RichardInSF

Are there two Savoys in London? Because this sure doesn't match up with my experience there, staying in a junior suite. No way I'd go back.

vuittonsofstyle

Given the number of very good hotels in London, there is no way I would ever go back to The Savoy.

Pausanias

The Goring appears to have dropped out of the Relais & Chateaux consortium.

Groombridge

I agree: the hard product of a river-view suite was excellent, but the service entirely unacceptable. This is the sort of place that asks you to take the trouble to fill out a pre-arrival questionnaire, then ignores it entirely. My "butler" had the gall to say, "I remember that you requested only still water in your minibar, but I forgot to take care of that. I will take care of that now." And never did.

MacMyDay

I had the pleasure of staying in The Apartment at The Connaught over the last few days. We took the second bedroom as well, for my girlfriends sister and her 2 children. At 285sqm, with 3 entrances and huge, expansive corridors that take up almost the entire 6th floor, it was easy to get lost - the children wonderfully demonstrated this by actually spending most of their time playing "hide and seek".

I've now stayed in every single room category at The Connaught, excluding their single Queen rooms which are ~24sqm. In a nutshell, The Apartment is spectacular with quality everywhere. Every design detail is clearly well thought through, it offers huge amounts of space with great views over Mayfair and would undoubtedly tick off every requirement you could ask for. They have gone out of their way to differentiate it from the other suites, but some of these are no longer good enough in 2016. For example, it has a visual/audio system designed to allow you to control each room, but North Island also had this and does it a lot better. The Beaumont also has Apple TVs/Google Chromecast by every TV in every room category, so you can create a very similar effect and without using some clunky technology.

The Terrace Suite has a bigger and more practical terrace, whilst the Library Suite allows more privacy from the bedrooms being at opposite ends of the suite, along with having a better, more luxurious feel to the living room. They also cost around 1/3 the price of The Apartment.

I'll write up a full review sometime, but for now here's a picture tour guide of the room:


Entrance


Main lobby


Main lobby view from master bedroom


Room key


Guest bedroom


Guest bedroom side table


Master bedroom


Personalised pillows


Master bedroom seating area


Master bedroom


Wardrobe and dressing area


Dressing area hangers


iPad for sound/audio controls


Master bathroom


Master bathroom


Hallway sofa


Main hallway


Living room


Living room


Children's Connaught colouring book


Living room


Balcony by master bedroom


Dining room


Dining room with balcony door open


View into dining room


Balcony


Kitchen


Guest bathroom

aa213bb

Wow! Beautiful photos, Mac

SanDiego1K

Your girlfriend's sister is going to want to travel with you regularly after that inredible indulgence.

MacMyDay

Funnily enough, the last time they came to stay, we stayed in The Library Suite in The Connaught ( https://www.flickr.com/photos/132880...57657813938231 ). That's when she walked into the room and started crying at how amazing it was. I think I need to reset the expectations, so next time we'll just go to a Premier Inn and eat at a Little Chef.

offerendum

Perhaps this will be better

cruisr

Well then she would cry again for a different reason.

Seriously, the pictures and the suite (and the weather) look amazing.

The only apartment I have ever stayed in London was at the Athenaeum and I loved it. Didn't have a balcony though.

Peterpack

Guys, what's it like staying on the South side of the river ?

I'm thinking of a river view suite at the Mondrian

Pausanias

Beautiful pictures, MacMyDay which have quite MadeMyDay. I guess from your specific requirements on this visit you ate 'at home?' I'm always looking for comments about the Helene Darroze restaurant downstairs - a controversial choice for the Connaught at the start of her regime and maybe still a bit cutting edge for this hotel?

MacMyDay

Yep, we had friends over for dinner, that we met in North Island, and also had breakfast in the dining room.

It's interesting on your view of Helene Darroze, as The Connaught's identity is a strange one. A contemporary wing on the hotel, that is completely different to the rest; an Aman spa; a bar that is old fashioned, yet another bar that is very modern and frequently wins awards for amongst things, their cocktails. So in a way, I suppose a restaurant attempting some unique identity does fit in The Connaught.

With Helene Darroze, my experience is thus:

• 5-6 years ago, I decided to go to every 2 and 3 Michelin star restaurant in England. After doing that, I started doing a lot of the 1 stars. When I got to Helene Darroze, it made me reassess what a Michelin star meant, as I thought the food verged on disgusting. I used to use it as an example of why the Michelin guide ultimately doesn't mean much.
• About 3 years ago, I was due to meet a client for dinner and last minute I received an email from a private dining group that I was a member of, which would email last minute availability. They had Helene Darroze available that night, so I figured I would take them out there. It was absolutely stunning. A really memorable meal.
• I spend the next day telling my girlfriend how great it was, so a week later we head over there. It was a real disappointment again.
• Maybe a year later, another client is due to meet with me and he wants to try Helene Darroze. I suggest otherwise, but he insisted, so we go for lunch and it was once again a real let down. The menu selection is amongst the only thing that stands out, unfortunately the other thing is how expensive it is and what poor value it offered.

I would go to the Connaught's sister hotel, The Berkeley, for Marcus if I wanted the best hotel dining experience in London. I have been eating lunch at his other restaurant, The Gilbert Scott, in St. Pancras hotel, quite a lot lately as well - excellent value lunch menus there for ~Ł35 for 3 courses.

Kagehitokiri

ask connaught staff you know who was in kitchen then?
was menu different a week later, or just preparation?

Pausanias

Much appreciated all that about the Connaught and its food. My own experience of La Darroze wasn't very good and she had two stars then. And perhaps since then I too have become disenchanted with Michelin - but the deal-breaker for me was the laughable, inedible L'Enclume. Anyway, I digress. . .

I think also I was intensely nostalgic for the Connaught of the 1980s and the food regime under the great Michel Bourdin who would serve up basic stuff like liver and bacon as well as classic French dishes laced with demi-glace and lashings of butter. I used to have a job which brought me into contact with many Hollywood A-listers and the Connaught was their home-away-from-home. I remember meeting the young Spielberg there who loved the hotel but ate out at a rib place in St Martin's Lane. And a lunch with RJ Wagner and the gorgeous Natalie and in one corner there was Yul Brynner and in another was Fred Zinnemann. I could go on . . .

Enjoy Laucala if that's where you are off to right now . . .