I suppose part of my consideration is which hotel I am most likely to be upgraded in. Also food wise, the free dinner from AMEX is for room service or the Caramel room at the Berkeley; the Reading Room at Claridges, or Espelette at the Connaught.

We are staying before flying from Heathrow, mainly to take advantage of the offer and will either cab it to Paddington and then train or car the whole way.

We visit London frequently (usually stay at the Intercontinental or Hyatt) and used to live there so we know the areas. We have an appointment near Bond Street so Connaught is slightly edging it at the moment but we don't mind walking or taxiing.

The pluses for us are that Claridges is somewhere everyone has heard of so it's kind of cool to stay there, but it has no pool; the Connaught was friendliest when I phoned and looks quite nice and has a pool; the Berkeley has the rooftop pool which is pretty unique.

Thanks for advice so far. We will book in a few days. I suppose part of what I want to know is whether the experience should be better than eg. the Hyatt, where we wouldn't need to buy dinner due to Club access (and free champagne) and would cost less. I guess it should be better, but can anyone advise?