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Marriott Bonvoy hotels in London, UK

Marriott Bonvoy hotels in London, UK

Old Feb 21, 2007, 8:53 pm
  #751  
 
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One that is not what the OP is looking for is Marriott Regents Park. On the other hand, I had a good sized room which might fit what the other poster was looking for in terms of room for 3 adults. It is conveniently next to the Swiss Cottage Tube station. It is a nice quiet neighborhood.
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Old Feb 22, 2007, 10:38 am
  #752  
 
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Its a moot point for the OP, but for future reference for anyone reading this thread, GH actually would probably work for young singles. Not the first choice, to be sure. As Sharon points out, not much in the immediate vacinity, but plenty of pubs, restaurants etc. about a ten minute walk away...primarily in the Mayfair neighborhood on the other side of the U.S. Embassy.

CC remains the ideal choice, however. And if we're talking about Soho, CC would certainly be handy enough via tube or cab.

Last edited by cyberdad; Feb 22, 2007 at 10:46 am
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Old Feb 23, 2007, 2:38 pm
  #753  
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Ok, a little bit of a longer report...

COURTYARD/ENTRY

The original courtyard/entry off of Park Street is now open & is where the cab will drop you off if you take a cab either from airport or Paddington. If you're taking a tube/bus combo or a tube/tube combo, you can also enter from Park Lane & walk through to the back/front (I know that sounds weird, but entry from Park Lane isn't the main entrance). My first post talks more about the transport/directions.

LOBBY

The original large lobby is now open & lovely. Marble floors, beautiful wood, nice furnishings. Check-in to the left upon entering from the courtyard. Straight ahead a # of chairs & couches grouped around a fireplace/wall that separates the lobby from The Library. Good place to meet people when coming down from the rooms. Bellmen & concierge immediately to the right upon entering.

WOMEN'S BATHROOM

Ok I didn't know where to put this LOL, but the women's bathroom on the main floor (that you would use if you were in The Library, Park Room, Red Bar) has a sitting room before you enter the room that houses the bathroom stalls. I wouldn't necessarily hang out in a bathroom sitting room, but this one is really decorated nicely & with women in mind so you could! Mouton Brown is the cleanser/lotion in the bathroom.

THE LIBRARY

Split-level w/ bookcases (naturally). Good place to meet, read or have a drink. I like the coziness of library-type rooms. Four Seasons in Chicago has a similar one.

PARK ROOM

This is where afternoon tea is served, as well as cocktails during the day & evening. You can enter it from the hallway or through The Library. It faces Hyde Park so in the day those are the tables to get - near the windows. It's got tables, chairs as well as couches.

Tea service is from 2pm-6pm. A friend & I did the 'high-tea' on Sat. Cost: 25GBP. Because I'm allergic to seafood, they substituted the salmon tea sandwiches for another type that I like. And they really know their teas. Long discussion btwn my friend & the waitress re: particular types & when to have which. There's a pianist playing during the afternoon. You can have light meal/h'ors doeurves in the Park Room.

RED BAR

Well I think it's more an orange-red than a true red, but it's definitely Red. Entry off of the Park Room. Walls are now lacquered red, and all the seats are etc. When I was there the lighting was too bright, but they were going to have the electricians in to get the dimmers set up. I'm assuming that's done now. You can have a light meal in the RedBar.

ROOMS

The new wing is due to open Q1, so sometime in March. As mentioned it's blocked off, but I looked through the fire doors & saw the new carpeting which looked quite nice. I know there's another FTer staying at GH next month, so if they've re-opened by then perhaps he can do an update.

As mentioned by others, the suites are large. Also, if you get a Deluxe Superior Room that's quite large as well & would make most FTers happy even if they didn't get a suite.

The rooms do have mini-bars, but I didn't bother given the exchange rate. There is a BP station on the corner of Mount next to the hotel if you wanted to grab bottled water for the room.

BTW - color scheme on the remodel (short of red bar) is golds, greens, burgundies in the various rooms & furniture.

EXECUTIVE LOUNGE

Furniture has arrived for the executive lounge & they'll move from current location to the new (or original) location in a week or two. The new location is directly opposite the elevators on the 7th floor. I didn't look in the room to see the size. The current location is a series of 2-3 rooms.

