Mister P.

Hi,
I will need to book a 2-night stay in early June. Although the points difference is quite small between these hotels, the Lost Property St Pauls seems to have much better paid rates. I know this hotel isn't open yet but I wanted to ask if anyone has any tips / suggestions on differences between these two properties, besides location. Thanks

corporate-wage-slave

The Westminster property was originally a Mint hotel that Hilton took over, and initially it was a Doubletree, and now the Curio. It's quite a reasonable property, in a quiet area of London, but a bit of a hike from a tube station. Some rooms on the top floor have great views up the Thames towards Putney. St Pauls is a brand new build, indeed it's still being built. The location is potentially quite a fair bit better, depending on your plans. New buids tend to go for smaller rooms, there again most of the rooms in the Westminster property aren't that big either. Always a bit of a risk staying at a new property, there is usually a bit of a snag list. I remember staying at the Novotel Manchester City Centre on it's first night, and there was no running water in any bathroom. The kitchen heated up big boxes of Evian water bottles and delivered them to the rooms on a trolley so as to have an Evian shower bottle by bottle. But they can be well priced since they need to get the clients established.

Mister P.

Hi c-w-s, thanks for the clarification, that helps!

smithrh

Quick notes on the Conrad:

Said I got a good upgrade as a Diamond, but not so much. Room was OK, not very special in any way, but certainly suitable.

Breakfast was handled quite nicely, wide variety of dishes and good/attentive personal service.

Lounge open, but for some reason the lounge... steward? tended to ignore me and spent his time refilling everyone else's glasses. Odd but nothing horribly offputting.

Did arrange for a US return Covid test with the front desk, there was a lot of confusion over this to say the least but it was eventually sorted. Note, if anyone wants the details of the testing service let me know - 60 GBP for an in-room test was fine for me. My boss staying at the Corinthian got tagged with a 200 GBP charge...

No bear or dog.

Letter grade - B, maybe B-, mainly because of the "room upgrade" which wasn't - and the fact that the facade is under construction. But the location was good for what I needed for sure.

I'd stay there again if need be, but would also consider other alternatives.

Winniesbestfriend

Isn�t the lounge self pour anymore?

smithrh

That's a good question.

When I walked into the lounge, I headed for the food/drink area and was greeted (challenged?) by the steward as to what I would like and he retrieved it. Not a warm transaction by any means, but also not cold or truly hostile.

Went back to the table to relax, and people watch. I then noticed the steward was greeting others as they sat down and taking drinks orders; he was also refilling others drinks that had gotten low. And he was fairly charming as he did so.

But for me, I was studiously ignored. My empty glass was plainly visible for probably 20 minutes before I decided to call it a day.

I don't know what I might have done to be a recipient of this differentiated service. Was it because I entered the food/drink area right away? Was it my choice of drink? Puzzling.

serpens

Advice, please. I'm a Diamond member (by stays, on Covid-reduced requirements, if it matters), with 480,000 Honors points. Priorities, in approximate order, include the following.
* nearby tube station(s)
* decent (not necessarily great) breakfast (and I realize that there is a lot of subjectivity here)
* nearby self-laundry or wash-and-fold
* decent (not necessarily huge) size room, preferably with a king bed
* preferably, a lounge

I plan to stay six nights and I would like to stay five nights on points to get the fifth night free. If the points rate is such that I can stay the sixth night on points, good; if not, paying cash is not a problem. If there would be any problem with staying in the same room for the sixth night, please explain.

There will be two adults and no children. I recall seeing that I should reserve a room for one and make a note that there will be a second adult who stays for free (because sometimes a room for two costs more than a room for one). If this is incorrect, please let me know.

To give an example of my comfort level and needs, I believe I would be happy at the Staybridge Suites Vauxhall. If I didn't have Diamond status and 480,000 points, that's probably where I would stay--especially because it has a laundry in-house. But this is an opportunity to experience a higher level of travel.

