am13

When we stayed there, the hotel set up a breakfast buffet for Platinum members in the back corner of the restaurant. It had bacon and scrambled eggs every day, in addition to a large selection of DELICIOUS pastries, breads, bagels, etc. Evening hors d'oeuvres had a nice selection of fine cheeses, charcuterie, wine, and champagne. Dessert was a cookie platter. The lounge has reopened since our stay, so I would expect more options.

I was in a similar boat. I went back and forth between the Marriott Park Lane, JW Marriott Grosvenor House, and the Edition. Was drawn to the MPL for its new decor, the JW for its lounge, and the Edition for its location. It was especially risky when I stayed there as the renovation literally finished two days before our arrival. However, I can say without any doubt, we made the best decision. The hotel is so refined, so elegant, and so small that the staff really got to know us well (despite priding ourselves on being low maintenance) by the time we left. It simply was a marvelous stay unlike any other Marriott I've been to.

We stayed for five nights, and we never heard a single thing outside our room. We were on the fifth floor, which is the top floor of the hotel; above that is residential units. I wouldn't factor noise concerns in, personally. One thing I loved (this is a bit off topic) is how they overlapped the drapery tracks in the last renovation by 12-15 inches. Allows you to close the blackouts over each other so the room is PITCH BLACK. Made a noticeable difference falling asleep.

I would say choose the Marriott Park Lane if you want a refined, yet understated luxury hotel experience. No pretense, no stuffiness. Just a relaxing, elegant atmosphere and extremely friendly, albeit not overly attentive, staff.

You really can't go wrong with any of the hotels. I would choose the JW Marriott if you want a traditional, old-school, formal luxury hotel. The London Marriott County Hall makes sense if you want to stay in a touristy neighborhood; we didn't. It was fun being in the touristy areas all day, but nice to escape it all every night in a posh, primarily residential neighborhood.

I probably sound like such a fan-boy of the Marriott Park Lane...and that's probably because it's true. What can I say, they won me over!

catocony

Oxford Street is all shopping, with a lot of tourists. However, a few blocks behind the MPL, there are a number of fairly good Italian places. I loved the Mayfair Chippy, which is fish. There are some pubs, and some pretty pricey restaurants there too.

Horace

am13,

Thank you for providing more details about the London Marriott Hotel Park Lane. Your description makes it seem like something we would like.

I've now crossed Marriott County Hall off my list. We're not planning to visit to any of the attractions at County Hall, such as the London Dungeon or London Eye. I'm sure County Hall would be a good base for a London vacation, but Park Lane and Grosvenor House JW both seem to be better hotels.

I've pretty much decided on Marriott Park Lane. I like that there's a tube station across the street. The Lanes of London restaurant might not be as esteemed as the JW Steakhouse at the Grosvenor House JW, but it's more appealing to me. The executive lounge is smaller, but there are also fewer rooms, so presumably fewer guests using it.

I'm sure both are fine hotels and we would be happy at either, but tallied online reviews favor Park Lane:

On Marriott.com:

• Park Lane gets "4.6 out of 5.0" and "97% of guests recommend this hotel."
• Grosvenor House JW gets "4.2 out of 5.0" and "85% of guests recommend this hotel."

On TripAdvisor:

• Park Lane gets "4.5 of 5" and is ranked "#93 of 1,058 Hotels in London."
• Grosvenor House JW gets "4.0 of 5" and is ranked "#239 of 1,058 Hotels in London."

And the Marriott Park Lane is closer to the Lila Launderette, where we'll drag our laundry on our final day (before heading to Southhampton for a cruise).

am13

I really don't think you could make a wrong choice, Horace, but I'm confident you'll love your stay at the Marriott Park Lane. Please be sure to report back (or better yet, PM me to make sure I catch it!) after your stay. Hope you love the property as much as I do.

Forgot to mention this in earlier posts, but I had a nice conversation with one of the hotel's managers while I was there in which I complimented the extraordinarily high quality of the renovation, commenting that it's "unlike any other Marriott I've ever stayed in before," to which she suggested Ritz-Carlton is trying to end its partnership with the Ritz London (partnership not as profitable as running their own property, guest satisfaction issues too apparently) and so they renovated the MPL to "Ritz-Carlton specifications" as they try to terminate the partnership with the Ritz and rebrand MPL as "The Ritz-Carlton, Park Lane." Not sure how much this is backed up by corporate or if it's just property-level speculation, but it is interesting to think about. All I know is the MPL is nicer than most domestic cloned Ritz hotels (think Tysons Corner, Marina del Rey, etc.)

catocony

Horace,

One entrance to the Tube is literally 20 feet from the hotel. They don't use the door on Park Lane, but on the side street. So, you go out and walk around the hotel a half-block (30 seconds maybe), but it is massively convenient.

