Hotel Riu Plaza London Victoria

I did not stay at this hotel and, after this experience, I never will.
On Christmas Eve at around 3:00 a.m., I found myself stranded in London with a completely dead phone, no access to transport, payment, or communication. Most places were closed, including the nearby train station. In genuine need of help, I approached the Riu Plaza London Victoria simply to ask whether I could charge my phone for a few minutes.
The hotel was locked. A porter came to the door, and after I explained my situation, I was told “it’s not allowed” and the door was closed in my face, leaving me outside in the cold with no means of contacting anyone.
I fully understand that hotels are not obliged to admit non-guests. However, there is a reasonable expectation of basic duty of care and human decency — particularly when someone is clearly vulnerable and requesting minimal assistance that poses no risk to the property or its guests.
This situation could have been handled with basic compassion and common sense. Instead, it was met with complete indifference. For a hotel operating under an international brand, this was deeply disappointing and reflects poorly on its values and approach to hospitality.

Very disappointed with the service at this RIU property. On December 20 around 10:00 pm, the front desk staff, including the manager on duty, were unfriendly and unhelpful, which is not what you expect from an international hotel brand.

The Wi-Fi was also extremely poor and unreliable throughout the stay, which is a major issue for travelers.

I travel frequently and work in luxury travel, so my expectations are based on extensive experience. Unfortunately, this stay did not meet even basic service standards and left a very negative impression.

I recently stayed at the RIU Hotel in London, and overall, it was a pleasant experience. The location of the hotel is absolutely excellent, with easy access to many attractions and transport options. The rooms are spacious and comfortable, which made my stay quite relaxing.

However, I did notice a couple of areas for improvement. The reception staff seemed quite busy during my check-in, and on a few occasions, they didn’t appear as friendly or attentive as I had hoped. It wasn't a major issue, but it was noticeable.

The breakfast buffet was definitely a highlight—plenty of variety and delicious options to start the day.

A couple of suggestions for improvement:

There is no bottled water provided in the rooms, but they do offer a jar for tap water, which is a nice idea. However, the tap structure made it difficult to pour water into a mug, which was a bit inconvenient.

The toiletries dispenser in the bathroom seems to be designed in a way that causes unnecessary waste. If it were installed upside down, it could save a lot of material waste, which would be a more eco-friendly approach.

Overall, I had a good stay and would consider coming back in the future!

Location is great however the staff are ridiculous. There’s no advice given prior to arrival that you need identification. I wanted to provide the booking confirmation which was frowned upon. Perhaps an overlook on my part but the receptionist was extremely rude. It’s like a prison as far as getting in and out (during out of hours) so if you’re looking for a night out in the surrounding areas, it’s not ideal.
The rooms are basic and no better than a premier inn/travel lodge. The hotel bar was cute but expect a wait for service. We did sleep well but there is nothing special with this hotels rooms compared to a premier inn.
The breakfast was probably the best thing about the stay and the staff in the restaurant were much friendlier than those on reception.

Ps. Drunken maccies ordered on uber eats and appears to have been delivered (photo in lobby) but never delivered to us personally. I would assume the security team had a maccies on us!

Prompt check-in.
Relax space.
Excellent location and transportation links.
Room clean.
Great choice of Breakfast.
Definitely recommend - Value for money..

Basic Premier Inn / Travel lodge at premium prices
No water in room which you’d expect at £400 per night and 1 pillow! Floor, decor, size of room - all below standard compared with other hotels in London.

The hotel itself is really nice, clean and good selection for breakfast.
Great location with easy access to Victoria station.
The 2 downsides for me are...
1. The beds, which are too firm for comfort, myself and my family left sore.
2. The biggest downside, trying to find your room, the corridors are like a maze, and the floors along the corridor are vinyl, so you heard the footsteps of everyone walking.

Great location, just a few minutes walk from the train station and a number of theatres.
Room was quiet, bed was comfortable, shower excellent. The room was spotless.
The hotel will store your luggage for you.
The choice of food at breakfast is excellent but the hotel is so big that the breakfast area is packed with people and it is not very relaxing.
The bar area is more like a lounge than an actual bar

What an amazing hotel, we weren’t disappointed from check in to check out. Hotel was clean and impressive. Staff were all very polite and helpful. Our room was cleaned to a very high standard. Spacious room with outstanding view. Breakfast could not be faulted a wide selection of pastries,cold and hot food, so much to choose from. Will definitely return again.

A mass market hotel with mass market recpetion staff including the Duty Manger (I hope he wasn't the GM!) who either are in need of some training in customer service or should not be in hospitality at all.
Both my husband and I were accused of lying about a phone call we made to reception from our car that morning even though I showed the correct number and time called . We were attending a wedding at 3.00 and after a long car journey needed to freshen up and get changed. I had also called the day before and correct policy was not communicated on either call, if it had been clearly stated that rooms are not availble before 3.00 (they are but it's first come first served) I would have paid more and gone elsewhere. However, we were told that morning that accessing our room earlier quote 'will not be a problem' I asked if they wanted my name and it was reiterated, 'it won't be a problem'. This converation was then refuted when we arrived and it was intimated thet we must have called an incorrect number at which point I pressed redial of the number called that morning, which they confirmed was calling the main reception number.
When I asked if they could indicate when our room would be ready Dan who is a particularly charmless, arrogant individual advised 'It will be ready when it's ready, you'll get a email.

