corporate-wage-slave

The thing about hotels in Europe is that they rarely have any regular users, every day a new cohort of travellers present themselves to check-in and any generalisation goes out of the window. I suppose you can say that during school holidays it's more likely to get a group of children splashing around - parents would normally be supervising. On the rare occasions I've used the pool at Bankside I was the only user but that generalisation will not necessarily apply 30 minutes later.

I have a feeling it's 15 metres by the way, it looks the same size as Gateshead which I know to be 15 metres. Waldorf is 14 metres. The two London hotels with 25 metre pools are the Marriott County Hall and Bvlgari Knightsbridge.

shillard

Restaurant breakfast, didn't try the lounge breakfast during either stay. Opens at 6:30 which is a little late for my taste (SIN properties open at 6, Aus at 6:30 usually). I only opted for Continental so unsure of any restrictions on Diamonds - and I don't drink coffee. Tea was more than acceptable. Twinings Earl Grey.

shillard

Barely wide enough for 3 lap swimmers, it was only crowded once so I just waited for 10 minutes or so and then it was fine. Had it to myself approx 50% of the time, I swim 1200 - 1800m pretty briskly and found early morning (pre-8am) to be the quietest times. No kids.

Everyone was swimming laps, except for one loose unit who had a snorkel and was swimming the perimeter of the pool, but he would (sometimes) pause to let you pass.

pauleeepaul

Why isnt it Marriott Covnty Hall?

sof_lance

Appreciate the in-depth feedback. The pool at Marriott County Hall looks mighty enticing!

Missed your reply first time round. Thanks for the reply.

ChurnieEls

In London for the NLD this weekend.

Have the Hyatt Place out in LHR booked for 5k Hyatt but now considering staying in Central London to avoid shuttling back and forth between LHR (plus I land into LGW).

Currently have these as potential options:

• DT Kensington (£179), is the exec lounge here still open?
• Metropole (£180)
• Paddington (£198)

Leaning towards DT given its on Piccadilly which is handy for LHR/Ems.

Exec lounge would also be a nice bonus in terms of saving a few quid on food/beer the Saturday evening.

The _Banking_Scot

Hi,

Not sure about the lounge at DT Kensington but the Metropole has had a lot of rooms renovated and is a short walk from Paddington from where you can get the Elizabeth line ( cheaper than the heathrow express) to Heathrow.

Regards

TBS

ChurnieEls

Thanks TBS, went with the Metropole.

Will report back.

(Addendum, I had asked earlier in the year about the Conrad, but I ended up staying in Sea Containers afterwards via a good Amex deal).

brp

Good choice. We stayed at the Metropole for a long overnight in London (longer than Hyatt Place LHR, but shorter than further afield in London) and very much enjoyed the area. We went on an extended stroll of the canal that starts right outside the hotel and it was interesting.

Cheers.

ChurnieEls

To report back, lots of messing about on my behalf with the reservations.

Booked the Metropole above for £180, they pre-upgraded me to a refurbed King Executive. However I did another search yesterday afternoon and the DT West End showed up for £135, albeit it for a single room (I'm here for the match so I'll be spending damn all time in the room). So yeah I figured the Exec Lounge & nicer room wasn't worth the incremental £45 I'll put towards pints instead. I just arrived here and they upgraded me to a King Deluxe (which I believe is unusual as they don't typically upgrade single room bookings). Very nice hotel in the lobby area (haven't got into the room yet), quite impressed for £135 on a Saturday in London. Holborn Station and Tottenham Court being walkable weighed heavily on my decision to switch.

Edit: Was given a King Deluxe on the ground floor, room was pretty decent, big for London, very comfy bed but horrendous pillows. Shower was powerful but very short, I was crouching to get under it and I'm 6'1". Solid breakfast too. Also got given a drink voucher on actual check in which was a nice gesture, I unfortunately used it for an awful pint of Guinness at the bar. Overall good value for the price, would stay here again.

klvendors

I'll second this. Just spent 5 nights at Trafalgar which I had booked in Feb 2023. I kept trying for a points booking at Biltmore Mayfair leading up to the trip but nothing ever opened up. However, Conrad, Trafalgar, and Waldorf all had periods of high/low point redemptions during that time so I think your chances are good. As a "lowly Gold", we were upgraded to a King and the included breakfast was a full hot & cold breakfast bar + 1 item which could be ordered off the a la carte breakfast menu.

ThatT1Feeling

A tale of 3 London properties last week. The first two booked as Queen Guest Room, the Metropole booked as Deluxe King. All around £250 per room per night. There was a train strike midweek which may have increased demand.

Hart Shoreditch Curio.
Lovely new hotel - luxury fixtures and fittings, books in the room, funky lighting etc. Very welcoming staff at check-in.
Upgraded proactively on the day to Junior Suite (no request from me)




Doubletree Victoria:

Busy hotel next to railway station. More classic Hilton look and feel. Very welcoming staff at check-in.
Upgraded proactively on the day to Junior Suite (no request from me). This was more a "two room" Junior Suite than the Hart, but probably similar space overall.





Hilton Metropole:

Insanely busy reception. Thankfully digital key was available so no staff interaction required at all.
No upgrade, despite many "better" room types on sale at the time of check-in but I didn't ask due to the long queues at reception.
Refurbished deluxe room. Very small room indeed, plus no slippers or robes which I thought came with the deluxe package. Great views over London.




Favourites in the order of stays - the Curio Hart Shoreditch first, the DT Victoria second and the Metropole third.

If I added in Hilton Bankside which I stayed in a few weeks ago, that would come second out of 4 in this list.

ThatT1Feeling

Yes, I have a strange soft spot for the DT West End. They have good staff who try hard to please. Their Junior Suites on the 5th floor (I think, might be 6th floor) are new and are pleasant places to be although they're only really larger King rooms. The Deluxe rooms aren't bad but I instinctively struggle with them being on the ground floor!

flieduk

Looking at booking in London. We usually stay at the Conrad. Love the comfort, lounge and service. We often just travel into the centre including theatre land.

However, we are thinking of being more in the midst of it this time. We are thinking Waldorf since it is in theatre land.

Now the esteemed CWS on this thread speaks hiighly of Waldford. However, the Waldorf thread has had a lot of bad reviews recently. What do people think, if we are used to the Conrad, are going to be sorely disappointed with the qualify of hard and soft product (i.e. service) at the Hilton Waldorf?

corporate-wage-slave

The Waldorf certainly benefits from being ideally placed for theatre land, it's right on the edge, with a theatre or two as neighbours and pretty much all of the main theatres within 10 minutes easy walk. I think I would slightly dial down any massive enthusiasm for The Waldorf compared to Conrad, since the Conrad is the better hotel, however though it's pretty much on top of a tube station, it's not near theatre land. I would certainly consider Waldorf if you had a busy schedule and would benefit from centrality and some great restaurant options on the door step, but I would also be looking for a decent room rate reduction over Conrad.

Other options would be the Doubletree West End (and you want a lower rate still there but in some ways even better located), Hilton Bankside (bit of a hike but over the Thames and quite pleasant if the weather holds), Trafalgar (probably a realistic alternative here), and Lost Property (bit further away, be careful about room selection).