Stayed in the Park Lane this weekend for 3 nights. Decent stay for a reasonable rate (GBP 139), by London standards.

SNAs did not clear, and as I was arriving late in the evening I received a minimal upgrade to an "executive" room, which was bigger than the basic "classic" room but still quite small and with no view.

(begin SNA rant)

This was especially frustrating since this hotel seems to do right by Platinums on at-check-in upgrades, but their SNA options are very limited: one category of suites only, a multi-room suite with a King bed and single sofa bed. Based on tracking the shifting availability around the 5-day window, I suspect other Plats got the rooms in that single category and (by whatever prioritization is used for SNAs) I did not make the cut.

However, there are other categories, including a slightly larger multi-room suite which Platinums regularly receive upgrades to, and several categories of single-room "studio" junior suites with the same square footage as the SNA category which were not available for SNAs but for which I would gladly have used my SNAs for (not least because they're proving quite useless in general, so it's not as though I'm worried about conserving them). All of those categories were readily available within the 5-day window but had been assigned to others by the time I arrived at the hotel that evening.

So, to be clear, I do think this property does right by Platinums and I suspect other Platinums who arrived early the same day got a happier outcome. I just wish they would expand their SNA pool so that SNAs could work as they theoretically are supposed to -- to allow a Platinum to express that some stays they really, really want an upgrade, instead of letting them fall to the luck of the draw or timing of arrival.

(end SNA rant)

But, otherwise, was happy with the stay. Room was comfortable if small, with a nice marble bathroom and decent shower. Wi-fi was reasonably fast. Breakfast amenity, as others have reported, goes above and beyond the required "continental breakfast" minimum and offers the full hot and cold breakfast buffet in Bracewells Restaurant, which was quite good. If the SNA pool were expanded I would gladly stay here again.