They do brkfst on the hours mentioned in posts above, put out some dessert type things throughout the day, tea service (love those tea sandwiches!) in the aft, drinks/hors d'ouerves 5-8pm'ish, booze is out from 5-10pm when the lounge closes. Currently the booze is still free; I didn't want to jinx it by asking about charges in the future. Again, maybe someone can report later. They clear all the booze out at 10pm & exec lounge door gets double-locked.

NON-SMOKING

The executive lounge is going non-smoking when they move to the new room in a couple of weeks. There are 2 rooms in the current lounge, one of which is smoking. Guess they had complaints from some of the guests re: smoke from that into the non-smoking part, hence the switch.

I believe the hotel is going to follow the Marriott policy of going completely non-smoking when it's all done.

Of course part of that is being aided by the fact that London non-smoking laws take effect July 1st, ala California, NYC, Ireland. No more smoking in bars & restaurants.

FITNESS ROOM

I had the best of intentions to make it there, but it didn't happen. The health club is currently closed/undergoing renovation & won't re-open for a while. Looking out my window across the way one day I saw the current 'fitness room'. Basically they've taken some rooms in the hotel on the 2nd floor, and added treadmills, weights, weight machines. It's open 24/7, presumably by room key. If you want a pool, they've made arrangements w/ Marble Arch Marriott.

RESTAURANT

Currently closed & not due to re-open until summer (my guess is late summer). Think one of the guest services managers mentioned there will be 3 restaurants on the property when it's all done, although I could be wrong.

STAFF

What's the Mastercard ad? PRICELESS

I can't speak highly enough of the staff. They're GREAT at this hotel! Bill Marriott's getting a snail mail letter from me, as will the GM at the hotel.

LOCATION

Grosvenor House is in a somewhat quiet area of Mayfair, but is only a 10-minute walk to Oxford Street w/ lots of pubs, restaurants, shops. Also 10 minutes in the other direction (towards Hyde Park) is Shepard's Market, which also has restaurants and pubs (Ye Grapes being an FT favorite).

Ok, hope this update helps. For those staying there throughout the year, please update after your stays.

Cheers.

Last edited by SkiAdcock; Feb 23, 2007 at 3:01 pm
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Old Feb 24, 2007, 12:20 pm
  #754  
 
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Thanks for the report. This all sounds great, and I second your comments about the staff. They bent over backwards for us last summer.

As stated previously, Mrs. Cyberdad and I prefer the Grosvenor Square, primarily due to the location a few blocks away and also because after nine years of staying there at least once a year....we're pretty well used to the place (and vice versa).

That said, the GH is definitely the more impressive facility. We'll definitely stroll over and check it out on our next trip....at least for a drink/light meal at the Red Bar.

BTW....point of trivia....

Oxford Street, a short walk from GH (and GS), is London's signature shopping street. However, it actually contains NO pubs. Not a problem, however, for those looking to take a break from their shopping to relax with a pint. There are dozens of pubs located just a few steps off Oxford on the various intersecting streets.

Probably the closest to GH would be Marlborough's Head on on Audley Street. Not one of the best pubs in the area, IMHO...it can sometimes get very loud and quite smokey....but you can always sit at one of the outside tables and watch the world pass by. As for pub grub....nothing special, but they do serve a decent cheeseburger.

Last edited by cyberdad; Feb 25, 2007 at 8:48 am
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Old Feb 24, 2007, 5:26 pm
  #755  
 
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Sounds like a great trip. Nice report.
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Old Feb 28, 2007, 8:32 am
  #756  
 
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Well, I'm back....and have a trip report.

Do I start a new thread or should I just stick it in this one?
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Old Feb 28, 2007, 9:33 am
  #757  
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My recommendation is to create a new thread saying Ren CC Trip Report & the Date, then if someone is doing a search for input on Ren CC that would pop up & it would show that it's a recent stay. Then you can post the link to the trip report in this thread. Cheers.
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Old Feb 28, 2007, 9:48 am
  #758  
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I agree with Sharon's recommendation. I also suggest that you add "London" to thread title to facilitate searching. For example, "London Ren CC (or Chancery Court) Trip Report - 2/20/07."
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Old Mar 9, 2007, 9:54 am
  #759  
 
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London Marble Arch a category 7 ??

I realize that a larger thread exists on the new MR devaluation, but I'm looking for reaction from other London Marriott travelers about what's up with Marriott's strategy here.

