Paddington Reviews Summary

Category: Train station London

Address: Praed St, London, W2 1HU, United Kingdom

Phone: +443457114141

Rating: 4.4
based on 443 reviews.

Station Design and Ambiance

Pros:

  • "This was a fantastic station to change between the tube and main rail lines at, feeling very grand especially with the gigantic roof!"
  • "Paddington station offers a perfect blend of convenience and charisma."
  • "One of the nicest roomy stations in London."
  • "The iconic architecture captivates, while the vast array of shops, cafes, and amenities ensures a delightful experience."
  • "One of the best terminus stations in London by far - impressive architecture, great underground connections and excellent services to the West."
  • "Very big and open and lots of natural light from the skylights."
  • "A amazing station with a amazing design lots of hidden details that you see when looking close enough."

Cons:

  • "One of the main hubs for trains. However the station itself looks a little run down and there are significantly less shops and dining options than I would expect for a station that has so many people in transit."
  • "The station is easily accessible for people and the directions are clear. The staff members are also very friendly and helpful. Only issue is that it smells and is very hard to stay in the station for more than 5 mins as the smell can be very toxic."
  • "The pipes above were dripping a bit and there were a couple of rats in the vicinity but overall quite a good experience and would recommend to others in a pinch."
  • "The only issue is the platforms numbered after 10 which are not obvious for those unfamiliar to the layout and those gates cause confusions."
  • "Seems like they need to expand the space of some of the platforms to accommodate."
  • "It's pretty grim with regards to cleanliness."
  • "Coming into the station on the train I thought what did I get myself into because it looked very run down and unsafe from the direction we came in which was from LHR Airport."

Staff and Customer Service

Pros:

  • "The Staff are friendly and always happy to help."
  • "There was a lot of amazing staff there ready to help and answer questions."
  • "I have found the staff helpful when I have needed advice."
  • "The staff there, even if there weren't many, are helpful."
  • "Lovely station. Friendly staff. Very helpful in guiding towards correct train."
  • "The staff was friendly and helpful with purchasing tickets and platform information."
  • "Staff are really helpful."

Cons:

  • "Very poor signage. Its bad enough for us locals but for tourists it must be a nightmare."
  • "Very disappointed about the attitude of the first class lounge assistant."
  • "A middle-aged black man staff from the information desk was really rude and had no patience at all."
  • "The level of signal failure here is quite frankly a disgrace... all underpinned by friendly but poorly informed staff who will try, but invariably fail to help."
  • "What a collection of angry staff!"
  • "Extremely rude people in the railway service, all subway is very expensive and smell pee, except Elisabeth line."
  • "Bit of a shame that the woman on the customer service desk was grim and appeared not to enjoy her job as she was very grumpy with me."

Facilities and Amenities

Pros:

  • "Historic station with express trains to Heathrow airport... Great range of shops and food places within the station."
  • "The station is large, offers free toilets, various shops and ticket machines."
  • "Big station that connects many areas around London with the center Regular and clean trains! Usually clean and very busy but not so busy since Covid. The toilets are free which is amazing!"
  • "The platforms are appropriately sized for the trains and informative due to messages printed on them."
  • "Check out the Paddington Bear bronze statue which is located on the first floor right next to the Pasty Store."
  • "There are several small food stalls for hot drinks and sandwiches."
  • "Lots of shops and food outlets."

Cons:

  • "The station also has a poor selection of vegan options at food outlets, and would benefit from someone revising people flow though the building, particularity in respect of position and orientation of information screens."
  • "Tannoy announcements are poor, and information is not easy to obtain regarding trains, especially when they are running late, cancelled, or diverted."
  • "The only complaint is they never provide enough seating."
  • "Digital anouncement board was not working."
  • "The signages were really not clear for tourists in our opinions."
  • "Terrible signs for direction of the platforms, very confusing."
  • "They are supposed to leave every 15 minutes or so but sat on one of the trains for 35 minutes after departure time."

Accessibility and Navigation

Pros:

  • "The train information displays are located very well for easy reading."
  • "Direct stairs leading to Underground station and lots of ticket gates which make the entrance very efficient."
  • "Navigating through the station is a breeze, thanks to clear signage and helpful staff."
  • "Signage is really clear and everywhere, even on the floor, making it really easy to find your route to platforms and other lines."
  • "This is a really easy station to use with good access to information and spotlessly clean."
  • "Access to the underground was easy enough."
  • "Modern layout with pharmacy, cafes and tourist shops, easy to follow signage."

Cons:

  • "This station can become very busy when there is a cancellation or delay and with everyone held behind the barriers as soon as they let you through it's a mad rush to the train."
  • "Extraordinarily poor signage, almost missed my Elizabeth line tube because entering from the opposite side of the building it simply wasn't signposted where it needed to be."
  • "Everything is well signposted, tho in places signs did not include the new Elizabeth Line."
  • "They did stop people entering on both our days there as it was too busy."
  • "The main screen with trains / platforms are very very far if coming from the side."
  • "A very busy station with not a lot of room, so can be quite claustrophobic."
  • "One thing I don’t advise is to organise to meet friends here, it’s too big to be able to find each other."

Cleanliness and Maintenance

Pros:

  • "The station is clean and well looked after."
  • "Quick clean and very efficient... The express to the airport is fast (15 mins) and runs like every 15 mins."
  • "A very busy but very clean and tidy train station, congratulations to its management."
  • "The station was also always clean and tidy."
  • "Well maintained and extremely clean, it was bustling with activity."
  • "Hygiene was maintained in the toilet, like the vast majority of the station!"
  • "It's well laid out and clean."

Cons:

  • "Always has work ongoing to maintain and upgrade it which can cause issues but is probably good in the long term."
  • "The underground sections of this station are very modern for the most part due to the Elizabeth line just being so new."
  • "Government just doesn't care about infrastructure anymore."
  • "Restrooms on both sides of the station that were free to use."
  • "Dirty and unkept."
  • "Eating areas are always so grubby."
  • "Its the smell and blocked toilets and general cleanliness, well lack of! I think I would prefer to pay and use clean toilets."

Thanks! Your review is awaiting moderation.