Based on this and other comments in the thread, I lean toward Bankside. Although I have walked from the Tower to the British Museum, I think I would rather take the tube to the site-of-the-day. In other words, I don't perceive "isn't as well located in terms of the traditional tourist spots" to be a problem. Wherever I stay, I would expect to use the tube, which is why location wasn't in the list of priorities.

Comments? Corrections about my goals or apparent expectations? Thanks.

smithrh

Even though it sounds like I dinged the Conrad above, it was a good stay and meets most if not all of your requirements.

* Good/great central location
* Tube is St James's station and it's 75 feet away from the front door
* Breakfast was good and included as Diamond - just provide room number
* Room was completely acceptable size, especially for the location
* Lounge open and being used (room key grants entry)

I am curious about the desire for laundry for such a short stay. There could be a place nearby; it looks like there was a place in St. Jame's station until recently. I don't recall seeing one in there.

Some follow-up questions:

Are you looking to spend all of your points, or conserve them? Are you aware of the way you can split points and cash? Sounds like you've been to London before, so that helps.

serpens

Thanks. It isn't so much that I rejected the Conrad as that the Bankside edged it out. But I haven't made a decision yet. Certainly the Conrad's proximity to a tube station is superior.

Short stay? I must be an overpacker; six nights would stuff my luggage. But my plans include over a week of travel before London and over two weeks after London. I had hoped that my days of washing clothes in the hotel sink were over, as well as my days of paying hotel laundry charges.

Spending fewer points is better, but conserving them is not a priority, so either way. To get the fifth night free, my understanding is that four nights need to be all points; the sixth night could be points or cash. I have been to London before; the other traveler has been there multiple times and will probably determine the site visits.

smithrh

I'd wager that the concierge can find a more-than-suitable laundry for you as you are certainly staying long enough that you're not looking for same-day or next-morning service.

serpens

Thanks for that suggestion. I rarely ask a concierge for information, and the possibility hadn't occurred to me.

Quite right about the lack of urgency. My default action is to type "wash and fold" into Google Maps, but that returns mostly dry cleaners. Asking the concierge will probably be more efficient.

The _Banking_Scot

Hi

I do recall passing a self service launderette close by ( less than 10mins walk from the conrad).
I will see if I can find the street on Google maps late
Iirc it was left out of conrad and go to the end of the street ( small garden on right) then cross the road and it was on a corner.

Ps I think it was westminster launderette on horseferry Road and close to the corner with maunsel st


Regards
Tbs

corporate-wage-slave

That sounds like True Colours Laundrette in Regency Place, Horseferry Road. I've never used them, but I know of others who have used it.

The key phrase you need in UK and Oommonwealth countries is "service wash", rather than "wash and fold", and accepting most such locations won't have much of an online presence either. True Colours does service washes, and the system there was that you handed over bags of washing in the morning, and then collect in the afternoon / evening. Most of these places are open to about 8 or 9 pm. Working class areas are better for this in cities, whereas most hotels are in areas where relatively few people actually live.

The _Banking_Scot

Hi,

Googled it and google came up with westminster launderette . sorry

Looking at bing maps some images does not name the launderette but this is the street view

https://www.bing.com/maps?q=regency+...FORM=QBLH&sp=1

Other laundry places are nearby also

Regards

TBS

serpens

Thank you for that. Found it, with help from corporate-wage-slave.
Thank you for the phrase. I have noted it for future reference. (It does appear that Google is US-centric enough that it prefers wash and fold to service wash. But I appreciate knowing how to phrase the question when I ask a concierge.)
Online presence is better than not, but I (over-optimistically) placed faith in the omniscience of Google Maps, which couldn't find True Colours Laundrette when I typed it in the search box. Street View showed a business with that name just where you said it was.

Thanks again to smithrh for suggesting using a concierge, and thanks again to TBS and c-w-s for leading me to the lesson that smithrh had a really good suggestion. (And now I see that TBS followed up while I was composing this reply.)