Club Carlson - Radissons/ Park Plazas in London vs just outside

Hi

I got blazed for not being specific last time so I am trying but it is not a particular hotel i want a review of.

I am looking to go away for just one night to a nice hotel with the wife. We live in London (suburbs) so tourism/ sightseeing is not a factor in which hotel to choose.

I was firstly wondering if there are any recommended CC group hotels just outside London that may make a nice alternative to the regularly discussed ones (Westminster, County Hall, Riverbank Park Plaza)?

If it helps the advice, I have Gold status so would be looking to go somewhere where we might be upgraded potentially.

Thanks in advance :)

BAWG

Park Plaza Riverbank- No Upgrade, no Welcome Gift as Gold:td:

I've stayed at 8 carlson properties yet. And my favorite ones are the
Radisson Bloomsbury and Park Plaza Riverbank. Both nice rooms. Excellent service and good breakfast. Only Riverbank is harder to reach by tube.

I disliked the May Fair. Rooms are no bigger of better equiped then other properties. I would say even worse. Bathroom is old, rooms are noisy and beds are small. (exept for suits) Only breakfast and service is prety good here

The berkshire has a good location. But rooms are tiny and not up to date.

Radisson edwardian grafton has been in the news even for notorious bad hygiene.

Park plaza sherlock holmes is a nice hotel with very good service, but some ammenities are old. Lifts take ages, breakfast room is small and choice is limited, but I would still say this is a very good hotel and would rank nr 3 of carlson properties.

Radisson Portman is old. Not very friendly staff and rooms are not spectacular. Same for breakfast.

Radisson kenilworth is good. But not as good as the bloomsbury which is right around the corner. Also good location for west end shows.

Mercer street and covent garden should be good as well. But haven't been there yet. Also park plaza county hall should be ok.

If you need any more info on these hotels. Feel free to contact. I've spent 3 years living in these hotels. So I think I know them prety well. :cool:

P.S. Sorry for bad writing. Posted via phone :)

Radisson Edwardian Kenilworth upgraded me to a junior suit, a nice centrally located hotel, they also do a pretty good breakfast.

If you're looking for an alternative to the Park Plazas, I've stayed in a couple of the Radisson Edwardians, all very nice:

Sussex - Behind Oxford Street, very cramped
Berkshire - Behind Oxford Street, slightly less cramped
Bloomsbury - still very central, right by Tottenham Ct Road
New Providence Wharf (Canary Wharf) - outside the centre so very spacious

Really taken with the NPW one - very modern (and that was in early 2009) - just slightly out of the way

If you like the Bloomsbury you should like the Kenilworth, it's right across the street and is very similar in feel, the breakfast is also the same.

This thread would be useful for me as well:

We have a one-night (and one-day) stopover in London coming up, and are looking at options.

Gents,

What are the chances of many points+pay rooms coming up for mid July this year in London? (Before the olympics) I've got 54,000 pts to burn and can only get the one nigh at the good properties.

Thinking riverbank? Then find a cheaper place to stay for 2-3 nights.

Thoughts?

A wholeheartedly agree about Portman Radisson. Not helpful front office staff. They don't seem to understand a joke, or seem sympathetic in guests' plights. My cc had issues and I had to call my bank at check in. Stone faced check in agent refused to allow me to use business centre internet to get phone number.

Riverbank is nice. Only a little walk if you try to go by tube.

trying to choose a hotel for a night during the Olympics on points, 50.000.

The following hotels are available:

The May Fair
Radisson Blu Edwardian Leicester Square Hotel
Park Plaza Westminster Bridge London
Radisson Blu Edwardian Mercer Street Hotel
Park Plaza County Hall London
Park Plaza Sherlock Holmes London
Radisson Blu Edwardian Grafton Hotel
Park Plaza Riverbank London
Park Plaza Victoria London

The venue will be at the Horse Guards Parade. Which hotel should I choose?

The May Fair looks nice but reviews on Tripadvisor do not seem to be particularly good. The Park Plaza County Hall London and Park Plaza Westminster Bridge London seem to have great reviews.

The May Fair looks nice but reviews on Tripadvisor do not seem to be particularly good. The Park Plaza County Hall London and Park Plaza Westminster Bridge London seem to have great reviews.

