“A satisfied customer is the best business strategy of all”

We at Rafayel endeavour to make each guest experience the most satisfying one, not just in offering quality and luxury at the best value, but treating them with the warmest hospitality and courtesy.   Michael Leboeuf, an American business author and former management professor at the University of New Orleans, says it best “Every company's greatest assets are its customers, because without customers there is no company.” 

We are proud to see our efforts manifest into such feedback from our valuable guests:

 

“Fantastic Hotel...Fantastic Service...Fantastic Weekend”

Reviewed October 30, 2011 NEW

       

My stay at this hotel was brilliant. I went along with my girlfriend as it was a surprise 21st birthday present. I come on trip advisor before i went and i was a little concerned as my girlfriend loves beautiful hotels and i wanted it to be perfect for her but there was a couple of comments i read stating it wasnt a 5 star hotel.... i was so wrong! This hotel was perfect. I emailed the manager before i went to explain my concerns and when i got to the hotel he had upgraded our room and all the staff was so friendly. The rooms are beautiful and very modern. Theres not a bad comment i can say about this hotel as it was perfect. i stayed for a weekend and i must say it was one of the best weekends i have ever had...all because of the hotel and the staff. I love this place and will be back and i cannot wait. This hotel is a must for people who have not yet been. Thanks for the amazing stay!

“Happy Weekenders”

Reviewed October 28, 2011 NEW

My husband and I stayed here for a long weekend October 2011 and loved every minute of it. The staff were very pleasant and helpful and the room was stunningly modern and luxurious. The location of the restaurant was simply lovely overlooking The Thames and the food was delicious especially the Moroccan stew! There was enough guests milling around to give it a real buzz without it feeling in any way over-crowded. We shall definitely be back next year.

Room Tip: Ours overlooked the courtyard but still very nice. Had both blinds and curtains which were easy to access/ open/shut etc

“Lovely hotel and a decent price”

Reviewed October 28, 2011 NEW

We stayed here last year for a week and were amazed at the decent price! The hotel has a lovely bar that overlooks the river and you can sip champagne whilst watching the rich and famous land in their helicopters next door. The transport from the hotel to the City Centre is really good - much better than we expected and the hotel runs complimentary taxis to Clapham Junction and Clapham north at all hours of the day! The bedrooms were lovely, quite big if I remember rightly and you can choose to have the TV playing the sound in the bathroom, which is nice. The mini bar is well stocked and the spa is lovely. I'd definitely recommend this for a week or weekend in London.

“Perfect stay at a perfect hotel!”

Reviewed October 27, 2011 NEW

I recently stopped at this fabulous hotel with my boyfriend, and it could not have been any more perfect!

It's location is great! It's just far enough away from all the hype and bustle in the centre, but still close enough if you want to get there quickly! The hotel even offers a free shuttle service to the nearest tube station to help you get about easier!

The hotel has a gorgeous view of the Thames- and with being situated right next to the london helipad... it's great to watch the hellicopters land whilst gazing over the waters!

The hotel is stylish and full of modern art, and all the rooms are beautifully designed with lots of modern features. When I first walked into our room all i can remember doing is stopping, staring and continuously saying: "It's so beautiful!!"

Unfortunately we didn't get much chance to enjoy the restaurant, but the breakfast we ate there was fantastic!

The bar was extremely classy and stylish, and the barmen made some fabulous cocktails for us! Although the list is quite large already, i would still love to have some more cocktails to try and choose from!

All staff in the hotel are friendly, welcoming, very proffesional and they always do everything they can to help.

More than anything else I'm so impressed with the value of this hotel! For standard people- paying for a weekend away in a 5 star hotel can become extremely expensive- but the Rafayel proves that it's possible to get 5 star luxury at an affordable price!

Unlike some other reviews listed, I can find no faults what so ever with this hotel, and would happily reccomend it to anyone!

We're hoping to return to the Rafayel in December ...and I cannot wait!

