050) in medical bills and require ongoing physiotherapy. Sonder @ Voyage's management was absent and unprofessional throughout, leaving junior staff to handle an impossible situation. This was a clear breach of contract, a blatant disregard for guest well-being, and a shocking example of poor service recovery. As an international traveler, this experience has severely tainted my perception of London's hospitality. Avoid this property at all costs.

Lovely room with enough space to actually move around the bed (which I think is rare in London). Lots of storage space in the room, and very clean! Very close to Paddington Station, the reason we chose this place. Can definitely recommend this hotel!