Originally Posted by est-gratuite

Had a longish (over 1 week) stay here recently.
I have been here before covid/coronavirus, so I know what is was like before.
Here are the changes I noticed compared to the years before 2020:

-This is hotel has completely stopped doing evening turn down service in the rooms. Was here for over 1 week, in 2 different rooms and it was never done once. I even asked about it to reception but they seemed to not want to admit they stopped doing it. Prior to the year 2020, they used to do it every night.

-They have removed all the notepads and pens from the rooms.

-Shanghai Tang toiletries are only for shampoo and conditioner. Shower gel and body lotion are from another (less fancy) brand.

-There is NO extra charge for diamond members (I'm assuming for gold members too) to have breakfast in the ground floor restaurant, however all the extra items not at the buffet (such as omlettes, poached eggs, pancakes, avocado toast, etc) must be ordered and paid for extra. In the past these items were included in the breakfast rate. Service at breakfast was slow and sloppy. Various people were waiting for ordered items and had to ask for them more than once. My simple cappuccino needed 2 reminders until I got it. This happened on several different days.

On a more general basis I noticed these things

-Views from the rooms. If your room windows face the front of the hotel (meaning the street where the huge 1920s art deco building is, which houses St James Park tube/metro station) then you will probably enjoy your view. However, a lot of the room windows face a small awful inner courtyard, or ugly side alleyways. In this case you may not enjoy your room (or the view) as much. Be aware of this when if you choose this hotel as you may be very disappointed with the view.

-If you have stayed at other Conrad hotels around the world, especially in Asia, or are used to the Hilton bankside, the executive lounge is the biggest disappointment at this hotel. Evening food served from 5pm to 7pm consists of cold cuts, cheese, 2 cold mini canapes (usually a tiny tart or toasted bread with something on it) and only 1 type of warm food on a tiny dish (such as 1 ravioli the first evening, or 1 prawn on the 2nd evening, or 1 tiny piece of meat on the 3rd evening). It is definitely not enough to substitute for a dinner, and you will still feel hungry afterwards. Wines and spirits have more choice, although I only saw 1 brand of beer.

The executive lounge also does an afternoon tea selection from 2pm to 4pm with 2 types of finger sandwiches, scones and cream, and 2 types of dessert. I actually enjoyed this more than the dinner options.

Conclusion

This hotels main selling point is its central london location right next to a tube/metro station in a pretty quiet area, and is only a short walk from the houses of parliament, westminster abbey and Buckingham palace. Somehow though, it really doesn't feel like a true 5 star hotel, especially if you compare it to other Conrad hotels around the world. The Hilton Bankside has a much better food selection both at breakfast and in their executive lounge. The Conrad is reducing costs in various small ways (no evening turn down service, no pens or notepads, lower brand name toiletries, surcharges for some breakfast items, poor selection in the evening at the lounge) and the direction your room windows face can have a huge effect on whether you enjoy your stay. Make sure you shop around before choosing this hotel. I only stayed here so long because I got a really good rate, and I needed to be in this area.


Restaurant nearby

For lunch or dinner I recommend the south indian restaurant called "Quilon" which is a short walk away. They used to have a Michelin star years ago, but not sure if they still have it, but the food is still very good, portions generous, and atmosphere is classy. Weekend brunch deal at 47 GBP for a lot of food if you book through the opentable website.