Originally Posted by
RichardInSF
To me, a hotel either is a luxury hotel or it isn't one. The qualification, "By the standards of <name of city>, this is a luxury hotel" just isn't valid -- the top end is determined by global standards. It is perfectly valid to say, "This is one of the best hotels in <name of city>" but that doesn't make it luxury. And, in the case of the London IC, as pointed out above, even that weaker statement isn't true.
It is fairer to say "it looks like one, but it isn't one". However, if you are happy staying somewhere that
looks like a luxury hotel, and that you can get on a good weekend night for less than the Mayfair Holiday Inn round the corner, its OK. With the 2-4-1 link above, for example (if you can get the IC to show for the dates you want) it becomes harder to ignore if your funds are not unlimited.