The Royal Foundation of St Katharine

9.0

Wonderful

635 Guest reviews

9.0

Wonderful

635 Verified Reviews

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Cleanliness9.4/10

Service9.2/10

Comfort8.6/10

Condition8.8/10

location8.8/10

Neighborhood7.6/10

Value9.0/10

Amenities8.4/10

Interesting historical place to stay, and very good value for money for London! The bed was comfortable and I slept very well, also thanks to the quiet atmosphere. The free breakfast was tasty, with different options available. The DLR station was nearby, with national trains as well. Would stay here again!

Great Stay

Stayed as we were attending a show at the Troxy, a 4 minute walk away. Conveniently close to Limehouse station. The room was great with an extremely comfortable bed. No noise at night is a bonus. Breakfast was buffet style with plenty to choose from. The staff were excellent and happy to give directions. Even raising an eye when we informed them the street signposts are spelt wrong (they have Cath(E)rine). Would highly recommend.

Unclean

The standard of cleanliness was abominable. Black mould everywhere in the bathroom. A layer of dust in the room.

Nice but a little noisy

Only thing was , being near a railway it was quite noisy. Ok for me as I wasn’t there much, just for a nearby concert for one night .

Awesome visit

Amazing place clean quiet and tranquil. Excellent room clean and comfortable and well maintained. I’ll be going back asap

Mold mold and more mold!

Mold everywhere! Made me sick! Ruining rest of my trip because it made me sick. Would have gone to another hotel it was so bad but due to Christmas it was impossible last minute. I felt so gross even after showers. Got to next destination and had an hour long HOT shower. I complained about the mold and they said they would clean it AFTER we left!

Wonderful stay

Amazing tranquil hotel, peaceful, well maintained. Great service from all staff. Reasonable prices. Definitely will be staying again.

Nice hotel with very helpful staff.

Booked a 1 night stay at this hotel but my appointment in London was poatponed to the following day. The hotel didnt have any available rooms for the following day and despite being contacted directly by an Expedia representative would not even consider a refund for the room. I wont be booking this place next time I am in London.

Good for wheelchair users.

As a mobile wheelchair user, I found the hotel room was perfect for my needs. The staff was wonderful, too.

The 2nd time I have stayed here and hope to be back next year for Remembrance Sunday.

Except for one receptionist most were indifferent and did not say hello or engage. We were not given breakfast times or check out information on arrival. The first room we had was very noisy. Although double glazed the windows have vents which let in a lot of road noise, Rotherhithe tunnel traffic. On speaking to reception and explaining the situation regarding noise we were told, well you did book a standard room, like it was our fault! We paid an extra £40 to upgrade to a garden room which was much better. Breakfast was great, lots of choice and fresh produce. Communal areas were lovely to sit in and relax in. The DLR is very convenient for getting about and The Grapes pub is very close and well worth a visit.

Absolutely loved this place

Basic

Very basic room. No tv, bed was ok. Not entirely what I would call comfortable.

Room was clean but minimal but neighborhood made us feel a bit unsafe

Tranquil

We had a great 4 night stay at The Royal Foundation of St. Katharine. The public facing spaces are lovely, comfortable and nice places to spend time. The sitting areas are welcoming, the courtyard is peaceful, and the breakfast was a great way to start the day. The Yurt Cafe was a great addition to our stay. Perfect place to grab a bite to eat after a busy day, sit outside, and end enjoy the outdoors. We encountered two of the priests during our stay and they were very friendly and welcoming. We would certainly recommend this property to others looking for a spot out of the normal busy scene with a relaxing atmosphere.

Close to DLR. Very good breakfast

This FAR exceeded my expectations. Will be back again.

This place is a great little place to stay. It is a 2 minute walk from the Limehouse tube station, making this PERFECT to get anywhere in London! The Yurt Cafe on-site has delicious food too (the English Breakfast and the Yurtarita Pizza were great). The staff is helpful. You can drop off your luggage in their coat-check closet if you get there earlier than check-in AND they let you check-in as soon as your room is ready (don't make you wait). There are some great little pubs and restaurants not far from here too. OVERALL: Great place to stay and I WILL stay here again!

