SkiAdcock

A few FTers stayed at the W Feb 18-20, and their reports were similar.

2 were sharing a room (not partners; just splitting room cost) & one mentioned something about stepping out to the main room from the shower & all would be on display; something about not really a place to hang a towel. It's been a month, so I'm a bit vague on the details.

Another FTer was ok w/ his room - except for one thing. He was on a floor not too many above the nightclub (bar?) & it was rocking & rolling until about 2am & kept him awake until then. He said when he met us for lunch that he heard some guests asking to have their rooms changed as he walked by the front desk or whatever it is, and guessed they had the same 'noise' problem.

He also mentioned the lengthy check-in time/line, and was hoping it wouldn't be as long to get his bag which he stored when he met us for lunch.

Cheers.

BlissWorld

Hmm, I was there during opening weekend. Considering they had just opened, I expected a few minor inconveniences (They remotely lock the minibars. When I checked in , their computer system was down, so I couldn't open my minibar. And, I was sick of waiting for my luggage, so i went down to get it myself.) but overall, the most of the staff were great, and it was a great stay.

The check in agent was a bit clueless when checking in but the manager came to fix everything. They had upgraded me to a cool corner room. I thought that was fine, considering I was there during the opening weekend and they were sold out (and none of the FTers who have reported here seem to have been upgraded). I had to wait a few minutes for my room to be ready, so they sent me to the bar with a couple of drink vouchers and an internet code.

The director of operations escorted me to my room (nice German fella), chatted with me and explained to me the features of the room. I thought that was a nice touch. He probably had a millions things to do on opening weekend, but spent the extra time to escort me. I noticed there were no US outlets in the room (weird) so I mentioned it to him. He immediately went away and brought me back a unopened adaptor ^

The room was spacious with 3-4 walls of floor to ceiling windows letting in a lot of light. I thought the room size was very good for London. I didn't have any of the bathroom issue others have mentioned since my bathroom was an extra large private room with rainfall shower, large vanity area and a TV in the mirror . All in all, the room reminded me of W Barcelona. I wouldn't be surprised if they hired the same designer. The only issue I have is the stupid frosted windows outside the windows. They installed these stupid additional walls of windows with white frosted dots outside the window of the building so the building would appear frosted/white from the outside, but this blocks out 50% of your view.

I didn't have any issue with noise since I was on a higher floor. But, they were still doing some last minute drilling/banging for the room right above mine. I heard some noises during the day when I was around, but nothing at all at night. In fact, I thought it was pretty quiet.

I'm in the process of uploading pics from my RTW trip, which include W london. I'll post them when they are uploaded.

7Continents

Glad I read all these reviews. This seems to compare very well to my experience at the W in washington DC. While the room was very well organized, it was tiny, with my clothes stored in a closet in the bathroom, etc.....Will be booking a club room at Le M Picadilly next week for less than a not so Wonderful W room.

Land-of-Miles

That is strange since the regular rooms (i.e. the poor ones with the cupboard bathrooms which make up >80% of all available rooms) did have a US/EU/UK socket as part of the single plug socket I could find anywhere in the room.

seanp7

I just came back from a 2 night stay March 11/12.

Well many of the tripadvisor reviews and comments on here are correct. The nightclub thumps until 3am (thurs / fri nights I stayed) and I was 2-3 floors above it but heard it loud and clear (it seems to echo off other buildings in Wardour st).

The fire alarm went off at 8:30am for a full 10 minutes - or should I say, it was a message stating "The fire alarm test is now complete" about 100 times. There are still some drilling / repairs going on (mid-March) - 8am daily.

The "in-suite" bathroom idea didn't bother me too much as a single traveller but I can see people's gripes with it. The shower itself was nice but, as noted on a tripadvisor review, they don't replace the Bliss products daily (not a big deal but a bit cheap, no?)

