For £335? I don't like to argue rates and stuff, but that is tiny...
wow...no kidding... int'l brand hotels in Japan are definitely bigger than this...
am i seeing Land-of-Miles's photos right? the "bathroom" shower and toilet are like those in a RV...
This person doesn't know what he/she's talking about. First the room categories are wrong, there are more than three types of rooms & Suites, and the housekeeping is called Style not Talent.
Thanks for the link, origin. The room pictured looks bigger than land-of-miles, although I had thought the sizes of the Wonderful, Spectacular and Fabulous were all the same size.
I can't believe I'm going to defend this place because it looks pretty horrible from the pics. However, I guess I'm sort of doing just that.
I'm in London for the weekend right now. Originally I planned on staying at the W in one of those "what the hell, you only live once might as well try something new moments" but after reading the opening day reviews and seeing the pics I thought better of it. It was very tempting tho as it was about the same price as the Le Meridien Piccadilly.
Anyway, I was taking a walk this afternoon and ended up down the block and figured I'd check it in. The 2 doormen ignored me...either I looked like I belonged or the cold rain put them in a bad mood.
Upon walking in there is a pretty hideous sculpture of mirror balls. Yes, those same things that went out of style with disco are back with a vengeance here! A similar sculpture sits on the reception floor.
As I got off the elevator I noticed the place was packed. I have no idea if they were all guests or just people checking out the bar but it was loud and crowded. I made my way to reception and politely explained I'm a regular SPG guest and would like to see a room if it wasn't too much of a hassle. The check in agent seemed thrilled that I was interested and immediately took me up stairs to a fabulous room.
So here's my defense of the room. It seems much bigger in person than it did in the pictures I saw. True, it feels a bit narrow because the toilet and shower closets take up space but I wouldn't call it unusually small. It's definitely one of those places where people in their 30's and 40's try to recapture what they think is cool rather than what truly is (maybe that explains the disco balls reminding them of their youth???)
The bathroom is weird to me but I don't think it's a huge problem to most. However the sink/desk combo is just unbelievable to me. When I mentioned it to the agent he told me they've had quite a few complaints from guests already. Seems to be one of those things where they didn't bother to think about function.
On the way out the agent asked me if I'd stay there. I guess it's what some on here are wondering also. I guess if I needed to be in the area and the rate was no more then the Le Meridien and less than the Park Tower AND I wasn't planning to do business (the damn sink/desk again) I'd stay for a night or two. It will NOT be my normal choice tho.
The room pictured looks bigger than land-of-miles, although I had thought the sizes of the Wonderful, Spectacular and Fabulous were all the same size.
I think it is a question of perspective and where you stand when taking the picture. I wouldn't say the room is spacious though and it felt very small to me. The minute you drop a bag and some belongings in there you start having to skip around them because the design doesn't really offer anywhere to adequately store them unobtrusively or out of the way of your natural foot-flow in the room (short of dumping bags on the chaise).
The picture in that article is clearly a hotel publicity shot which has been taken from the most flattering possible angle. I tried to take pictures from several angles to that it was easier to get a sense of the room which is hard when you shoot across the diagonal room.
If you turn up with only a toothbrush then it will feel a lot more spacious than if you have a standard rollaboard. By the time you drop a full sized suitcase into the mix I think you would really struggle. I think you could configure the same total space differently and make it feel much more spacious, the central sink is highly annoying and shrinks the room when in use.
Unlike BigBopper I actually liked the decor, I just found the room to be a triumph of form over function.
Last edited by Land-of-Miles; Feb 19, 11 at 11:58 am..
I fought may way through the tourist hordes to check this place out (currently at the Park Tower). I'll have to chip in and say that the room isn't as small as they may seem. Yes, they're small. But not that small. It's probably about half the size of my room in the Park Tower. I didn't think anything of the desk/sink combination either.
In the end, I'm glad to have another Starwood option in London. The W isn't for me, but I wouldn't hesitate to book my younger sister (who's a lot less boring than I am) there. I'm sticking to the Park Tower.
I saw the Fabulous Room and it's not that small, and it's much bigger than the basic room at Le Meridien.
The BIG difference though is an upgrade to any room beyond the very smallest LM room (which is a 99% certainty as a Plat) would yield you a larger room than at the W. I don't think I have ever had the most basic room at the Meridien I have had a rather small ultra modern "new concept" room (actually quite W like in décor) which I still thought was bigger overall than the W (when you consider the extra space in a normal bathroom).
At the W you need a 3 category upgrade from "Wonderful" to get any extra space or noticeable layout changes. The room layouts for all 3 categories below "cool corner" have the same basic room design and dimensions only the position within the property (e.g. floor and aspect) and window design changes.
When you consider how many of the 3 basic room types there are compared to how many cool corner and above the contrast between the LM and the W is even clearer, without even taking into account that the LM is 2/3 of the price.
I would definitely stay again but never in one of the bottom 3 room types. Whereas elsewhere I am more willing to roll the dice. My wife highlighted the TA reports on the property over the weekend and whilst it is early days the balance of opinion swings towards violent dislike of the basic room layout.
