Starwood Preferred Guest - Any new reports on London hotels?

Stayed at Sheraton Park Tower this past weekend using points for an executive king room, upgraded to Butler Floor King. Very nice, but Butler service was useless. Requests for kettle, dish washing powder/liquid (both to clean baby bottles) were met with "Sorry, we don't have those". Great breakfast though.

Did you consider simply handing the bottles to the butler and requesting that he have them washed? I'm not sure if that's an appropriate thing to ask for, given that I've never interacted with a butler, but am a bit curious.

what does a hotel butler really suppose to do?

OK.. with all the rave reviews for the Sheraton Park Tower, I have decided to cancel my Meridien London location and book myself into the Sheraton park tower next week...

Thanks for everyone's feedback.. and i will report back..

Having stayed at both, there's no comparison: the Park Tower is a superior hotel, the Meridien is middlin' at best. The real comparison is Meridien Picadilly vs Park Lane, and I'd take the Park Lane, but ymmv. The Park Tower is nicer (and much more expensive) than either.

Currently sitting in my room writing this quick report - raining outside and didn't want to venture out...

Picture of room located here:
http://public.fotki.com/ACfly/europe/sheraton_park_tower/

Checked in yesterday @ 11am (arriving on BA from Toronto).. Booked an executive room, and requested high floor, nonsmoking... Was able to get a room at 11am which was nice.

As a platinum, i was hoping for an upgrade to the butler room, but none was given... Note to self: next time book a lower room class, and get upgrade to executive room (which I think is the highest category that can be upgraded).

Few observations (some already mentioned above):
(1) All the rooms are the same size.. Very few suites...
(2) Differences between the Executive and the regular rooms are: a) the Executive rooms are on the higher floors - you will need this if your rooms are facing the park/knightsbridge street - I'm on the 12th floor, and it's still quite noisy from the street below b)exec rooms have fax c) and that's all I can figure out... the butler room is exectly the same as the exec room with the added benefit of having a butler and free breakfast (a 23 Pound value)
(3) Hotel has 14 floors - and floors 11-13 are SMOKING!!! they initially gave me room on the 7th floor, and I asked for a higher floor.
(4) Elevator is odd - no buttons to the floors in the elevator, need to enter your floor number on the the computer before you enter the elevator
(5) Very nice location - 30sec walk to the Knightsbridge subway station
(6) Service is not that great.. called for front desk at 730pm and had to wait for 10 minutes, had to wait half an hour for my luggage to be brought up, got disturbed by service person wanting to check the mini bar even though the non-disturb sign was hanging on the door
(7) I was exepecting Molton brown amenities but not the case. had the tarwood variety
(8) Lobby is dark and small.. Only 2 people at front desk, so lineup can be long
(9)Breakfast is quite expensive - 18.95Pounds for a Continental, and 23 pounds for a hot breakfast - rates were the same for in-room dining as restaurant. I guess this is the going rate for London...
(10) Bathroom quite nice - all marble - floor to ceiling, separate bath and shower.
(11) nightly turn down service - ice and chocolates on pillow
(12) SPG Plat amenity did not include 500 SPG points... The Local fight was nice - Molton Brown kit - nice size shampoo, conditioner and lotion
(13) Internet in room - wired, wireless or tv based internet.. Quite expensive though - 18 Pounds for 24 hours

.

As a platinum, i was hoping for an upgrade to the butler room, but none was given... Note to self: next time book a lower room class, and get upgrade to executive room (which I think is the highest category that can be upgraded).



Told you so in my previous post! :p Told you about noise too! :p BTW, The Executive rooms also come with a DVD player. I think the Butler floors have Molton Brown too, but have not stayed in one so not sure... recall another thread poster mentioning this. Great room isn't it :) . I can easily overlook some slow service here and there if I get a great room.

Yes, it does come with a DVD/VHS player in the room.. However, you have to bring your own, or they can be hired at the front desk... What's the point? Could do inroom movie via the hotel tv..