SkiAdcock

Horace, you won't go wrong with either JW or PL. It's certainly a #firstworldproblem we have to face when choosing properties in London

We had a FTer who stayed at PL recently who was not as enamoured of it as am13 & said she wished she had stayed at the JW. She said she was going to do a trip report on her experience there in this thread, but hasn't done so yet.

Whilst I think the views from CH can be great & it's close to some of the tourist attractions (first timers have a tendency to go all over London, so there's always going to be some travel involved re: of property picked), I've never been as fond of the property as ohmark. That's perfectly fine. Each of us have different criteria/experiences, which is why having so many Marriott choices in central London is a good thing.

Unlike ohmark, I was never given a balcony room (although a biz colleague on one biz trip who had zero status w/ Marriott was - grrr) in my various stays at the property. I did get a London Eye room once - except that the Eye blocked most of my view of the Thames & was so close that tourists literally could see into my room, so I had to keep curtains closed a lot of the time especially when changing. It's probably one thing to wave from a balcony, but quite disconcerting to have people watch you while you're changing/reading/working on laptop.

Cheers.

SkiAdcock

Someone was asking about a microwave in the room at County Hall (consensus seems to be there isn't one) & it started me thinking. Are there are any London area Marriotts w/ microwaves? The ones I've stayed at haven't had them in the room. I've never needed one, but I don't think I've seen them.

Cheers.

am13

none at MPL, that's for sure. Might be available upon request, as hotels often do for microwaves/mini-fridges.

Horace

When I "walked" around the neighborhood with Google Maps Street View, I didn't notice the stairs to the Underground on the same corner of Park Lane and Oxford St. as the Marriott Park Lane (traffic blocking it) -- until you made me aware of it. That's even better than crossing the street. Thank you!

I'm sure it will be a wonderful wonderful hotel. Just six more months! I'll report back in fall.

It's great to have so many excellent Marriott (JW Marriott, Autograph Collection, Marriott, Renaissance) properties to choose from. When the Starwood portfolio in London is added to the Marriott portfolio, there will be even more choices.

If I were paying with money instead of points, I would have seriously considered St. Ermin's Hotel, Autograph Collection.

am13

I'm so excited for the merger. It's a long way off, I realize, but between St. Regis, Luxury Collection (my personal favorite brand), and even some of the international Westin/Sheraton properties, there will be a lot better options for redemptions

SkiAdcock

Uh folks, you do realize there aren't very many Starwood properties in London, right?

That was always (and still is) a HUGE difference Marriott had over Starwood in London. In London the Starwood people are going to come out ahead because of the plethora of Marriott properties. SPG has 8 hotels (2 out near the airport). Marriott has 26 properties (2 out near the airport).

And quite frankly the SPG properties in London are not of the same calibre as the Marriott properties. SPG can't compete w/ most of the Marriott Cat 9 properties in London.

Cheers.

am13

Yes, I was meaning more systemwide, not necessarily London- or even UK-specific. However, I would jump at a chance to try Starwood's Great Northern Hotel. I think the "help yourself pantry" idea they've implemented on every floor is just brilliant.

Horace

I'm not suggesting that Starwood is superior to Marriott in London, only that the combined Marriott+Starwood portfolio will be bigger and better than Marriott alone.

Of Marriott's 26 "London" properties, around half are a considerable distance from Central London.

W London Leicester Square and Le Méridien Piccadilly are very well located for West End theaters and as a base for London tourism.

We'll have to see where the current Starwood properties fall on Marriott's scale of Categories and Tiers. It might be good to have more choices that are not Category 9.

SkiAdcock

Marriott definitely has more central London properties than SPG. But having an additional 8 properties added to the portfolio does provide more options (looking at the glass half full thing). My guess (cuz sometimes I look at the glass half empty vs. half full) is that the central SPG properties will get bumped to Cat 9.

Cheers.

am13

couldn't agree more.