“Great Anniversary Stay”

Reviewed October 27, 2011 NEW

We have just got back from a one night stay in the Rafayel Hotel. What a great hotel. We were offered a complimentary upgrade on arrival had a had the most stunning Thames facing suite. The room was so lovely, we did not even want to leave in the evening for our planned theatre show. How many places have a TV over bath!! We had a lovely dinner in the restaurant and the 50% off deal if you stay in the hotel is great and the food and service was tops. The cocktail bar man was great to chat to and make us feel very welcome and we had a laugh with him whilst sipping very tasty cocktails. Erol the security guard took us on the roof of the hotel to see the view of London, stunning. We briefly met the manager of the hotel and he was also very friendly and engaging. We can not fault anything with our stay and are already looking at dates to go back. The location is great, very good value for money, the free transport to and from the station is very handy, the views spot on and the staff are very friendly. If you get the chance stay here.

Richer layers of icing on the cake…

“A Hidden Gem!”

Reviewed October 26, 2011 NEW

It was by pure chance we found ourselves staying here. We decided to drive into London because their was a minimal charge to park the car. On arrival someone met us and parked the car for us. We were informed that the hotel had given us a complimentary upgrade, which is always nice to here. The hotel has a small reception area and it does have have a contemporary arty feel. It is positioned on the Thames and its restaurant commands spectacular views over the river. The hotel communal areas have outstanding floral displays and very inviting sofas to lounge in. The rooms are the largest suites that have ever stayed in, hallways, dining room, study area, lounge areas, but the bathrooms are out of this world and certainly have the wow factor!
I was worried that we would have trouble getting in and out of London, but no need to worry the Hotel drives you to and from the tube station. They couldn't be more helpful.

The hotel also boasts a spa, which is small but beautifully formed for a weekend stay. This hotel is the perfect place to meet up with friends and such great value.

“Incredible value”

Reviewed October 26, 2011 NEW

My partner and I have just completed our second stay at Rafayel. I have to say that the hotel represents absolutely incredible value for money in London. The restaurant is first class with the slow cooked lamb being one of the many stand outs. On top of that you get 50% off your meal if you are staying in the hotel; amazing value. The rooms are beautifully laid out and decorated and the staff are incredibly helpful. Have stayed there twice and on both occasions the manager/owner Iqbal Latif made a point of asking us whether everything was to our satisfaction. Just a great hotel.

“BEST VIEWS IN LONDON”

Reviewed October 25, 2011 NEW

we booked the hotel 4 months in advance just for one night and mentioned we are celebrating an anniversary. check in was very smooth and the receptionist was very helpfull and showed us to our room which was absolutely amazing. we booked a full themes view room. the views were so breathtaking i didn't wanna go to sleep! also, there were chocolates and even a happy anniversary card singed by the staff with loads of x's on it :-))) how lovely !
the breakfast was very nice . full continental and english buffet.
hope to comeback again !!

“Great find”

Reviewed October 25, 2011 NEW 

 very good size room and comfortable bed, the bathroom is nice and i love the rain shower here, the pressure is just right. Bus stop right out side of hotel which will take you to Victoria station in 20 min. A very nice place i would recommend to anybody that dose not want to stay in the heart of London.

 “An absolutely fantastic hotel, utterly flawless!”

Reviewed October 24, 2011 NEW

The hotel Rafayel completely made our weekend away, I would even go as far to say that it deserves more than a 5 star rating!

We found the hotel via the internet and were instantly struck by its striking design and features, which proved to be even more striking upon arrival. All areas incorporate modern styling, including fixtures, fittings and furnishings which are all of exceptional quality. All hotel areas were immaculate, the bedding felt as if we were the first people to use it and the carpets felt as good as the day they were fitted.

We encountered the most professional and courteous service from all the hotel staff. The staff on reception especially could not do enough to help us, contrary to other reviews I have read.

The hotel has its own spar, which we received a discount voucher for when we checked in. Sadly, we only stopped for one night and did not get chance to use this fabulous facility. The restaurant and bar are stunning! The service was fantastic and the food was first rate. We had the full english breakfast which had plenty of variety and was self service, so quantity was not a problem! And what could be better than having breakfast whilst watching a helicopter land, as the hotel is right next to the London heliport.