Yes, it does come with a DVD/VHS player in the room.. However, you have to bring your own, or they can be hired at the front desk... What's the point? Could do inroom movie via the hotel tv..

Not much, but I did use it to play some music CDs I had with me.

Well, I also managed to stay at the le Meridien Piccadilly in London in combination with my Sheraton Towers London visit. Despite some negative reviews on the Piccadilly, I actually enjoyed it more than the Sheraton Towers!!

As a platinum, booked the classic room and was upgraded to a junior suite on the 7th floor overlooking the interior court - perfect as there is no street noise...

The location is unbeatable.. right in the smack of Piccadily circle and 30sec walk to the Piccadily subway line....Total convenience for those who like to be in the middle of the tourist area!

I find the hotel to be more classy than the Sheraton towers:
(1) architecture is classic outside and inside
(2) The lobby is very airy and roomy (as opposed to the dark and tiny lobby of the Sheraton Park)
(3) Superb gym in the basement - beautiful and large pool - heated to 29 Degrees, there are two personal trainers should you need to use one (free of charge), a nice set of cardio and a decent weights room.. I was told that they will be expanding by the front receptionist to double the size in the next year or so.
(4) The hallways to the room is very nicely decorated - large and spacious hallway
(5) The junior suite is very nicely furnished - kind of reminds me of the Mandarin Oriential Hyde park room - Formal room. Junior suite is made up of two rooms - a small sitting area and a bedroom.
(6) Bathroom is large and nicely designed..

I will post the pictures of the room soon

Well, I also managed to stay at the le Meridien Piccadilly in London in combination with my Sheraton Towers London visit. Despite some negative reviews on the Piccadilly, I actually enjoyed it more than the Sheraton Towers!!

As a platinum, booked the classic room and was upgraded to a junior suite on the 7th floor overlooking the interior court - perfect as there is no street noise...

The location is unbeatable.. right in the smack of Piccadily circle and 30sec walk to the Piccadily subway line....Total convenience for those who like to be in the middle of the tourist area!

I find the hotel to be more classy than the Sheraton towers:
(1) architecture is classic outside and inside
(2) The lobby is very airy and roomy (as opposed to the dark and tiny lobby of the Sheraton Park)
(3) Superb gym in the basement - beautiful and large pool - heated to 29 Degrees, there are two personal trainers should you need to use one (free of charge), a nice set of cardio and a decent weights room.. I was told that they will be expanding by the front receptionist to double the size in the next year or so.
(4) The hallways to the room is very nicely decorated - large and spacious hallway
(5) The junior suite is very nicely furnished - kind of reminds me of the Mandarin Oriential Hyde park room - Formal room. Junior suite is made up of two rooms - a small sitting area and a bedroom.
(6) Bathroom is large and nicely designed..

I will post the pictures of the room soon

Thank you ADfly for the review of the Le Meridien Piccadilly. I was starting to get concerned about our upcoming stay. We have stayed at the Park Lane many times and have always had wonderful experiences with rooms, service, etc. Decided to try the Le Meridien this time and had booked a Junior Suite. Read so many negative reports, but you put my mind at ease. Sounds like we will be just fine. Looking forward to seeing your pictures.

I never got that great of an upgrade at the Piccadilly...

Hi All, here's the link to the pictures of the Junior Suite at the Le Meridien Piccadily Hotel hot off the camera!

http://public.fotki.com/ACfly/europe/meridien_piccadilly/

Also wanted to update:
(1) The Terrace restaurant (on the second floor) is actually very GOOD! reasonably priced, excellent service, and nicely decorated - Airy, with the wonderful sun atrium.. There's a set menu option for 23 pound - 3 course meal - appetizer, main course and dessert - huge selection to chose from each. Beautifully presented and wonderful flavours!
- They have great tea service in the restaurant with a live jazz pianist.
(2) Turndown service was also very nice - had chocolates in the pillow, had a hand written weather report for tomorrow. The lady who serviced the room laid out the best night slippers I have ever seen in a hotel - plush terry slippers wrapped in a nice cloth bag (definitely something I will take home with me)....
(3) Platinum amenities werent too great as they are still working out the bugs - no 500 SPG, no local gift... Only fruit bowl, wine, or $10 Minibar.