I didn't like my stay in the May Fair, which was admittedly a couple of years ago. Overpriced, small rooms, staff were admittedly quite good, but for £300+ a night they should be. I prefer the PPs which are better value, more light and airy in general, if obviously slightly lower from a star rating perspective.

The PP County Hall and Westminster Bridge are basically next to each other - it's probably only a 15 min walk from there to Horseguard's Parade, basically just across Westminster Bridge, take a right down Whitehall and you're there. PP Riverbank is about 10 mins further away opposite Millbank.

I wouldn't personally stay in Leicester Square. PP Sherlock Holmes is apparently quite nice, not been there myself, but it's in Marylebone and not that handy for either West End or Horseguards Parade. The Grafton is slightly further away still. Mercer Street is in Soho/Covent Garden area, very lively for nightlife but not that close the Horseguard's. Have not stayed in any of that lot.

For my money/points, I'd stay in PP County Hall or Westminster. Walking distance to your Olympic event, plus you're next to London Eye and the whole South Bank area, you can walk up to places like Gabriel's Wharf, nice open-air restaurant area etc.

I just cashed in 50K points for a night at the May Fair. Well given that some PP wanted the same amount of points for a 'lesser' quality hotel I hope I chose the right property.

Why is it that if paying with $$ that the properties outside London include VAT (tax) in the quoted rates whereas the ones in the Capital do not?

When is your stay at the May Fair? Could you report back?

I still haven't made up my mind...

The May Fair is asking £ 595,00 per night or 50.000 points.
The PP County Hall is asking £ 209,00 or 50.000 points.

May fair seems better value for points but if the PP property is better... difficult :confused:

At the risk of sounding like I'm on the payroll of PP (which I'm not!) then coincidentally I stayed in PP Westminster Bridge last night and it was excellent, primarily due to getting upgraded. I think my message is that if you stay at the PP, try to get a Studio Room, ideally one with a view of the river/parliament buildings.

Hopefully your status might then get you upgraded to a suite, but if not then you're still in a great room, just as nice as anything at the May Fair, and you're closer to your Olympic event.

YMYV but if it was MM and MV then I'd spend the points on the PP.

When is your stay at the May Fair? Could you report back?

I still haven't made up my mind...

The May Fair is asking £ 595,00 per night or 50.000 points.
The PP County Hall is asking £ 209,00 or 50.000 points.

May fair seems better value for points but if the PP property is better... difficult :confused:

Maybe staying at the PP County Hall using cash + points is the best option?

I had a much nicer experience at the radisson/PP properties then at the Mayfair. Def. overpriced. Good breakfast and staff, but rooms are not that good and its noisy.

Anyone have any thoughts on the Radisson Blu Edwardian Kenilworth Hotel? Booked 2 nights there for next week...

I booked the PP County Hall for 50k points, no C&P available. Thanks for your help!

Just finished a weekend stay at the PP Westminster Bridge. Got a 60/night rate thanks to 2-for-1 and had a decent enough stay. PP CH is directly behind this property and looks like essentially a smaller version of the WB property. Location is excellent for a tourist

I just redeemed by 50K for the Radisson Blu Kenilworth and got a room the size of the Yotel at Heathrow.

As Charles Barkley would say, "Terible, terible."

Plaza on the river is best redemption. Often have good cash and points. Often get an upgrade.

Mayfair is ok but full of d list celebs. Basic toiletries. Get a room onto inside as quieter.

County hall is my work hotel. I prefer it to Westminster (same owners) but upgrades are now almost non existent. If you redeem get same room small which smells of damp as faulty bath.

If I was redeeming plaza on river, then Mayfair, then County hall.

Just got this email:

Dear Mr Thomas199023,


Thank you for choosing to stay with during the Olympic period, in light of your booking over these dates I have attached some information regarding your booking.

I would like to inform you that during this period we will probably not be able to offer you the usual upgraded room type from the one you have booked, as all the hotel is fully booked and all rooms are allocated according to room type booked.

During this period all London hotels will have similar policies, however you will still get the other Club Carlson benefits of discounted food and beverage in our outlets, booking points and other benefits applicable to your membership level.