The place was lovely and great customer service. The only thing I was annoyed with is noisy from outside

Very interesting and good looking place. Very comfortable and quiet

We’ve used St Katherine’s before and found it very peaceful - especially the chapel, and this time was even better as we were more familiar with the place. It’s very convenient for the DLR and this time we spent a lot of our time around Greenwich which was just a few stops down the DLR. it’s only a couple of stops up to the connection with the underground as well for going West. Breakfast is superb, a wide selection, well presented and the staff are very friendly and helpful Rooms are clean and have larger beds, which restricts the usable space in the smaller rooms, but there is still enough room to be functional. Showers work well We ate at the Yurt cafe this time - they stay open late on Thursday, Friday and Saturdays and the pizza was first class. Sitting in the grounds on a sunny day is very peaceful We went by train this time, though we noticed there is now a charge for parking, but there’s plenty of available space. Also electric car charge points at a reasonable rate. A great place to stay

East London Oasis

A place of calm in the bustle of the East End. Nothing fancy but sensibly priced and close to DLR. Breakfast good, bed comfortable and shower great.

Comfortable and quiet.

A nice place, but if you expect a TV in your room like most other accommodation, you’ll be disappointed.

Breakfast is so fresh and variety choice. Subway is only 2 minutes away. Front desk is very helpful on 7/21 Sunday morning to get taxi for us, really appreciated.

Great place

The staff was very friendly.

Wonderful place to stay for peace & quiet. Convenient to the DLR station and a great breakfast offering.

This was a wonderful find. The Royal Foundation of St. Katharine is a very special place with a fascinating long history. Built round a garden courtyard, it is used as a retreat centre, but also offers very comfortable accommodation to all visitors. The staff were extremely kind and welcoming, and the whole place has a lovely atmosphere. By London standards, it is also very good value. The immediate neighbourhood has some tatty areas, but is conveniently close to Limehouse Station and to pleasant walks by the Thames. The breakfasts were wonderful, and we thoroughly enjoyed our stay, and hope to return.

Urban oasis! Love the mission and vision of the foundation. The Yurt Cafe is great too! Convenient to the DLR and C2C railway stations

An Oasis

A very peaceful place to stay in the heart of the busy East End. Very comfortable bed, room overlooking a large courtyard garden with mature trees. Excellent hot and cold buffet breakfast, no bar but alcohol available at reception or room service. I'd stay again.

It really is an Oasis in the East End. I think the RFSK should explain the parking at the RFSK better, it cost £36 to park for just over 24 hours, a bit of a shock. I would like to thank the staff for arranging a takeaway breakfast for 6:30 in the morning, absolute life saver as doing Ride London. My wife said her breakfast was great.

A wonderful hideaway from the city

Lovely staff ready to help with any questions. It really does offer a space to breath in such a busy city. Yurt cafe is reasonable and the pizza amazing not withstanding the discount for being a customer of the hotel.

I had a smallish single room. Very basic amenities. The place itself rather beautiful. Convenient if you're working at the docklands area.

Far away from Heathrow and not tourist friendly

No AC. Had to keep the windows open to sleep. Front desk is rarely available as they are busy with several community meetings. Rooms are good but ill maintained. Breakfast is decent. Can not provide much info about the London areas. Unable to call a taxi in the morning except a company is there that accepts cash only!!! Far away from the Heathrow airport. Taxi may cost £150+.

The retreat centre has a chapel, beautiful courtyard and many quiet spaces for small group gatherings or conversations. The breakfast food was fresh and delicious.

Relaxing

Its loud outside. The road is very busy. Weve stayed before ,you need earplugs.

Great oasis of peace with convenient links from Limehouse DLR into central London. A lovely place to go for a retreat, prayer or coffee/lunch at the Yurt Cafe. Unfortunately, they have started to apply daily charges (£15) for car parking, which is disappointing and the parking app over-charged for 1.5 days (reception manually resolved issue). I will be back!