Definitely a hotel that I would return again ^ More so than the Sheraton Towers.. Never been to the Sheraton Park Lane so cant comment

Thank you ACfly - sorry about the typo on my previous post. Really enjoyed the photos. Looking forward to our upcoming stay.

ACfly - you did well at the Meredien. I never as a Plat (in the 6 stays I had there) had a room this nice.

My rooms tended to have poor water pressure, a relatively uncomfortable bed (quite a firm mattress), and a poor choice of TV channels (no SKYsports!) So, I suppose, your mileage may vary

Well, I also managed to stay at the le Meridien Piccadilly in London in combination with my Sheraton Towers London visit. Despite some negative reviews on the Piccadilly, I actually enjoyed it more than the Sheraton Towers!!

As a platinum, booked the classic room and was upgraded to a junior suite on the 7th floor overlooking the interior court - perfect as there is no street noise...

The location is unbeatable.. right in the smack of Piccadily circle and 30sec walk to the Piccadily subway line....Total convenience for those who like to be in the middle of the tourist area!

I find the hotel to be more classy than the Sheraton towers:
(1) architecture is classic outside and inside
(2) The lobby is very airy and roomy (as opposed to the dark and tiny lobby of the Sheraton Park)
(3) Superb gym in the basement - beautiful and large pool - heated to 29 Degrees, there are two personal trainers should you need to use one (free of charge), a nice set of cardio and a decent weights room.. I was told that they will be expanding by the front receptionist to double the size in the next year or so.
(4) The hallways to the room is very nicely decorated - large and spacious hallway
(5) The junior suite is very nicely furnished - kind of reminds me of the Mandarin Oriential Hyde park room - Formal room. Junior suite is made up of two rooms - a small sitting area and a bedroom.
(6) Bathroom is large and nicely designed..

I will post the pictures of the room soon

Thanks for the great review - I'm looking forward to my first stay there in 2 weeks. Did you get any idea of how easy they might be on the late checkout ?

Did you get any idea of how easy they might be on the late checkout ?
No problem with late checkout as a platinum member... Will be checking out at 4pm tomorrow.

Thanks ACFlyer for the pics and the report. Me and my SO will be staying there over the Memorial Day weekend (as a change from the Park Lane or Park Tower where we usually stay). I hope we can score as nice an upgrade as it sounds like its hit or miss from others' comments. I'll let y'all know how I fare when we get back.

.....

ACFlyer thanks for the positive review -- albeit one involving an upgrade to a Junior Suite. Here's my dilemma: I've stayed at the Piccadilly before but not in the last half decade, and I liked it -- especially the location! I have a very good deal at the end of the month there -- in a Deluxe Room. My alternate choice is the Renaissance Chancery Court -- where I would be staying 3 nights in a Club Level room and 2 nights in a Deluxe Room. Cost of the two options are essentially the same. Clearly if the Renaissance were located closer to the West End, I wouldn't be posting here -- I'd be staying at the Renaissance. Any thoughts on where I should stay?

Sheraton Park Tower -

award stay on 8/1 as Gold

received comp upgrade to Butler room with great view, champagne for welcome drink, didn't take advantage of free pressings, did get free a la carte / cooked breakfast. one of the items was scrambled eggs + sevruga caviar for 25GBP. also free bottled water in bathroom was a nice plus. only paid for tip and water at breakfast, and for phone calls. about 5,5,1 GBP respectively.

location was fantastic in knightsbridge, across from both the mandarin and the tube stop.

overall an absolutely wonderful trip.