Mind you, the Marble Arch is one of my favorite London properties because of the combination of location to the center, price/value, and friendly accomodating staff. But I would never in my wildest dreams ever call the Marble Arch a category 7 hotel -- it simply doesn't come close.

This move to make Marble Arch a category 7 cheapens the exlcusivity of the category 7 product designation and is totally misleading to the central London market. Designating Chancery Court a category 7 a year ago was a no brainer -- it truely is a distinctive property.

Now I have noticed a significant price creep at Marble Arch as compared to this time last year. Last year, I could find winter room weekend rates of 109 and advance purchase week day rates of 120. This year, the best weekend rate is 135 and 179 weekday. So what I assume was a ( significant ) price increase was actually positioning Marble Arch for the category change.

Is this a reflection of a corporate rethink about central London, or are there new things in store for Marble Arch? I do know that a new foods manager was due in with new plans for the Mediterano restaurant.

Looks as if Marriott is trying to chase the value visitor out to Maida Vale and Regents Park.

Barry
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Old Mar 9, 2007, 10:14 am
  #760  
 
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I am afraid that Regents Park, Maida Vale and West India Quays have all gone up from 5 to 6.

I stay in London a lot, and the hotel utilisation rates last year were exceptional, so the changes probably reflect nothing more than the achieved cash revenue per room.

I agree with your comments on Marble Arch which I have commented on in 2 other posts.

There used to be 3 cat 7's - Grosvener Square, County Hall and Chancery Court. Whilst Mayfair and Grosvenor House might reasonably aspire to the level, I don't think Kensington and Marble Arch are in this league.

It does point to a Cat 8 being introduced at some stage.
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Old Mar 9, 2007, 10:32 am
  #761  
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A better way to put it is Marble Arch returns to being a Cat7.

I believe it was the only Cat7 for awhile in London yrs ago. Then County Hall came along , and the Chancery Court still stayed at a 6. Then they built the Park Lane prop and MA went to a 6 and PL opened as a 6 but within the 1st yr became a 7. A few yrs ago the RCC also became a 7. All the while MA stayed at a 6, I think even that was too high.

But worse then the MA theres now a CY in Manhattan that I understand is a Cat7. So its not based on the prop itself but rather the rates that they are able to rip us off for.

Just a few yrs ago there were maybe 6 or 7 Cat 7s.

I can see waking up on 4/2 to see that MR now has a Cat8 and 9 as well, and maybe next yr to find out that a FI in TimbuckToo is now a Cat7 and its 1 mil pts per night
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Old Mar 9, 2007, 11:18 am
  #762  
 
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My understanding is that demand for points redemption is the basic driver for category rankings (recent changes notwithstanding). Demand for rewards stays in Central London is strong, so that would explain why Marble Arch is one of the properties that went up from 6 to 7. Room rates, "quality" or condition of the properties have little, if any, bearing on the designation....at least from what I've been told.

"Up the street", Grosvenor House also goes up from 6 to 7, but this would be explained by the approaching conclusion of a major remodeling project and reflagging as a JW Marriott.
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Old Mar 9, 2007, 12:42 pm
  #763  
 
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Not getting good value on rewards points at many hotels in London

I just spent a couple of nights at the renaissance chancery court and maida vale marriott. These new rewards categories seem quite out of whack. Why would one drop 78k rewards points for a 3 night stay at maida vale or any of the other cat 6 hotels, when the RCC is only 90k for that same 3 day stay. Seems that they are just discouraging rewards stays at the lesser london hotels. Looking at the dollar cost versus points needed - AAA rate at Maida Vale is 115 GBP during the week, so for three nights that's ~$690 + $120 VAT, which is a little over a cent a point, so it's not that great of a value. RCC is often 200 GBP midweek which is a much better points to dollar value.
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Old Mar 9, 2007, 12:59 pm
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Originally Posted by goldenbear
. Why would one drop 78k rewards points for a 3 night stay at maida vale or any of the other cat 6 hotels, when the RCC is only 90k for that same 3 day stay. .
Standard award availability.

Of course if you can get RCC on standard reward, I totally agree with you! But very often the differential would be greater than 12k points for a three night stay. Also, as stated previously, room rates have little, if any, bearing on cat ratings.
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Old Mar 9, 2007, 1:22 pm
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I agree that Marble Arch should not be a category

7 hotel. It is not at that level, and does not compare to most category 7 Marriot hotels.
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