Ref Mystery Guest in Times 1.12.07. I too have struggled with the Travelodge hard-to-use website. Room at Slough Travelodge booked twice as a result without alerting me. Total cost £75 x 2 and Travelodge refused to refund for duplicate booking. Hence cost of room was £150, and I shall definitely not be using Travelodge again.

Mike Howarth, Kingsbridge, Devon

I visit Hilton London Paddington approximately once a month and I have always enjoyed staying there.

Having stayed in around 25-30 different London hotels, I truly cannot say that any of them have been close to matching the combination of room standards, convenience of location and servIce that I have enjoyed at this hotel.

I am really surprised to read the article

John Beck, Vejle , Denmark

I have to dissagre with your yournalist,i stayed in plenty of hotels like Marriots,Holiday Inn,Langham and i must say that service that i recived in Hilton Paddington was more then excellent.
My room was very nice,with plenty of space,bathroom was bit small but allright,it was clean and well done.
Food was delicious,no complains whatsoever.I really liked drinks in Steam Bar(they have everykind of alcohol in there)
I didnt have any problems with staff there,i came
in the morning and i got the room strait away although check in is at 3pm.They were very friendly and always called me buy my surname.
It is very good hotel and i will stay there more times,as well as i will be recomendin it to my friends
and family.

Thomas Michalsen, Detroit, USA

I stayed in the Hilton in Paddington for one night in March. I was quite shocked to read your recent review as I had a very positive experience in this very centrally located hotel.

I was upgraded to a lovely delux room, which was spacious (for London), very comfortable, with a nice bathroom and Crabtree and Evelyn toileteries. The staff I encountered were helpful and I felt very safe In the Paddington Hilton. This is crucial as I was staying on my own. I had access to the executive lounge and the breakfast was excellent, drinks and snacks were also available at other times.

The atmosphere in the hotel was quite relaxed and the convenience of stepping into the station was such a bonus.

I think this is a very good hotel for the business traveler or tourist who wants to be right in the heart of London.

Elizabeth J Cherry, Belfast, Northern Ireland

I use Hilton Paddington regularly when I am in London because of the convenient location. It is ideal for meeting with clients and so far I have always had good service. I recently discovered that I do not have to stay in the hotel to use the Executive Lounge so I have now started using the lounge for my meetings which makes it a bit more private and exclusive. I don't often use the bedrooms but the couple of times I did they were nice and quiet. Once I actually got a room with a private terrace..!

Thomas Hansen, Copenhagen,

I must say I do not agree with the review. I stayed in Hilton Paddington a few weeks ago and I thought the staff and the product was excellent. I spend a lot of time in London hotels and for a 4 star hotel Hilton Paddington is by far one of the best. It is true that the majority of staff are not English but I have yet to find a London hotel where that is the case so I find that comment very strange...

Dee Hennessy, London,

I fully agree with the comments about the Paddington Hilton but was offended by the correspondent´s cheap, xenophobic remark about the Welshman he met in the lift. The inference was very clear: a Welsh speaker would find himself on the same linguistic level as the hotel workers from Eastern Europe. Like the man in the lift I am a Welsh-speaking Wershman from Cardiff but I do speak four other languages as well and my command of English is probably quite as good as your journalist´s. Having taught languages in various parts of Europe I can confidently say that English-speaking students were the least motivated and least successful. How good is your journalist abroad?

TGSmith, Cardiff, UK

I haven`t stayed at the Paddington Hilton, but in the late `70`s I used to stay at the Great Western Royal Hotel when it was run, very efficiently, by British Transport Hotels - comfortable bedrooms; huge, deliciously-oldfashioned bathrooms; proper breakfasts with pots of marmalade on the white tablecloths - oh yes, its demise reduced the quality of life. As for getting a taxi: I once heard a gentleman call to the doorman: "Can you get me a taxi, please?" and disappeared into the gents. When he reappeared a few moments later there was a taxi waiting for him. The service was good and unobtrusive, conducted by no-nonsense London working-class men who were traditional in their approach and expected others to be as well. It suited me fine but such hotels have gone. There was no Paddington Bear on display at the Great Western Royal!

Julian G Shurgold, Sutton, London, England.