We checked out of our room at 11am but were not leaving London until later that evening. The staff had no problem with securely looking after our luggage until we were ready to depart. They also have a complimentary shuttle service to Clapham Common station which is available every half hour with a professional driver in some very nice vehicles.

The hotel gives its guests so much for such a small price in comparison to other luxury London hotels, I find it so hard to understand how people can fault it. I will not stop in any other London hotel ever again and have already recommended the Rafayel to friends and family.

“super superb”

Reviewed October 21, 2011 NEW 

 what a find
excellent hotel
service and setting stunning
forget other hotels head SOUTH and CHECK IN

“Taz Sharif Outstanding service of excellence”

Reviewed October 21, 2011 NEW

I stayed at the Rafayel hotel room 114 yesterday 20th October 2011. I was taken back by the impressive lobby outlay with warm greeting by staff, Polite, kind ready to assist. The food was great and reasonably priced. The paintings and statue were colourful and my room was clean not even a spec of dust. The hotel views are just breath taking over looking the thames with peace and tranquality. I will be coming again as well as informing my friends coleagues and business associates.

I have travelled internationally to many hotels and this hotel by far exceeded my expectations. Keep up the great work looking forward to another stay

Room Tip: Add your requests and requirements before hand even if you have a special diet or a non smoking room and during your stay will be amazed

Do you know you are a genius? You are born to fly, why are you crawling?

At Rafayel, we believe everyone is a whiz kid.  We convey the best in every one and we get the best out of everyone. We empower our youngest and the rawest to tread the deep end.  We are known for our flourish and exemplary set of young people who set new standards. That is how we achieve them by giving them a road map of forward thinking. 

You want to be something, be something, it starts with you: A renaissance man is a man that has a wide-angle view of life; a renaissance man will use the internet as a tool for expanding knowledge and intensifying advances to decode our existence.

A small step is what unlocks our great potential.  I see them all around; I always encourage those who want to unlock that low self-esteem, and to rediscover that a Steve Jobs is within them.  There is one “hungry and foolish” Steve Jobs in every one of us.  Just discover it to its true potential. That is the true pre-occupation that we are missing here.  Don't be envious of those better than us; why not unchain our own hidden mysteries and become like them. We have in us the prospective and probable talent.  It is just that we have not yet discovered the door to our garage.

Rigorous self and mind training: A minimum of 90 minutes a day to seed your mental garden! Your mind is your biggest treasure, we all leave and move on but what we leave behind is our thoughts and our actions.

Training of our minds is as essential as daily physical exercise. It must be done day after day, frequently, and order is desirable. Try every day, think something and reflect on what others have written about just five minutes, try to improve your level of thinking and try to analyze and synthesize your living. Break the routine of your life, the easiest is to change the pattern of your thinking; if you have no time and you live a scheduled life, time will fly. It is the routine that needs to be broken down.  Find new styles of doing things.

At a fixed time, at your work place, find time for yourself.  Just five minutes of self-contemplation, avoid monosyllables and try to think coherently and cogently, create ideas and write them down. It will initially be difficult but the hidden genius in you will roar out. The mountain will roar and the lion inside will be released. Think and contemplate, think what change you want to bring into your routine, be positive, implement the positive strategy and keep running the schedule. Perfect discipline doesn't come right away; it takes a little time to have the body and mind adjust.

Do you have a mentor, a mentor who is your role model? A Mentor should epitomize success and success is not about money but intellect; success of ideas leads to material affluence and your ability to share that. Material affluence is meaningless if sharing is absent.

Mind and body need contrasting medicines – one is food of thought, and the other, material success, both interdependent and only achievable if pursued in tandem.

The mental blend you want to learn is from the likes of Stephen Hawking, Einstein, Bertrand Russell, Plato, Dalai Lama, or Mandela. Make one of them your role model. Learn from greats and not from mediocrates. The blend for success in life will come from the likes of Branson, Jobs, Gates; the perfection would be the assortment of the aptitude of the former and material successes of the later.

