Desalis Hotel London Stansted

I booked a deal including an overnight stay and parking while away on holiday. Reading the other reviews, I was very nervous before my teenage daughters and I stayed. In reality though, we all thought the hotel was lovely. I think that some people are entitled and have unreasonably high standards for a mid price hotel and think they should expect The Ritz and will leave negative reviews regardless. The older gentleman who checked me in was very sweet and helpful, as was the younger man I dealt with later on. We loved the mural paintings in the reception/ throughout the dining area and generally the whole look of the hotel. The room had beautiful furniture, and I’ve never really seen a room with nicer furniture, despite staying in a 5 star hotel two months ago. There was a double bed for my daughters to share and a single for myself, with bedding that was clean and comfortable. We ate in the restaurant and met another man who I believe was the chef. We were ordering food in for my autistic daughter as she wanted something that wasn’t on their menu. I told her we would order her food to be delivered later to eat in the room, but the chef heard and was lovely, telling us that she could eat it at the table with us. I’ve never been to a hotel where they allow that before and it was a nice touch. They were all so friendly and helpful and there was an overall homely feel about the place which just made us all feel very comfortable being there. It was quiet when we stayed, with just one other family in the dining area. As mentioned by another reviewer (who apparently thought it a bad thing), we got to meet a beautiful cat. The cat didn’t come near the dining tables though and it certainly wasn’t begging for food or jumping up at anyone. We loved seeing it, as it made the place feel even more like a family run hotel than a boring chain and the other family/their child seemed to like the cat too. I wouldn’t say the place is perfect, as nowhere is. There are some things that could do with some modernising (like the bath which was a bit shabby, but still clean) and I would say the room would benefit from a deep clean. I say deep clean because the skirting boards/tops of sockets were dusty and the bathroom floor grouting would benefit from scrubbing. However, the room itself is clean - the furniture, all surfaces you would touch, inside the bedside drawers, the beautiful mirror in the bathroom. It’s just the cleaning that doesn’t need doing every time that I mention. I loved the wooden floors in the bedroom as I always wonder at the cleanliness of carpets in hotels and feel uncomfortable with my shoes off, so this felt a lot cleaner. The room was fairly chilly when we arrived, but there was a heater in the wardrobe and within half an hour it was toasty. Our flight was very early so a family member we were going away with collected us and I therefore can't comment on the shuttle bus efficiency. I’m also not back yet, so can’t say any

The travel agent booked us in here for an overnight stay and airport parking. After reading other reviews we were really worried about staying here, and using the shuttle. However we were very pleasantly surprised. The room was spotless, we had a good parking space, a decent meal in the restaurant, and much to our relief the shuttle drop off to the airport and pickup were great. We would definitely stay again when flying from Stanstead. On a further note, I believe the person who made the last review was sitting behind us in the restaurant. There was definitely a mixup with their food, which was not good, but they were served by a polite foreign lady who was evidently new to the job, and they were so rude to her that we cringed! Maybe a civilised approach would have hot them a better result!

Upon arriving there was nowhere to park (although we had paid and booked for 10 nights parking!) Had to bump up a curb and block other people. Went into reception but no staff! Had to wait a good 10 minutes to find someone. Asked why we couldn't have a parking space only to be told they had overbooked and we can park where we can.... please bear in mind there is a notice stating 'park at your own risk!'. Told where our room was and to be honest it was like a hostel not a hotel - very basic - sheets were well worn and beds need replacing! Prior to arrival we opted for the 2 course meal for the evening - we were told to sit wherever we wanted and whenever we wanted. We decided to sit for our meal at 7pm. No waiting staff, no bar staff and no manager. I eventually managed to find a waitress who said 'what do you want!' - I replied a menu would be helpful. We then decided on our choices but yet again no staff were to be seen. I again managed to find the waitress I spoke with earlier and we all gave her our orders - she then stated quite angrily that we were to order our choices at the bar and NOT with her! Yep, you guessed it no BAR staff!!!! I could go on but we managed to order our meals eventually. 50 minutes later 2 meals arrived, not the starters but the main meals. We asked where the starters were and she just stormed off! Another meal arrived after we had finished ours and our friend didn't receive his at all. Again I found the waitress - she said it wasn't her fault and that the starters would be out in the next 30 minutes! Well these NEVER appeared neither did our friends dinner. We paid in advance for their 'shuttle' bus service. Going to the airport was no problem. We were told once we arrive back in the UK to call the number on the card and they would meet us at bus stop number 36. We did this only when calling no one picked up the phone. After 8 attempts the manager answered and said 'oh, the shuttle bus has a flat tyre, you will have to get a taxi'! Our friend is disabled and in a wheelchair so this wasn't straight forward to go back into the airport. Eventually, we arrived by taxi (£25 extra) back to the hotel to collect our car. We saw a lady that 'lives' at the hotel/hostel she said that the shuttle bus had been in the same spot all day and didn't have a flat tyre at all! Please also be aware that residents live at this hotel, not paying guests by DA victims etc. we spoke to one lady and she said that all they care about is the money, and the staff are rude - well she didn't need to tell us that! Save your money, do not book to stay here - it was cheaper then the usual hotels and now we know why to our costs.