The staff seemed like a bunch of teenagers and they are hard to recognize at all. Whoever did the hiring mustn't have a screening process or, as another FT'er put it, it's a pre-requisite that you walk around like a cool kid and full of attitude. The check-in staff member was nice enough, but not so great at English and liked to interrupt - really?

Housekeeping have their cleaning carts in the corridors ALL DAY. The bathroom / toilet lights off after x seconds thing gets annoying - who flaps their arms about on the toilet?!

Pluses? The gym is EXCELLENT, the inroom entertainment options actually pretty decent and affordable (music / movies all day for a fixed price), the beds of course very comfortable and the location almost unbeatable. I also slept through my alarm on check-out day and it was housekeeping who woke me up at 2:10pm (oops) - no extra charges added. Somehow I made my LHR-JFK 4:10pm flight like a true FT'er

It's a good concept in general for London, but this is easily the worst W I have stayed at (out of about 10). I gave them some compensation for being 'new', but still, the poor execution means that I won't be returning.

BlissWorld

As promised, here are some pictures of the Cool Corner room during opening weekend when I was there:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/dunkind...7626252838749/

stimpy

I stopped by the bar today. It was ok, slightly crowded at 7pm. Martinis for around 12 pounds. I chatted with one of the staff who said he had be only there for a week. He said they fired more than half the hotel staff after the first week. I think that is normal for a W.

Land-of-Miles

That looks SO much nicer than the lower 3 room categories. I would be quite happy with that room, not so sure about the big pillar in the middle of it though.

jeffreyt

If one is using the watercloset or shower, does it offer privacy from those that are in the bedroom portion, or is everything on display? From the pictures I can't tell and I have a roommate that I will be with when I stay here who would not be happy if its a display-for-all.

DCBob

From the pictures I saw, it is crystal clear that everything is on display. If this is such a major issue, either book separate rooms or just agree to look the other way or leave the room during shower time. LOL.

Land-of-Miles

I am not quite sure what you mean. I think you mean is there glass from WC and Shower to the main room so that you can clearly see someone inside either. If that is the question then the answer is that within the "cubicles" you do get privacy. You cannot be seen by the room occupants once you are inside either shower or toilet. The wall from the shower room to the main room (i.e. not the mirrored entrance door) is opaque glass but it is really quite opaque so visibility should not be a worry).

However getting into or out of the cubicles you clearly can be seen by other room occupants. I don't think this is markedly different from any other property except it would be something of a performance to try to remove a bathrobe and find somewhere to hang it (outside the shower cubicle) without baring all to other people in the room. It is possible but it would be quite comical I suspect.

Seriously sharing one of these rooms with someone who is not an "intimate friend" would be out of the question for most people I suspect.

stephem

I decided the convenient location was worth giving this place a try and it is indeed a great location for me from both a business and getting out perspective. I can understand the very mixed reviews, I'm right there with many people. Most of what follows are my initial reactions, which are mainly things that I really dont like and cannot seem to get over. I'll see if I can't muster up some positives as the week goes on!

My biggest complaint is that I think Starwood has just lost it's vision of what the W brand should stand for. This blog makes many of the points I would make about why I think Hyatt got it much more right with the Andaz brand and why I think the W is missing the mark. The round beds in the media suites at the W Seoul make for a great magazine spread, but I really do not know who goes back for more of that.

Maybe it depends on whether you are staying at this W for business or holiday and whether its a short stay or a longer one. One of my biggest gripes about this new W is there almost isn't enough room to unpack a single suitcase for what isnt even a full week visit. Maybe they think their guests just buy new clothes each day? If my wife had been here, we would have checked right out and gone to another hotel. There is no way you can unpack two suitcases.

My second gripe, the "bathroom design" if you could call it that: hey Starwood, Ian Schrager is calling from the Hudson and he wants his late 1990's compact hotel room design back. I don't like it at all and had I known just how silly the design is I wouldn't have bothered to try this place out. There is a sink in the middle of the room you sleep in... wha?? I had misread earlier reviews as meaning the sink was in the middle of the bathroom. No folks, there is just one (quite small) room, and it reminds me of many things I would not even consider when I was hunting for my first apartment in NYC years ago.