After complaining to the Duty Manager, Dan continued being rude and at this point I got out my phone to record what was being said as frankly I was flabbergasted by his unprofessionalism. We were then told that we would not be checked in, even though I had checked myself in 2 days before, and was told 'find somewhere else to stay' My phone was then demanded to show I had not recorded them, I wish I had as it was quite unbelievable and if we had had the time we would ceratinly have gone elsewhere.

The icing on the cake was the ear piercing alarm that went off in our room at 2.30am. Was that a coincidence I wonder?
An unbelieveably bad experience and for the money, we paid £295 for one night, there are other much better 4 star hotels (This isn't 4 star think Travelodge with better fittings) in the vacinity who offer a better experience and ceratinly a more professional level of service.

Staff are all friendly and helpful

Breakfast is great.

Rooms modern and bathrooms are spacious

All very very clean

Couldn't fault it

This hotel is excellent in all respects.
Lovely room, very clean, comfortable bed, good pillows. Staff very friendly and helpful. Breakfast amazing. Will be back.

The staff are friendly. The room was spotless as was the bathroom. The bed was comfy and the towels were large and plush. Breakfast was plentiful with a wide variety. Great location. Check out is easy. My only gripe is poor quality pillows. Otherwise this is the perfect hotel and I will return.

I stayed at the RIU Plaza London Victoria November 2024 for WTM) and couldn’t have been more impressed. The hotel is in a perfect location — just a short walk from Victoria Station, making it incredibly convenient for getting around London or catching the Gatwick Express. Despite being so central, the hotel feels calm and relaxing once inside.

The rooms are spotless, modern, and thoughtfully designed, with comfortable beds.

First time visit, booked direct on website and got a discount if you join their loyalty scheme.

Booking process difficult as the password set errored and had to go through a convoluted process to reset to make the booking….but got there and paid in advance.

Arrived at hotel as a UK citizen, receptionist wanted my passport. I don’t travel in my home country with it nor carry formal ID. For this one night trip I didn’t bring payment cards as use phone….so we have a stand off. In the end had to get a photo of my passport to show her to check in to a room already paid for…..sigh.

King room was average with expected amenities but assigned a wheelchair friendly room which was questionable as this was not what was booked. It meant the sink was too low for me and the controls to the showers also difficult to operate and see. But didn’t complain or ask to be moved. Bed was reasonably comfortable, air con ok but struggled to get balance between too hot and too cold. No water in room except a glass vase to fill from tap which doesn’t fit in sink to drink the tepid tap water, yuck!

Another odd feature was the restaurant is on the opposite side of the road with no way to get there without going outside.

London has a lot of choices for hotels and I chose this one based on proximity to Victoria and price. I would have preferred to have booked elsewhere and paid a touch more for a more friendly experience and amenities close to hand.

Truly awful experience staying in this hotel. All rooms are fitted with multiple green lights. Ours was partly covered with a plaster from previous guests who clearly also couldn’t stand the intrusive light. With a member of my party having a medical condition affected by lights this meant no sleep. Long story short the hotel management and subsequent complaints department had no understanding of how intrusive this was and how it ruined our stay. Breakfast is over the road, rude staff that greet you by informing when the room closes and then remind you every five minutes until it does close and then eat their breakfast instead. All in all we would not recommend this hotel and we won’t be staying in a RIU again, truly shocking service. There are much nicer and friendlier hotels in London where the staff are bothered about their customers.

Hotel is in a great location . Friendly check in staff. The twin room was clean but basic for a 4 star hotel. Excellent breakfast on both mornings with a self serve buffet . We would return if visiting London in the future .

We stayed for nine days, 8 nights, and overall had a good experience. Mariahn and Dan from the front desk were fantastic—Mariahn checked us in and was very pleasant, polite, professional, and courteous. Luggage porter, Jolly, was kind and friendly. Natalia, our housekeeper on the 10th floor, did a phenomenal job keeping our room spotless and was always friendly and professional.

Breakfast was good, and most of the staff were kind and accommodating despite how busy it often was. The only exception was Jose, who served in the back section near the windows. He consistently appeared unfriendly and seemed irritated by guests. Even when we politely asked him to pick up dirty plates or bring extra napkins, he did not respond courteously or promptly, which stood out compared to the otherwise excellent breakfast team.

While the stay was enjoyable, there are some areas that could be improved. The rooms are quite small, with limited space for dining. It also feels like the RIU brand has taken its “green” initiatives to an extreme, at times compromising guest convenience. For example, one night we ordered pizza and were told we had to bring the box all the way down to the bar for disposal of the box. On another night, we requested face cloths and regular coffee since we were only given decaf, and the male night front desk attendant informed us that the hotel did not carry any face cloths—although we had received a couple earlier in our stay. He also said they were out of regular coffee; however, after inquiring about getting some the day before, the request was fulfilled.

In our experience, the evening front desk staff is less attentive to customer service compared to the morning and afternoon teams, possibly due to the absence of a manager during those hours. For a recognizable brand like RIU and at this price point to stay at this location, greater consistency in guest service—especially with small, reasonable requests—would make a significant difference.

Basement room not for everyone, claustrophobic, stuffy,cellarlike,breakfast excellent, lots of variety, cereals,cooked breakfast,juices,pastries,really everything for a fantastic breakfast.,room and bathroom clean towels good and television for nights.

Very noisy hotel with plumbing pipes making loud noises every few hours and as there are no carpets in the rooms you are awoken every time someone decides to walk across there room above. When mentioned on checkout just got a snigger and that was it. Rude staff that are only there to get through there day and go home. Also breakfast don’t bother asking for a fried or poached egg as they don’t do it, scrambled or boiled. Not for me