Great place for a quiet night in East London. Very convenient for Tower Gateway and lines into the city from there. Don’t choose if you want a full hotel with a bar and spa.

A lovely place. Quiet, calm, great continental breakfast. The only thing missing was a tv in the room

Beautiful place to stay, great breakfast in the morning. There was scaffolding outside my window so not very picturesque and wasn’t aware of this when I checked in. Otherwise a lovely place and I would stay again.

Well situated and very efficiently run hotel

Friendly, warm welcome on arrival. Lady on reception explained everything and showed us where breakfast would be. Room was very warm when we entered but we turned the radiators down so it was. Abetter temperature by bedtime. Room bright and clean. Well equipped and comfy bed. Pillows were quite flat though. Only complaint on room 28- I think we were below the main water tank/boiler as the sound of running water pipes was constant throughout the night. Not enough to prevent falling asleep but noticeable when you did wake. Slight sound of outside (trains and traffic) but again not enough to prevent sleep. Breakfast was well catered, several staff were constantly refilling items and cleaning plates etc away. Had separate gluten free options (& toaster) as well as having different types of milk. Fresh juices were lovely. Meats/cheese, fresh fruits, cereals, pastries and bread in abundance to help yourself. Well located a few minutes from Limehouse C2C and DLR station, also a pleasant walk along the Thames path up to Tower Bridge.

This is the third time i have stayed here. Check in has always been very straight forward and flexiable. Rooms are simple but clean and comfortable. There is no television or radio in the rooms which makes it quiet and relaxing after the hustle and bustle of going round London. The Continental breakfast is very good.

Cosy

Great location just a few steps from Limehouse station. The room was on the small side and with the window open you could hear the boy racers trying out their exhausts as they entered the nearby Rotherhithe tunnel and Limehouse Link tunnel. Nice little cold buffet breakfast.

Oasis of calm in Limehouse

Lovely location that has a very calming and unique feel to it. Breakfast spread also super impressive and the staff were very friendly and welcoming. Rooms also well above average in size for London!

The RFSK can be used simply as an affordable (London prices) hotel which is how we used it. We had the hedonistic motivation of a gig at the Troxy - a wonderful art deco venue (ex cinema presumably) just five or ten minutes away. However, it also provides a valuable community and spiritual hub. The buildings surround a large lawned area, with a carpet of snowdrops when we were there, and there are plenty of seating areas within the buildings to allow comfortable relaxation and reflection looking onto the gardens. There is a place of worship / church on site - we didn't see inside as we didn't want to disturb the ongoing activities but we could see an organ through the windows and it had views onto the green space. There are many meeting rooms available it seems and we saw various activities taking place which we presumed were of a spiritual nature. RFSK is also responsible for the Yurt Cafe which is nestled between RFSK and Limehouse DLR stop and provides a shortcut route when open. The cafe itself is wonderful with a creative space for children and dreamcatchers, feathers and the like. The food was great, full english breakfast was nicely presented and great paninis. The RFSK provides an extensive and fresh continental breakfast. It's worth noting that the room didn't have a TV - unusual for hotels but we never use the TV in hotel rooms. Also, it is amazing how fond of using their car horns are drivers in the area - maybe that's just London traffic...

Really impressed with the peacefulness and lovely atmosphere. Beds were very comfortable. Bathroom and room clean No TV but that did not bother me.

N/A

I enjoyed the stay. The room was clean and the staff was great. The Yurt Cafe outside the hotel was really nice and cozy.

A little gem in the East End. I was in Central London within 45 mins on public transport. The rooms are large, clean and inexpensive. £15 overnight parking of which there was plenty. Bear in mind if you are a light sleeper that the location is right beside both C2C and DLR tracks and there is only single glazing. I left too early to try the included breakfast The concierge was incredibly welcoming and helpful.