The third negative, as others have point out, is the glass that wraps the building. I happen to like peering out at the view and onto the street, but you can hardly see anything with this glass obsuring nearly everything.

I guess I am more a Park Hyatt kind of guy (and by extension an Andaz guy if I want a bit more edge). I really think Hyatt hit the mark, tying some of the Andaz experience to the finesse you get at Park Hyatts. This W hotel borrows little or nothing from Starwood's sucesseful St Regis and Westin brands and that's a shame in my opinion.

A few additionally comments as I go to check out:
-the room hasn't grown on me, I still am baffled by this design
-Went to ask for cab yesterday morning and was told "it's hard to find one, how about you take the hotel car for 25GBP?" I stay in this area frequently and it's not true, add lazy or disingenuous door men to the negatives.
-Ate at Spice Market, nothing special, certainly not up to NY SM standards either for food or service- chef came out to berate sushi chef about something in front of several customers, I remarked to front of house staff that it sounded like a cheap lunch counter and was comp'd a starter, but nobody told the chef to take his dispute somewhere in the back. I found this to be an odd reaction, I had only told the staff they should make sure someone aware of the unprofessional behavior and wasnt seeking any compensation!
-room keys demagnatize easily
-I remembered how annoying it is to stay in a hotel that thinks it's bar is so exclusive it needs a velvet rope. thankfully I was dressed like a stuffy business person, so they didnt even think I was trying to get into the bar...
-the one thing I really like... the work area. Notwithstanding it is shared with the bathroom sink (sorry this still strikes me as so odd!), it is a very functional work space. Good height, good size space.

Overall, the only good thing for me about this hotel is the location. Given all of the negatives, I'm inclined to half my rate and go back to one of the nearby sheratons or if I want to spend this much go to either the Hyatt Regency or Andaz Liverpool.

psalflyer

I could not agree more with Stephem's post above! The rooms are beyond small to be just short of laughable. As I explained to the nice young man who checked me out when he asked how my stay was: "Having half your bathroom in the bedroom is not my idea of design innovation. It's more forget customer comfort, let's just maximize rooms per square foot". I do not live in a cell at home so why would I want to do so when travelling (either on business or pleasure). After a quick glance around, he lowered his voice and agreed with me.

The staff though were very nice and seemed eager to help though some were still a bit clueless two months after opening. I asked the concierge for a nice casual Indian restaurant close to the hotel and got a recommendation in Kensington with a sheepish "I don't really know this neighborhood that well"! Concierge School 101 - Know Your Neighborhood!

Finally, as a plat I was offered an upgrade to a Fantastic room at check-in with an apology that all the corner rooms and suites were booked out. However, was also told that it would be no different in size or amenities than the Wonderfull room I had booked and possibley louder and less restfull since it faced the Square. Helpfull hint so I just stayed where I was booked.

Despite the attraction of the newness of this hotel, will be staying henceforth at my usual London choice - Le Meridien where I have always been treated well as a platinum and I don't have to feel like like I am living in a shoe (or sleeping in my bathroom as the case may be here).

For folks though that want a hip and happening place irrespective of actual personal comfort, this may be your *wood hotel in London. Bar scene was buzzing and Spice restaurant had great food. Then again, I can eat and drink here then walk the four blocks to Le Meridien Piccadilly and rest well.

flyatlanta

I stayed at the W a few days ago, and at check-in, they told me about some new platinum benefits. I don't remember them all, but they included free water (not new), free parking on the first night, 1 clothing pressing per stay, washing of gym clothes during the entire stay plus they were leaving breakfast snacks out in the morning and drinks and canapes in the evening of the SPG floor since they do not have a proper lounge. I slept past the breakfast time, and must have missed the drinks, so cannot comment on the actual execution.

treznor

All the more unfortunate as Kensington is a good 3 miles away and there are a number of quite decent Indian places near Leicester Square.