Rarity of success to achieve high accomplishments is the biggest mental block; but if you aim high enough you end up fairly elevated. You have to careful; don't burn like the Icarus, to aim so high that you end up in a zone where your wings melt.  Self-realization of capacity and limitation is an art; you will become skilled at as you decipher life.

If you are not being opposed and you are the most likable person, something is amiss.  The initial signs of intelligence and genius in you will be that you will be opposed by the mediocrates as soon as the change will become visible.  It needs opposing air to lift a plane with all its engine muscle; in vacuum a plane cannot fly.

Even if you are smart, intelligent and productive, you need hostility, rudeness and antagonism to make you thirsty enough to cross the desert.  Going over the hurdle is one of the most difficult problems, that is how you break from the chains of mediocrity but it will not happen if the genius is not original and threatening the status quo. Not everyone is asked to drink hemlock or be burnt at the stake.  Create that opposition; thrive in it, don't live in your comfort zone. Most of us do.

Read and learn: What we put into our minds is what we get out of our experience. When you turn on the tap on one end, eventually, water flows out the other end; you need input for a synthesized output. Submerge in the experiences of the others, use 'global death of distance' to your advantage. The best source is the biographies or autobiographies of people who have excelled in life.

Self-reflection time: You and your inner voice need to have a discussion.  Most of the time that is what 'Introspection time' is essentially all about. You need to reaffirm to your own self that this is the new direction in which you wish to move. You replace the aged mindset with a vigorous new mindset. Self-talk is not about hearing voices in your head but essential rediscovery of yourself.

"Exceeding expectations" epitomized

We at Hotel Rafayel continue to strive for excellence in hospitality and customer service.  Guest satisfaction is our ultimate goal and reviews such as these are our rewards:

"We all had a marvellous time at your superb hotel overlooking the Thames in Battersea near the Heliport which is also very exciting should a helicopter land while you are dining. My 70th birthday was a tremendous success and this was because of your hotel, it's convenient location with good parking facilities and of course your superb staff and kitchen who were excellent.

At 8pm we started with champagne reception on 3rd floor in a wonderfully decorated large ballroom with large balcony, if needed, overlooking the Thames. Compliments to the Chefs, the Canapés were delicious. The feedback from all my guests (75) has been more than positive they all loved every minute of my party and none had known about your hotel before and many have said they will go again! We had found out about your hotel via 'good places to eat' near where we live in Belgravia, via the Internet. We have had dinner in your excellent restaurant several times before always a great pleasure, the food and service terrific, in addition our waiter at that time performed some clever magic at the table which we enjoyed!

So back to party, now you understand how we knew about ' Hotel Rafayel on the left bank'.(please note you need a bigger advertising sign outside, it is too small and your Hotel is worth a much larger well lit sign!).  After champagne and Canapés we went to our designated tables for a choice of 2 menus. I chose crab salad and fish and chips all delicious (as it was my birthday I chose the menu long before the party as I had been to your restaurant and sampled many dishes before!!). For dessert I chose lemon merangue pie with ice cream.

During dinner we were entertained by a magician whom we had arranged and later after dinner he gave us a fabulous performance including doves and rabbit. The party room and tables and decorations were breathtaking and also the lighting and sound system for our pianist during dinner. Later we had a disco and dancing. The party ended at about 2am. Before some of the guests went home, we had some drinks at the bar in the foyer at 2am because no one wanted the party to end! The hotel staff at that time of night could not have been nicer or more polite and helpful.

Many guests decided to stay the night in your Hotel at a special birthday price given especially for my guests. The rooms are lovely, this is a brand new hotel, for those who do not know, only 3 yrs old, and the large well furnished bedrooms are large and really delightful with very modern bathrooms like in Hollywood movies. I was back on Sunday morning(we live nearby) and those guests who stayed the night all said 'well done, we had a superb time and this hotel is a real find'. Breakfast very good as well.

Many thanks Chris to ALL of you and especially to kitchen staff for providing such excellent food. Also my birthday cake plus candles was supreme, also many thanks to your owner who has always been charming, nothing was too much trouble for your charming and well mannered staff.

