SethLevy

I am at the hotel next week, December 14-16 using a BOGO. I was told no upgrade for RA when using a BOGO and booking a classic room. We'll see what I get when I get to the hotel (hope they at least honor the 8 am check-in policy for RA).

Also, is the lounge even open yet?

turner32

Well, that's wrong on every level. My contact from reservations was R.L., who confirmed the upgrade. It is a brand new hotel, and I don't imagine all/any of the staff are up to speed at the moment, but perhaps contact her, and you'll have more luck.

turner32

This is the "system".

Thank you for your e-mail. As a Royal Ambassador if a guest books a classic room there are upgraded to an executive room, for a regular Ambassador the upgrade is a Superior room. The Royal Ambassador benefits from a minimum upgrade to an executive room, any upgrades above this are by one room category. Royal Ambassadors who book an Executive room receive an upgrade to a Club InterContinental room with lounge access, all other Ambassadors booking an executive room receive an upgrade to an InterContinental room without lounge access. Royal Ambassadors who book a superior room are upgraded to an executive room without lounge access.

stimpy

Thanks! So I assume that an RA award booking would yield an Exec room without Club, right?

SethLevy

Thanks. Funny, right after I posted that the hotel would not upgrade, my reservation showed "modified" and my classic room now showed executive king.

I am looking forward to my stay, but suspect this hotel will be very strict.

turner32

Club lounge opens on 10th December, apparently.

davidw70

Just checked out of the hotel, and agree with the earlier comments about the quality of fittings; everything is so well finished.

I booked a Classic room on points and each day prior to the arrival it seemed to progress by one category, so the final room was a Club Intercontinental room (not bad for a mere Ambassador). The hotel made sure I was aware how important Platinum and Ambassador guests are.

The room itself was well-sized (30 sqm) but the entrance area did seem wasted space, which in turn meant that there was relatively little seating area. The bathroom had Molton Brown products and great rain shower. Mini bar had soft drinks and a couple of beers. There was also a coffee machine and kettle (although I couldn't find any milk). Internet (free) was astounding - I got 48mbps down.

Breakfast in the restaurant was from a menu, and fairly reasonably priced for the class of hotel. The food was excellent. 12.5% service was automatically added to the bill.

In terms of service, everyone was trying very hard but it isn't quite there yet - check-in took about 5 minutes, in the restaurant I had to ask to be served and at check-out I was asked if "I had any last minute consumption" - this apparently related to mini bar use (which was free in this room category). I'm sure these are early issues which will be resolved once the hotel is up and running.

Overall, this was one of the best stays I've had in a UK hotel, and will definitely return.

pmcg

Checked in earlier on an Award Stay as RA.

Upgrade to Studio Suite which we changed as needed 2 beds.

Staff really trying hard, couldn't be nicer.

Got fruit & a bottle of champagne.

Swiss Tony

I stayed here last night. London was quite busy but I picked up a top secret deal on lastminute.com for £220.

There was a queue at check-in and my room wasn't ready at 4.30pm. I was however told I was being upgraded to a club intercontinental room. They asked me to wait in the bar & comped me a drink.

10 mins later and I had the room. However the upgrade was just to a bigger room - the club isn't open until next week, so not sure about how well they conveyed the upgrade to me!

Room had a large entrance area, bathroom off to the left, bedroom off to the right. I thought some of the finish was a bit cheap, especially the panelling in the entrance area. The TV was a bit of a pain - took quite a long time to navigate through to the radio. Great sound system in the bathroom, but muting the TV didn't stop sound in bathroom - grr....

The toilet cistern stopped filling up in the middle of the night.

The curtains are motorised but the switch isn't labelled.

The aircon took a long time to be effective.

On the plus side the bed was incredibly comfy and the towels were the softest I've ever seen. The staff were also unfailingly polite (although the ladies on reception did look utterly ridiculous in their uniforms!)

I'm sure the problems will be ironed out - and the prices here will shoot up to levels I can't afford to pay!

why fly

I had to phone down to get them to close the curtains. I told the manager to reduce phone calls send someone fast to all the rooms to label the curtain close/open button.
Chuckle cant wait for more comments on the uniforms.

chistery

After watching Inside Claridges last night, it was interesting to see that a member of staff has slept in every room before it went on sale to the public, so any issues would be spotted, a process they called snagging.

Whilst in large hotels where most rooms are exactly the same it probably isn't necessary to do every room, it does show that if someone had tried out the rooms, they should have noticed things like the curtain button not being labelled.

SethLevy

Any update on the status of the club lounge? Is it open? What is the charge for RAs?

turner32

It opened yesterday. Not sure about the cost, as mine is part of the rate for this w/e.

big_mac

Club access is £114 a night, or £57 for Ambassadors.

Are the club rooms actually any different to the executive rooms?

SethLevy

Any suggestions on best way to get to the hotel?

Is it better to take a taxi, car service, HEX or the tube? Thanks.