Henley House Hotel

1/5 Stars My experience at Henley House Hotel was extremely disappointing from the moment I arrived. When I checked in, the receptionist (I believe her name was Loretta or Loren, something starting with “L”) never even looked at my passport, despite me placing it directly in front of her on the desk. Instead, she repeatedly asked me to spell my full name verbally. I slowly spelled both my first and last name at least five times because she struggled to understand me. She then insisted that I had not paid for my two-night stay and told me I needed to pay immediately. I explained multiple times that I had already prepaid through Hotels.com. I even opened the Hotels.com app and showed her that the reservation had been paid in full. She kept insisting that it was only a hold on my card and that I still needed to pay the hotel directly. Trusting that she knew what she was doing, I paid another £270 for the stay. Only after she handed me the registration form did I notice that it was under a completely different guest’s name. I pointed this out immediately, and instead of acknowledging the mistake, she tried to blame me. This happened despite the fact that she never checked my passport or any form of identification. Had she simply looked at the passport I placed in front of her, none of this would have happened. I even asked her, “Don’t you check guests’ passports or IDs when they check in?” Her response was, “No, it’s not necessary. I never check.” I found this extremely concerning. Verifying a guest’s identity at check-in seems like a basic security measure, and it would have prevented this entire situation. It then became clear that I had been right all along—my stay had already been paid through Hotels.com, and the extra £270 should never have been charged. She processed a refund and told me the money would be back in my account within “1–2 hours.” That was simply not true. As I’m writing this review, I still have not received the refund, leaving £270 unnecessarily tied up because of the hotel’s mistake. I also asked to speak with the manager, but I was told the manager wasn’t there. When I asked if there was any way to contact them, the receptionist simply said no and brushed off my concerns. There was no apology, no effort to resolve the situation professionally, and no accountability. To make matters worse, I’m checking out tomorrow morning at 7:30 a.m., exactly when breakfast service begins. I asked whether it would be possible to receive a simple breakfast box or even collect something a few minutes earlier since I’d be leaving immediately. The request was refused outright with no attempt to accommodate it. Mistakes can happen in any hotel. What matters is how they’re handled. Unfortunately, this experience was defined by poor communication, failure to verify a guest’s identity before charging their card, misinformation about refunds, and a complete lack of customer service. I would not stay here again and cannot recommend this hotel based on my experience.