Great stay. Good location, fabulous breakfast

Was easy to get tube into centre as tube station 2 minute walk and two stops from Bank station. Peaceful area, friendly staff and very nice room. Good quality buffet continental breakfast too. Would stay again.

A delightful stay

Delightful overnight stay and within minutes to Limehouse Station. A welcoming peaceful atmosphere with a beautiful garden to look out at when eating breakfast. Very good choices available for the breakfast buffet including gluten free. Very pleased to discover the role in the community St Katherine's have, it is somewhere I would wish to return to.

Our stay was for 4 nights in a two-bedroom flat. It was a very good value for the price and very convenient to the train stop in central London. There was a nice selection of restaurants within walking distance as well. The only downside is that housekeeping knocks on your door at 8 am and the flats do not have a nice garden view but instead look out at the parking lot/train tracks.

This is a lovely place to stay. I have done so several times over last couple years. Great location in Limehouse with easy access to central London. St Kaths is a retreat, so don't arrive expecting 4* & TV in the room. One disappointment is that St Kaths has started charging for car parking. Good buffet breakfast. Hearterly recommended. I'll go again soon.

From the moment I walked in I felt valued. Staff, food and facilities help to make this a peaceful experience. Will visit again.

Heavenly Stay

It seemed a curious place to stay initially but once we were checked in and in our room it was surprisingly good. The bedroom was small but very clean and complete with all the standard equipment like kettle, tea bags etc. The bathroom was spacious, clean with a good hot shower. Apart from fireworks being let off nearby it was a very peaceful place and we got a good nights sleep. I'm not normally a fan of continental breakfasts but the one at St Katharine's was exceptionally good with a great range of items to choose from. St Katharine's is a 5 minute walk from Limehouse DLR station so great for public transport access. It also has a sizeable car park so driving here is always an option.

Quiet and peaceful place in a busy city

The staff were very welcoming, helpful and friendly. A very tranquil place to stay in a very busy city.

Good for the price. Is clean, confortable and the staff is very nice. However is a bit far for a person visiting London.

Reception : gracious, competent, efficient, genuine. Thank you! Comfortable single bed and bedroom, good breakfast choice.

Excellent accommodation in a uniquely peaceful environment

The main check in person was not friendly. My bathroom sink would not drain. Got no sleep because of loud car traffic noise. Tried to nap and they did a fire alarm test without letting me know and seemed to think it was funny. This place advertises personal peace retreats; very ironic. The foundation is in an area that seem very unsafe after dark; so even though it is near a subway stop you have to use Uber or taxi at night.

Hotel very dated

Superior King room was very small. Hotel and room very dated. Bathroom shower was hanging off the wall and shower head not adjustable. Ok if you are 4 feet tall. Mould and shower leaked due to damaged seal around door. Breakfast advertised as included, but was only Continental. Not worth the money we paid.

Fairly basic but clean

Location is good, right next to Limehouse station. The room was basic but clean.

Very friendly helpful reception staff

Peaceful haven

A real find. Very clean. Loads of communal space. A complete haven with great gardens. Great breakfast friendly staff. Parking, and lift. Superb value for money

Basic accommodation No air con

A hidden gem

A beautiful tranquil spot in the middle of London. The Royal Foundation of St Katharine was perfectly situated close to transport links, rooms were well appointed and comfortable and the great choice at breakfast was a bonus! Plus there was the lovely garden to relax in, along with elegant sitting areas for all residents to use. A gem!

Lovely

Lovely place, sanctuary in the city, you wouldn't think you are where you are. Big comfy bed. Breakfast was fantastic. No TV but actually made a change. Ask for garden view its lovely watching the squirrels and birds, a little haven

We just got back from a wonderful week stay in a two bedroom suite at St. Katherine’s. It was wonderful- clean, spacious, peaceful. The breakfast was great- a lot of options, a special gluten free area, and allergens clearly marked. The hotel is one block from the Limehouse station which was so convenient.

Beautiful place to stay

Lovely atmosphere, very calming and room was comfortable with air con, fans, extra heaters and blankets so you're set not matter them temperature. Central garden space is lovely to relax in and is right next to a tube stop so easy access to the rest of London. At the price its a steal.

