Originally Posted by
River in Sight
Couldn’t find an existing thread on this property, it appears to have joined Marriott very recently. If anyone on this board has stayed, I have two questions:
1. The “family suite” on Marriott.com states the room has 2BR and 2BA, which would be perfect for my needs - but also says the room is only 330 sqft so I’m wondering if this is really true and what the suite is like. I did reach out to the hotel for more info and would also like any first hand experience from FlyerTalk.
2. On TripAdvisor, a handful of reviews praise the club lounge, and an equal handful say it’s a forgettable, windowless space hidden behind the toilets. So I’m really curious what the club lounge is like.
This summer I will visit London with my wife, son, and mother in law and this sort of family suite arrangement seems perfect for us and I haven’t found anything else like it in my searching. However, with the relatively limited information available I’m a little hesitant to book.
Hi, I stay at one of the Montcalms almost every week, and the M is probably my least favourite. The 'club lounge' is quite desultory, it is indeed windowless, you have to get a porter to let you in, and they play loud techno music, which I've been told a few times 'can't be turned down' - it's almost like it's there to drive you out. They do have decent range of free drinks, but only during a short window - 5.30 to 7.30 - as I'm there working and like to hit the gym after work, I frequently don't make this window. Outside this window there is just coffee and snacks.
You'll also probably be alone there. Though I've got Platinum membership, which should include free club lounge access, I have to argue with them every time.
My biggest problem with this hotel though are there seem to quite a lot of Russian gangsters and their ladies staying, and they ruin the spa and pool with their behaviour, and it's often noisy in the corridors in the middle of the night.
Ignore all the 'high tech' talk - it seems to amount to having an iPad fixed to the bathroom wall that allows you to control the airco, underfloor heating and pointlessly, the bathroom light. This is in no way an improvement on flipping a switch, and is just annoying in the middle of the night when you have to pee and it needs to wake up, so you hit it twice and turn the light on an off etc.
The suites are basically slightly bigger rooms with a sofa bed. I have stayed in rooms that appear to have a connecting door, so it's possible they open that up between two rooms and call it a family suite.
The Montcalm Royal London House is far better, it's even closer to Liverpool St and Broadgate with a great variety of restaurants. The pool/spa is a bit smaller but the club lounge is very nice and friendly, and you can get drinks until 9pm.
The next best are the two hotels at the Brewery (the other is called 'City Suites' but it's a just a building over the road from the main one). They have no pool and spa, but you can use the Royal London's facilities - it's a short walk of 10 mins, they do have a gym and the club lounge is really cosy and pleasant and the snacks are enough you could eat there if you don't want to go out. It is, however, an absolute maze. getting to your room can easily involve a lift, a walk over a bridge, another lift up, down some stairs and along another corridor.
Being a listed building they don't have the sound insulation of the others, so if you're unlucky you can get a room that's noisy. But it's very quaint. It's also a bit cheaper.
Apparently now the M by Montcalm has been taken over by Marriott and my platinum level and points are useless there, so I won't be going back.