The Black Lion Pub & Boutique Guesthouse

Hospitality is very good. Service delivery is very good. Clean and reasonable price.

First up we never leave bad reviews until this one. Where we get great service and experiences in accommodation we always do something positive. If we have a bad experience we just move on. This one burns though. We are now back in Australia and I have had time to ponder whether it is worth the effort and this one is, especially as it is supported by 3 with similar themes to ours, one being a particularly heartless experience also. These people have plenty of positive reviews so I am probably swimming against the tide. However our experience was so poor, it was implied that our intentions were less than honest, and this is the warning to other prospectives if things go awry like ours did. If I could have rated zero I would. We were attracted to the Black Lion because their reviews were so good. In accommodation we look for location, cleanliness, friendliness and service. This place seemed to tick the boxes so we eagerly looked forward to it as the finish of a trip before returning home. They will have their version of events, they can respond however they like, I really don’t care. We know exactly how things unfolded, what was said and what wasn’t said. Their communication is abysmal. About a month before our stay whilst still in Australia, we reconfirmed all of our stays and said we were happy to pay upfront prior to departure and to let us know. In this situation The Black Lion advised no, that their ‘secure payment gateway’ would take the funds from our supplied card 7 days prior to arrival. No worries there. About 9 days prior to arrival we emailed the Black Lion and said we were also travelling with a Mastercard issued by our local bank which does not attract international fees, could we use that but stressed (twice as it turned out), if it was an issue, not a problem, leave the existing card in place to pay. From 11 days prior to arrival there were easily sufficient funds in the account to cover payment using the original card supplied. As best as I can tell they tried to take payment 9 days prior to arrival. Their summation and the poor wording of what happened was so poor it is impossible to tell. They cancelled the booking stating firstly they had previously advised us the payment had failed, which they hadn’t, and secondly they had sent us a link for another payment, they had not done this either. I was furious. We were totally blindsided by the whole debacle and our London stay was turned upside down. This is the warning. We had no idea our payment had ‘supposedly’ failed. All this took place on the 7th day before arrival. They said they advised us a ‘couple of days’ prior. No such advice was received. They said they had sent us a link. They never did. If they were able to walk the walk as their service implies, and truly made contact, this debacle would never have happened. And this is the real warning. If something does go pear shaped they will spit you out, you are just a number. I cannot tell what happened or why in this case, they

Faultless pub. Varied range of interesting beers from all over the place, classic British pub decor, warm fires and good atmosphere. Sunday roast looks a treat in the charming dining room so I will be back to enjoy that. All the bar staff are delightful.

The fire alarm went off at dawn (loud!) for 7 hours from 2 am to 9 am and nobody came to shut it off. We waited outside the building for 2 hours at dawn and called hotel management multiple times and no one replied. There was no one in the hotel from management to do something about it. Police came through twice to check in as the alarm went off for 7 hours straight. No one in the building could sleep at all. The next day when we complained, the owner yelled at us and kicked us out of reception claiming it wasn't his fault and there was nothing they could have done..??? What about keeping someone around to provide the service accordingly? I understand things like this happen every now and then, but the bad attitude and the rudeness the owner had in the morning made it for me. Never again.

Have been to The Black Lion before but this is the first time since the revamp. In terms of stunning architecture, this is my favourite pub in London hands down. The ceiling is particularly stunning. Friendly welcome from the bar staff, grabbed a drink and then headed for our reservation in the the VERY impressive and refurbished dining room. Cannot recommend the new Indian menu highly enough. We had a range of dishes as an impromptu tasting platter and everything tasted fresh. Amazing flavours and even given a carry out container to take the leftovers home. All washed down with some delicious German Rothaus Pilsner. Will be going back ASAP!

Booked the Black Lion for August 2022,our payment was due 3 days prior to arrival .The property cancelled our booking mid April. I've messaged them twice to ask why they have cancelled our booking but they haven't replied .Be careful when booking as they obviously don't value their customers 😡😡

An excellent meal and service - well looked after by Rose - brilliant expert on Scottish single malts... we shall be back !!! How much more do I have to write before this is acceptable....it says 200 characters but I am running out of things to say....

Una experiencia lamentable. La habitación pequeña y sucia, no hay servicio de habitaciones. Te encuentras porquería de los anteriores inquilinos. El baño ridículamente pequeño. No recomiendo a NADIE que pase por ahí ni para ir a mear. Además el barrio da miedo.