It is a haven of peace.

Good stay, next to DLR

Clean, comfortable accommodation with decent continental breakfast included.

Emma G

A perfect stay. Lovely, helpful staff. Super comfortable beds. Will definitely be back.

Clean, modern and ideal for a night or two

Very convenient literally 1 minute from Limehouse station, very clean, quiet and all the facilities you need. The staff were polite and helpful too. Didn't try the food but would recommend if you simply need a quiet clean room for a night or two.

Lovely hotel

Staff were very welcoming. Lovely peaceful hotel very relaxing. Breakfast was really good lots of choice.

A wonderful place to stay close to central London. I went fo an overnight stay and loved it. Cleaner than I would have expected.

We stayed here on a leisure trip, not a retreat, and expected at least an average hotel stay. The room was shabby and tired and tiny with no TV or radio. There wasn't even enough space for our single suitcase which we had to keep zipped up and upright in the bathroom !The bathroom was gross with sticky floors and a grubby shower cubicle that I refused to use. Not far from the DLR and free parking which were it's saving grace. Other than that, pretty horrible stay I'm afraid, sorry.

Absolutely gorgeous, staff could not have been more helpful

staff was very nice and going out of their way to help, nice breakfast, rooms are a bit on a small side, you can hear the traffic at night and corridors and some aspects od the property need updating.

Breakfast was excellent. Facility is well maintained and clean. Staff is friendly and very helpful.

Genuinely peaceful place in the central of a hectic city. Good brekkie. really enjoyed.

Lovely accommodation.

Lovely accommodation in a quiet area. The room we had was spacious and very clean with a huge king size bed. Bathroom was a good size as was the shower cubicle and plenty of hot water. Only small issue was the windows would not close properly. Breakfast was self service with lots of choice from cereals, fruit, meat and cheeses. Being very close to Limehouse station on the DLR made it easy to get into and out of the city or you could walk to Tower Bridge. There is no TV in the room but good wifi.

Worth seeking out

Love the site and its only half an hour from the Centre of London I've stayed a few times now and some rooms are better than others - those facing onto the main road can be noisy

Headspace to escape to while busy in London

This is an amazing haven. It feels like a retreat, but within easy reach of central London. The welcome is so friendly. It was wonderful that there are no TVs in the rooms. I will definitely be returning soon.

Peaceful spot in the heart of East London. Lovely welcome

It was so peaceful and my room was clean, warm and comfortable. The breakfast was really good too

Fantastic place to get rest after busy day in London. Room was really nice, breakfast delicious and the most important: incredible engagement of the hotel’s staff. Garden was beautiful and the surroundings was quiet. Definitely come back in the nearest future!

Brilliant stay

Amazing great staff very clean Thank you

Great location

The location was great 2 minutes from the DLR. The room for basic but comfortable. There was an electric heater left on in the room which when we opened the door the heat hit us. The breakfast was very nice. The room only had single glazing so was quite noisy. Overall good value for money.

Always my first choice to stay when in London. Guaranteed welcome, cleanliness, I rushed, quiet, excellent breakfast, warmth and politeness. Easy to access from DLR or bus.

Peaceful Setting with easy access to City

Very friendly staff and comfortable room. Breakfast was continental in style and self service. A couple of minutes walk to Limehouse DLR station with regular trains into the city.

It was close to the venue we visited but the footbridge crossing the thames was shut so we had a fair walk across london bridge and couldnt flag down a taxi late at night. The area was safe though and the place itself was lovely. Would recommend for this area.

Great for a one night stay

Stayed for a night with a friend whilst attending a local event. The staff were friendly, the room included all we required, and the stay came with the bonuses of parking and breakfast included. Would recommend.

A very peaceful place to stay - lovely garden. Quiet and calm. Outside is a bit edgy.

Lovely overnight stay, clean and spacious, quiet room and comfy beds

The reception staff was really nice:-)