Biggie Fries

Ditto. Used a Hilton Honors weekend certificate. Seemed like good value for money. (Or no money.) No 2nd bathrobe in chest at foot of bed. Plenty of heat, which was good since it was cold. Ordered b'fast off the menu. With tip, ended up being $20 out of pocket, for two. Not a big deal, since running out into the street to a deli in NYC for 2 coffees, a scone and a muffin will rid you of a $20 bill. On the other hand, feels a bit chintzy, as does the lack of coffee (no machine in room, nothing on ground floor lobby). Fitness center was fine. Service in restaurant was fine. Service at check-in and check-out was fine. Location is excellent.

I'll keep it on my mental list of places to check for reasonable points redemption.

christianj

I'm a bit surprised people are commenting on this as it seems to be the norm in a lot more hotels. Take out of the equation that most of us on FT are elites and we kind of expect freebies...I would say the average person off the street doesn't even expect a coffee maker in the room or free coffee in the lobby anymore unless they are staying at a lower-end hotel like a Hampton, etc.

SkyTeam777

I was told two bottles of water per room for Diamonds, but minibar has remained unpreplenished since day one of my four day stay. Has that been others' experience?

Bicoastal Local

When I asked the front desk if it was two bottles per stay or per night, I was told that it was per stay.

SkyTeam777

That's not what we were told at checkin! Oh gosh, this place really needs to get their act together if they want to be part of Honors.

Bicoastal Local

The first associate I asked had to check with someone else, so it still looks like they're getting everyone up to speed.

FWIW, I asked a few people about the renovation schedule, and they said that the plan is to start with the top floors in fall 2018 and then work their way down, updating the lobby last.

christianj

What did the front desk say when you asked about why it wasn't being replenished?

Biggie Fries

Well, maybe calling it "chintzy" was unnecessary. My point was more by way of something that is implicit in your comment: That there is no strong linear correlation between hotel price and whether there is free coffee about. The Hamptons, the LaQuintas, the Hyatt Places ... they seem to have it. So do Park Hyatts, and a lot of other ritzy places. In the middle, it's hit or miss. Again, it's not a deal-breaker, just one of those things that factors into thinking. If one is staying in a hotel for typical business stuff, where you have to get up and out early, and may be sitting all day in a room drenched with coffee and stuffed with muffins and bagels, then the coffee (and breakfast) at the hotel doesn't matter much. My (personal) take on The London NYC was more as a couples/leisure place, and while there is some good stuff about it, having to either sit for breakfast or hit the street for coffee is not among them.

SkyTeam777

They said they would send someone to replenish it; they didn't.

dwcatty

Stayed here on my free night anniversary certificate a week ago. Our room on the 31st floor was lovely, a full two room suite with french doors to separate living from sleeping. Mechanical blinds were very cool. Shower stall door a bit funky; not long enough and had to put an extra towel on the floor, but other than that, the accommodation was very nice. I considered this an excellent use of my certificate.

We were given a $60 credit for breakfast for two. We did the buffet which was very nice. With tip the charge was $25. That got me a charge that resulted in over 4,000 Hhonors points, so I'm not complaining.

I'm a morning coffee person and have stayed at many full service hotels that provide a lobby coffee service (Hiltons, Marriotts, Renaissance that I've stayed in come to mind). There is none here. I asked at the restaurant and was given two to-go cups and charged $5 each (so my total bill on check out was $35). In one way I thought that was sort of chintzy, but I think this is just what you have to expect at a property at this level in NYC.

And for us. this was a Christmas present trip; up and back overnight flights, hotel, dinner, and tickets to see Bette Midler in Hello Dolly. After we actually got there what with the New York airports being closed the day before for the snow storm I wasn't going to let anything bother me.

CJNoobie

Stayed here January 6-9 as a Diamond member celebrating my wife's and my birthdays. Booked an Extended Weekend Rate of $224/ night average ($269 Friday and Monday/ half off Sunday night).

It seemed like maybe this hotel is still experiencing issues integrating into the Hilton systems. First, OLCI did not work at all, which is the first time I have experienced this. Second, the credit card I input into the system to secure my reservation seems not to have been visible to them. I was asked for a CC at check in, which is another first for me. At check in, I was told that the Diamond Amenity was "$60 credit at the restaurant" per day. On our final night, I specifically called the front desk to see if that credit could be used for evening room service, since we'd had breakfast elsewhere that morning and was told no problem. However at checkout, they tried to charge me the full price. I had to insist on receiving the credit since I was told it applied the night before. Finally, at checkout the hotel tried to charge me the full $269/ night, including the Sunday that was half price (system integration issue?). I had to show the clerk my confirmation email with the correct rate to have it fixed, then was asked to forward the email to an offsite General Manager, I guess so the clerk could do a CYA. I encourage future guests to examine their folios at checkout before leaving.....

That said, we actually had a great time. We got VERY lucky with a fantastic guy that checked us in, originally upgraded us to room 2301, which is a huge suite, but unfortunately had no views to speak of. When my wife wasn't happy with that room, I did something I never do, went back down and asked to change. The same guy called housekeeping to confirm readiness, then escorted me personally to room 5101, whose view blew me away, and then checked us into that room. Not quite as large as the other but with incredible 3-direction views and a huge marble bathroom with separate tub and shower. The room was a bit worn, but still an incredible value for what we got.

Staff was very friendly and professional overall, location cannot be beat for anything Midtown or further North. Breakfast was as others have described.

TommyLACA

Wonder when this hotel would fully integrated into the Hilton Honors system. Emailed the concierge a month ago and still no response. I made a reservation for a weekend stay in April for a birthday celebration with my 2-night weekend cert. still on the fence should I keep the res or change it to Conrad NYC in Battery Park..

CJNoobie

I would say that would depend on the location you want (Uptown London NYC vs Downton Conrad). Lots of reviews of the latter on the mainstream blogs......

If you haven't heard back from the Concierge, I would suggest calling the HH Diamond desk with any concerns...

Hope that helps.

Bicoastal Local

What do you mean by "fully integrated"? If you're referring to earning and accepting Honors points, they already do both.

I also wouldn't hold my breath waiting for an email response. They did respond to a previous Facebook message, although they didn't know the answers to my questions.

TommyLACA

Just based on the numerous reviews on The London from FT or Tripadvisor, one doesn't get the impression that this particular hotel is up to the Conrad level of service. Their web site doesn't even bare the name Conrad. I"m going to tweet my question to Hilton and see if I could get someone to respond.