I stayed at this new W over the weekend just gone and can't say I was impressed. I had a basic room but still expected better. A lot of the issues have been reported elsewhere in this thread but in summary
- The shower cubicle/cupboard is designed so badly that water WILL leak into the main room.
- The door to the shower opens outwards so there's no way a mat will stay in place outside.
- I'm not a fan of having the only sink in the middle of the living area and part of the work area.
- You need a degree in electrical engineering to figure out the light switches...it becomes a matter of random pressing of switches to get ALL the lights to turn off (including the annoying blue one under the work table).
- I only managed to find one power outlet that was intended for guest use (I'm not including outlets already in use by lights in the room).
- The lights in both the shower and toilet cubicles will switch off after a very short period of time...excessive movement (e.g. waving your arms around like a demented ape) sometimes seems to switch them back on but often you have to open and close the door to the cubicle...hardly ideal!
Having complained about all of that I probably should add that the staff were very very helpful and pleasant and you can hardly complain about the location...it is pretty darn central.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MauiTigerShark
- The shower cubicle/cupboard is designed so badly that water WILL leak into the main room.
- The door to the shower opens outwards so there's no way a mat will stay in place outside.
- I'm not a fan of having the only sink in the middle of the living area and part of the work area.
- You need a degree in electrical engineering to figure out the light switches...it becomes a matter of random pressing of switches to get ALL the lights to turn off (including the annoying blue one under the work table).
- I only managed to find one power outlet that was intended for guest use (I'm not including outlets already in use by lights in the room).
- The lights in both the shower and toilet cubicles will switch off after a very short period of time...excessive movement (e.g. waving your arms around like a demented ape) sometimes seems to switch them back on but often you have to open and close the door to the cubicle...hardly ideal!
I stayed there yesterday (Thu/23Feb) and was not impressed. I had to say that my expectations were well changed before checking in having read this thread. I agree with all the points mentioned above especially the shower light!!
I tried the Spice Market restaurant and thought the food was ok but the service really sucked as staff was not attentive and you need a "celebrity" status to be attended to in a timely manner. After all, the restaurant failed to enter my bill in the system and I had to work out an estimate before settling the hotel bill on the following morning.
One thing that bugged me was the inaccuracy of info in the booklet placed in the room. It states that Breakfast is served at the W Lounge starting 6AM. I showed up at 6:15 to find out the W Lounge undergoing cleaning operations and not ready. Also, I was told that Breakfast is only served in the Spice Market restaurant starting 7AM and what is served in W Lounge is merely snacks and grab bags containing muffins and light snacks. This ruined my plan to start the day with a proper breakfast before heading to Heathrow for a long haul flight.
What I would consider to be the big fault of this hotel is the "attitude" that has been injected in every corner of the hotel. I don't know what the point of training staff to be pretentious and stiff upper lipped. The look, gestures, tone of voice that staff put is very annoying. You get this before stepping a foot at hotel by the "bouncers", then by the "guards" by the lifts, then by the looks of staff at the lobby floor, restaurant receptionists, bar tenders, etc.. What the hell... I chose the W for its cool and trendy atmosphere while the hotel staff consistently portrays the attitude "who are you? and what brings you here?
I can manage with the room size, funky but not functional room layout, and even with the location (which I consider to be bad for people needing to move around London in taxis/cars). However, I can not accept the 3 star management of this hotel and the attitude it promotes.
I corresponded with the hotel, attempting to upgrade my great cash & points rate to the lowest category room that had the sink in a bathroom; they told me that would be the “cool corner room”, and that the cost to upgrade to these rooms would be an additional 90 GBP per night; per room. I tried my best to get them to reduce that charge, as I had 3 rooms for 5 nights, and explained that it’s a special trip, but at that price I would have to look elsewhere. They suggested I upgrade only my room, and keep my travelling companions in the deskink room. Ah well. Location would have been great. Thanks to all the posters who gave the reviews – you definitely helped make me make the decision to cancel these rooms.
I stayed at this new W over the weekend just gone and can't say I was impressed. I had a basic room but still expected better. A lot of the issues have been reported elsewhere in this thread but in summary
- The shower cubicle/cupboard is designed so badly that water WILL leak into the main room.
- The door to the shower opens outwards so there's no way a mat will stay in place outside.
- I'm not a fan of having the only sink in the middle of the living area and part of the work area.
- You need a degree in electrical engineering to figure out the light switches...it becomes a matter of random pressing of switches to get ALL the lights to turn off (including the annoying blue one under the work table).
- I only managed to find one power outlet that was intended for guest use (I'm not including outlets already in use by lights in the room).
- The lights in both the shower and toilet cubicles will switch off after a very short period of time...excessive movement (e.g. waving your arms around like a demented ape) sometimes seems to switch them back on but often you have to open and close the door to the cubicle...hardly ideal!
Having complained about all of that I probably should add that the staff were very very helpful and pleasant and you can hardly complain about the location...it is pretty darn central.