The food in the restaurant was appalling. They allowed a cat in the restaurant. We booked the transport with them to drop us off at Stanstead airport and collect us. We asked what we should do once we return and we were told to phone the hotel on our return, once we arrived at Bay 36, which we did. I called the hotel on all there numbers and received an answerphone each time telling us to leave our contact details and someone would call us back. This did not happen. I kept calling and a man eventually answered the phone and told me from 6pm they did not do any collections and told me to call a taxi, which cost us £25! We were totally disappointed with the service supplied and will not use this hotel again!

This is an awful hotel. We were given the wrong room and had to change because there were not enough beds. We paid for airport parking and have received a parking fine. Roof is falling apart. A really unpleasant experience and recommend paying a little extra for a nicer stay.

We can’t think of anything positive to say about this hotel. Trouble first started when the TV decided pack up, had to call someone to get it going again (problem with the wiring). The room was grim, shoddy, scruffy, dirty. The furniture looked like it had come from a house clearance. There was a constant smell in the room, possibly from the plug-in’s in the hallway. No shelf in the bathroom, no hairdryer. Lack of towels and only one pillow each. Didn’t bother having a shower, wouldn’t have felt fresh afterwards! We had to remove the key card after every use of the bathroom, otherwise the extractor remained on constantly. The food was dreadful, very greasy, we didn’t finish it. Thank goodness we didn’t book breakfast. Couldn’t actually wait to leave. Will never return.

The worst hotel I ever ever stayed in. No parking, dirty rooms, staff who speak no English and worse of all an airport transfer that turned nearly an hr late and being early morning we could even get an user. We only just made our flight. I've ne er wrote a bad review but holiday extras really should remove this from their portfolio

Stayed overnight before our flight leaving the car whilst on holiday. The hotel has building work going on so lots of Harris Fencing and over flowing skip. We managed to get the last safest parking space as other's were either next to the loaded skip or outside rooms where building work was being done. There was only 1 member of staff working who after some language difficulties finally showed us our room. The room had plenty of space but looked nothing like the photos on the website. The bathroom was filthy so didn't even attempt a shower. The outside space is large but run down again nothing like the website photo's. We ate in the so called restaurant which had mismatched table's and again just the 1 member of staff. The food was nothing to write home about and very pricey. When we arrived backed we found that our car was a few inches of being blocked in as because of lack of space car's were parked behind us blocking the way out so after many attempts at back and forth we finally got the car out having to drive out the wrong way. I really don't know what would of happened if we couldn't get out as you take your key's with you. Yes the price of the 1 night stay was cheap but that doesn't mean it's ok to have dirty bathrooms and look like it's completely run down.

I received a fine of £110 do you know what for? For driving onto their property, dropping off bags and checking in, only to then leave the kids there to take the car back to the rental and return in an Uber, all in 14 minutes. Let's leave aside the fact of the uncomfortable bed, the fact that there were no pillows and blankets requested several times by the staff and never brought, the fact that someone had tried to enter the room in the middle of the night and scared the children to death, I was literally scammed. What's even funnier is that I can't appeal this because the car rental company has already paid the fine. If this isn't a scam...