Mr Thomas199023, I do hope you have a great stay with us and enjoy whatever you have planned. Please do not hesitate to contact us in case we can assist with anything else.



Kind Regards
xxx

As of now the hotel is still selling all room types. I have send a email back to confirm if there is a upgraded room available at check-in if they still upgrade their elite members.

I guess there's the possibility they are overselling rooms as they are assuming a certain percentage will cancel since most people book fully refundable rates when it comes to hotels? So they might be technically fully booked.

Good luck though. I always check the room availability on day of check-in so that I can be fairly sure if upgrade rooms are available.

I'm a big fan of the Radisson properties in London. In fact, I find the majority of my Club Carlson stays are at Radissons in London - usually well-located and reasonably priced when most London hotels are expensive. However, I've never tried a Park Plaza yet - might be a good use of the points.

What's the primary difference? Are they more high-end? More consistently high-end? Larger rooms? Some of the Radissons are a wee bit on the small side (which is OK, I'm not in my room much when in London).

Just curious. Thanks!

How about the Park Plaza Victoria as compared to Plaza on the River?

Westminster Bridge and County Hall don't show any availability on my dates, so I reserved Victoria thinking it is a little closer to the attractions, restaurants and the tube compared to Plaza on the River. This will be my first time in London and I will most likely be alone.

Is Victoria equally as nice as County Hall, Westminster and Plaza on the River?

I just redeemed by 50K for the Radisson Blu Kenilworth and got a room the size of the Yotel at Heathrow.

As Charles Barkley would say, "Terible, terible."

Am I right in saying this was a single room?

I was at the Radisson Kenilworth recently and I got upgraded from a single to a standard double room due to Silver status.

The room was ok but on the small side...a single room must be tiny.

It's in a very old building and could do with some refurbishment on the interior to liven it up a little.

I much prefer the modern Radisson Blu at New Providence Wharf (by Canary Wharf). Slightly outside the centre, but easily accessible by public transport and the rooms are really nice and spacious for London standards. More of a business hotel, so not so suited to leisure, but there are some very good rates available some weekends.

I'd go with Plaza on the River if I were you. There's good bus links, walkable to Westminster. PP Victoria isn't that great (apart from the time I got an upgrade to a one bedroom apartment on the top floor)

QUOTE=frugalgal1001;18970523]How about the Park Plaza Victoria as compared to Plaza on the River?

Westminster Bridge and County Hall don't show any availability on my dates, so I reserved Victoria thinking it is a little closer to the attractions, restaurants and the tube compared to Plaza on the River. This will be my first time in London and I will most likely be alone.

Is Victoria equally as nice as County Hall, Westminster and Plaza on the River?[/QUOTE]

My vote is for Plaza on the River (a Park Plaza hotel). Just got back from a 3 night stay as CC Gold. Originally scheduled for 2 nights, but sickness forced us to stay another.

The first night was booked with 50,000 points. I emailed and asked for an early check-in and riverview upgrade. The response was yes if there was one available. Upon arrival, I was upgraded to a fantastic one-bedroom suite with a view of the Thames. The standard award is a studio room with no view. I didn't do the nor-1 upgrade, which offered an upgrade to a suite with a balcony view of Big Ben and Parliament for around 30 pounds. Definitely thought about it though. The second night, I did a points and cash room, so I could take advantage of the latest Park Plaza promotion for a bonus 50,000 points. So I used 15,000 points and $190 to get another 50,000 points. They kept me in the same room. Unfortunately, for the third night, we did get switched to a non-view room, but still a one-BR suite. At least my wife was able to book with her account and also got the PP promotion.

The Plaza on the River is in the same building as the Park Plaza Riverbank. I thought about doing the second night points & cash in the Park Plaza Riverbank for the promo, since it would have cost less, but I loved the Plaza on the River suite. It was huge and had a kitchenette, fridge, washer/dryer, and Nespresso machine. Bathroom was also very large with Gilchrist & Soames toiletries. Crib for our 10-month son was brought up promptly. Very modern hotel with incredible customer service. Vauxhall is the closest Tube stop to the south, and it's really less than a 10-minute walk. We walked across Lambeth bridge to get to Westminster pretty easily.

I never got the CC Gold welcome amenity, but besides that (and being ridiculously sick), I really enjoyed the stay.