We made the best choice by coming to to you in Battersea. Thanks to all and everyone of you. You are all highly recommended by me. I am by profession a cancer specialist and have been all over the world staying at many excellent hotels. You are up there with the best."

What best describes “value for money?”

 

“Value for money” may be a clichéd expression, but it never rings truer than at Rafayel.  Not just a place for leisure or pleasure, our hotel is the perfect place if you are here on short or long business stay.   Rafayel is a complete package, with spacious and beautifully designed rooms, equipped with state-of-the-art intelligent technology, free WiFi, quiet library areas, teeming cigar and shisha lounge on the rooftop terrace, a fully equipped gym, a fantastic spa, and not to forget our famous Banyan on the Thames restaurant that offers a cuisine to delight your senses or our Crystal Bar that mixes some mean never-to-forget cocktails.  Icing on the cake: 50% guest discount at the restaurant and our River Wellbeing Spa.  “Value for money” just can’t get better than this!

The “Rafayel experience” is well summed in this review posted by one of our guests:

 AMAZING HOTEL, ESPECIALLY FOR A LONG BUSINESS STAY

I booked Rafayel for 10 nights while on research trip for work at Kew Gardens and the British Library. The experience from the start was amazing. I was picked up at Clapham Junction with the free shuttle service. I was then escorted to my Amazon Suite room, which is absolutely gigantic. It has touch temperature control, a huge hallway leading to the main room, a large desk, sofa and coffee table. The bathroom was huge as well, the shower enormous. The one issue I had was the water, while hot, was not hot hot. Also, the shower nozzle in my room was hard to turn at times, but this is a minor issue, the main point is that bathroom was HUGE. Bigger than mine at home!! The bed is extremely comfy, and I had a 32 inch flat screen at the foot of the bed, and with a great selection of channels. Huge windows also (although I did not have river view ;-(....Overall, the Amazon Suite is a stunner at the price....another hotel in central London...over £400 easy...which is funny, because its pretty easy to get to central London as the bus number 170 to Victoria runs directly outside the hotel, so it very easy to get to either Clapham Junction, or just straight in to central London on the 170...

Now, this is not all...the hotel had so much more...I am a gym rat, and wanted a hotel with a gym,,,don't be fooled by the limited pics of the gym, its good size, and has all the equipment for a good solid workout. It has a dumbell set up to 20kg, it has a cable machine! and plenty of nice, high grade cardio and nautilus equipment...I love my lifting, and while I could not do squats, bench or deadlift, I still got a good workout....also, it was nice to take a run along the Thames when the weather was nice...Now, after the workout, I hit the Sauna, then Steamroom, and polished it off with the Hot Tub!! Now that is quality...and after I headed back up to my enormous room. Awesome!

Now comes the food. Hotel guests are offered 50% off for dinner if you get a starter and a main...the food is fantastic! Real quality, nicely prepared, and for one person, after the discount, was never more that £20, even when I had the filet mignon with a crab/shrimp starter. The breakfast is good too. Nice selection, and always the full monty on offer....but I am on a strict diet, and still had good option of wholewheat bread, cheese, cold cuts, fruits etc. Coffee is also good!

However, what makes the Rafayel really fantastic, above and beyond all this: the STAFF!! The staff were ALL nice and helpful, always ready with a smile, and nothing was too much to ask. The drives, Iain and Ali were amazing blokes. When I was waiting in line to speak to reception about getting some extra coffee 'sticks' for my room in the morning (I like two cup while I wake up, before breakfast) he came over, asked me what I needed, and then he went upstairs and actually got it from housekeeping himself, and he is the DRIVER!! He went out of his way to do something completely unrelated to his job. That is called service.

Overall, the hotel is in good shape, the rooms and facilites are top notch, as is the food and service. And all for very cheap..ridiculously so....if you're on a long stay in London, and aren't bothered by an extra 20mins to get to central London, and can't spend £400-500 a night for luxury, than this is for. It truly is affordable luxury...whenever I am back in London, I'm always, without question, staying at Rafayel, its that good...Hope this helps fellow travellers!!

Room Tip: Amazon Suite, is sweet!