Originally Posted by
777 global mile hound
The concerns I have had personally about this hotel is
Bed Comfort (not a fan of the typically hard platform beds in Andaz)
The bathrooms in this property seem odd not luxurious enough for the pricing and category of hotel (observed from website photos)
And the ability to access a great well equipped fitness center.
If you do have some comments on any of the bed I would be interested
Again, thank you indeed... It's very kind of you to respond so thoughtfully.
The bed... by the standards of US Hyatts, it is somewhat hard - and is indeed, I believe, a platform bed.
The bathrooms... you're right, they have their quirks. The hotel was originally refurbished by Terence Conran as the Great Eastern, around 2000 - and when Andaz took it over, they kept the bathrooms pretty much the way they were, in terms of size/layout/fixtures. That means the shower stall, while separate from the bath, is miniature - ok in 1999, extremely borderline in 2011. However, for me... the bathrooms work quite well... the high-quality fixtures, good lighting, and good bath products that don't make it into the pictures make the experience more of a high-end one than the photos suggest. And the black and white subway tile, highly polished, is quite attractive (but maybe that's the New Yorker in me...)
Regarding upgrades, perhaps I've been lucky... I've always got large king-bedded rooms on my stays. With Andaz, I find that the people doing the room allocation often aren't so attuned to Diamond status or benefits - so I always put a 'Diamond Member - please allocate low-floor king room, preferably room xxx if available' in the comments section of the reservations for London. Tends to do the trick.
(Diamond suite upgrades, however, are likely to get you little more than the Large King room - the suite I had came with a generously-proportioned bedroom and an hilarious miniature living-room with just a desk and a couch in it. The living room wasn't much wider than the couch. There are a range of layouts, of course, but be prepared to ask to see lots of rooms if you book into the basic suite type and want a 'proper' suite.)
It's always worth talking to a Guest Services Manager about shifting rooms if you aren't happy with yours. As is often the case in UK high-end hotels (+ as a transplanted Brit, I can say this...), front-line staff can be a little klutzy, but managers are generally far more responsive. I recommend going straight to the duty manager, if you encounter any problems. They're generally eager to help.