Park Plaza County Hall - Gold Elite.

Stayed 2 nights for 50,000 each last Saturday and Sunday.

Had received same e-mail as thomas199023 regarding no upgrades possible during Olympics, but on check-in was upgraded with no prompting to a corner studio of about 70 sq m ! (Room 319, I think).

That's 2 out of 2 from County Hall this year.

FWIW, hearing on NBC and NPR in the US reports that the Olympics have sucked the air out of the rest of London that's not involved. "Everyone else" besides those with direct Olympic connections has stayed out of London for the duration, leaving the areas not proximate gasping. Whereas, the cabbies were agonizing and demonstrating over the impending inconvenience of it all, they're now upset that the crowding problems were greatly overstated ahead of time.

FWIW, hearing on NBC and NPR in the US reports that the Olympics have sucked the air out of the rest of London that's not involved. "Everyone else" besides those with direct Olympic connections has stayed out of London for the duration, leaving the areas not proximate gasping. Whereas, the cabbies were agonizing and demonstrating over the impending inconvenience of it all, they're now upset that the crowding problems were greatly overstated ahead of time.

It's true that it has been very quiet in the West End (where most of the tourist places are, whereas the Olympics are mostly in East London). However, this could change now that the Athletics is getting started. The number of people travelling is expected to increase significantly on the back of this.

It's also worth bearing in mind that a lot of the Park Plazas are in places like Westminster which is just a few stops on the Jubilee underground line away from Stratford (where the stadium is) so I would expect these areas to be busy.

The overcrowding was definitely overstated though.

Thank you, LondonMiles. And I would guess that the better-heeled Olympics supporters would like to stay in Westminster or Knightsbridge.

AThank you, LondonMiles. And I would guess that the better-heeled Olympics supporters would like to stay in Westminster or Knightsbridge.

I'm traveling to London with my mom and brother in Oct (27-31) and was looking to use points for a stay. I have about 250,000 points, but it seems like the only hotel that is available is the Plaza on the River (which looks awesome). I called to book it, but they said none of the rooms are handicap accessible (my mom is a stroke survivor so needs a shower chair and grab bars in the bathroom). It seems from reading this thread that there was plenty of award availability during the Olympics, which seems strange cause in the end of October (which I wouldn't think of as high tourist season), there is close to no award availability at Carlson hotels in London. Do they wait release award availability or something? I know it's only two months out, but I didn't think things would be booked up already.

Any help would be appreciated. We're currently trying to do a BRG for the PP County Hall (since I believe they have accessible rooms and it's close to a wheelchair accessible metro station), but it'd be nice to have options open cause the PP County Hall is over 200 GBP per night.

Thanks in advance.

Edit: Just went back and searched for 2 people and it seems that they are all mostly available. I guess it's the 3rd person that throws it off. That said, are they usually pretty strict about the 2 person per room thing on award stays?

Hi.Do you mean plaza on the river? They don't have rooms for 3 on rewards. The rewards is a studio suite with shower. It won't take 3 (but it quite big). You need a 1 bed or 2 bed suite to take 3 which are not reward rooms. The upgrade the to a 1 bed is high (ie ypu often get one ) but not guaranteed. However I would email them and they may give you an advance upgrade price (wont be much) to upgrade the reward room to a 1 or 2 bed suite. They have done this for me before last year.

If you mean county hall the redemption rooms are small- wouldn't fit 3 and upgrade rates are pretty poor. You need a studio - they have a double bed and a double sofa bed (open plan but in different areas linked by the bathroom and kitchenette).

The dates are school holidays in the uk- October half term which may well be why rates are higher. At county hall they often drop closer to date.

After reading the positive reviews, I've booked 2 rooms for 2 reward nights at the Park Plaza on the River. I've applied for the eUpgrade for GBP 28/night to a 1 Bed suite with balcony view. I'll email the hotel before hand.. Anyway this is the only hotel option for me as PP on river is the only central London CC property that allows 3 people per room (on reward nights). The prices were really high in July (>400 GBP per night). It seems like a great redemption for CC points.

The pictures were not very impressive. Somebody please tell me it's better than the virtual tour: http://parkplaza.photowebeu.com/plaza-on-the-river/index.html?startat=vt