PoincianaKings

IC London- The o2

which room did you book and which upgrade did you receive

Booked a king superior room for £132. The app upgraded me to a King deluxe Canary Wharf view (so a two level upgrade). On check in was told I had been upgraded to a King deluxe river view room. Didn't query the difference with the app, in reality the only difference between the two rooms (view aside although you could just about see HSBC Tower) was the lack of a Bose iPod dock in the room I received.

How are the rooms

Excellent as you would expect for a brand new hotel. Noted that British and US plugs had been thoughtfully placed in the room. Bed exceptionally comfortable and very quiet.

Only minor issues were associated with the shower. The water was not that hot in the shower- I like very hot showers and the rainfall. shower already had lime scale issues. On turning the rainfall shower on water was spraying over the walls and door at odd angles rather than spraying downwards!

How is the exec. Lounge

We were offered access to the exec lounge for £75 for 24 hours per room. As we were staying one evening we purchased access. We arrived at the lounge at 4pm to find afternoon tea had just finished (which is early given that afternoon tea would typically be taken around 3-4.30) but the staff, without requesting, came out with a plate of afternoon tea cakes. Between 4pm full coffee and tea facilities plus soft drinks available as well as nuts and crisps.

At 5pm the evening canapé selection was brought out. Full selection of booze including prosseco, 5 white and 5 red wines, number of bottled beers and a large selection of spirits including Sipsmith Gin (which is a step above something like Bombay in the supermarkets). Canapés included hot food, chicken skewers, samosas, spring rolls, large king prawns, smoked salmon and various dips.

Breakfast was an excellent spread. Not as big as in the restaurant but that is to be expected. You can order whatever hot meal you like- for example I had poached eggs, bacon, sausage and toast which wasn't on the menu. The continental selection was very good- cheese selection in particular.

We never saw more than two other couples in the lounge and for the most part on the Sunday afternoon we were the only people using the facility.

What was good and bad

Good:

1. Staff- they were fantastic and amongst the best I have come across in other top end brand hotels (WA, FS, RC, Conrad).

2. Quality of food and drink in the club lounge. For example the king prawns were very large compared to the typical king prawn served in the UK.

3. Quietness of hotel

4. Signage to get to hotel from the o2 and tube station is now a lot clearer.

BAd:

1. Shower issue as mentioned above.

2. Whilst the location was not an issue for us at all, I can see it might be for those who aren't familiar with London.

Value for money, would I return

Yes. We got a good rate- not as good as some on here have reported- but very good for the quality of hotel. The lounge access also represented good value given that a hot breakfast in the restaurant would have been £25 each plus service charge. Taking that into account and the afternoon tea and canapé services it was good value.

We will definitely return, the staff really make this hotel.