It’s now my third time visiting The Standard since my initial post on this thread. I informed my preference for “premium view king” rooms over “studio suites”, and on both repeat visits the requests were obliged, although on my previous stay I was assigned a room facing south (can’t really fathom why they’re categorized as “view” rooms). Sirens and engine revs from Euston Road are audible from rooms facing St. Pancras station, but fortunately noises from top floor bars were completely isolated at least up to the 8th floor, unlike the ill-fated Thompson/tommie in Hollywood.

HVAC failed miserably in my first room, and it took multiple calls/visits to the front desk and two engineer visits to determine it was indeed a hardware fault. My initial wait for an engineer was over an hour, before finding out they missed my request. To the hotel’s credit service recovery was acceptable, Duty Manager offered room switches, but the first replacement room they showed me was somehow even warmer with a very foul smell. According to the engineer my AC was blasting air upwards of 26 to 27 degrees Celsius when I checked in. I eventually moved to a room next door after a second engineer visit when a software override couldn’t get the temperature down.

The hotel’s flagship restaurant Decimo and top-floor cocktail bar Sweeties were both booked out for a wedding during my stay. Decimo is chef-driven and caters to mostly outside guests and premium groups. It of course has its own website (which Hyatt now collects the Cookies) and social media accounts, but unfortunately neither informed the restaurant/bar’s closure on the day, and I wouldn’t have known if I haven’t specifically inquired upon checking in.

In general I found the service much better at The Standard’s myriad of F&B venues than at the front desk. Check in felt robotic without any status acknowledgement. The only time front desk agents mentioned “Globalist” was when I asked for extra water when stopping by the front desk, and was told the only complimentary water was the bottle in room. Fair enough in accordance to WoH terms, but I recall no trouble asking for extra bottled water on my previous stays or at other full-service Hyatts in London (I’ve not stayed at GSY though). After dinner drinks at Double Standard were solid, albeit overpriced as expected for hotel bars. Each of the hotel’s F&B venues does see a lot of traffic. I totally missed out on ŕ la carte egg dishes and pancakes for breakfast on my initial visit, and the buffet was still tiny but of good quality. Coupled with proper Batista coffee, I’m much happier with the breakfast situation than my initial assessment.

Please excuse the negativity and venting, but this property feels more like a giant house of restaurants, bars and cafes that happens to have a few guest rooms up top. My third visit was not a charm then, but The Standard is still an okay hotel with quirky design at the right price. I’ll definitely manage future expectations per the experience, coupled with the fact that the previous GM at Andaz (and GSY) is now at the helm, who wasn’t renowned for delivering great customer service. A few pictures below.