[ARCHIVE to 2019] Conrad London St. James {GBR}
Oct 6, 2019, 1:02 pm
#841
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: PDX
Programs: AA LT PLT (3.6+ MM), UA 1K LT Gold, Hilton LT Diamond, Bonvoy Gold.
Posts: 1,662
Ok, so trying to find any award space for next June/July, any room, one person. No availability at all for months on end. Any idea what's going on? Is that part of the 'enhancement' to Hiltons' award program? Any ideas how to force this through? I'm Diamod if it makes any difference....
Oct 9, 2019, 12:06 pm
#842
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: North of Boston
Programs: AA EXP 3.9MM and counting, HHDiamond, SPG Plat
Posts: 57
go incognito or clear cookies and try. What I've been seeing is that hotels I want are showing ""full"" -- chart pops up, with other available dates -- (via payment or points) or don't have availability on dates I'm interested in.... when I am looking at 3-5 weeks out. If they do have rooms, the rates are high. Magically...stuff appears like crazy one or two days out with plenty of availability and at good rates. Its the flexible pricing model. They, like everyone else, are looking for maximum $ on space/product. There ARE work arounds. just figure it/them out. This is true for travel sites/ and corporate sites.
and frankly, this Conrad ain't all that, in comparison w other Conrads world wide.
and frankly, this Conrad ain't all that, in comparison w other Conrads world wide.
Dec 5, 2019, 12:32 pm
#843
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: SJC
Programs: AA EXP, BA Silver, Hyatt Globalist, Hilton diamond, Marriott Platinum
Posts: 33,535
In word: underwhelmed.
In more detail:
The place was fine, but I was expecting quite a bit more based on what I'd read. It seemed a fairly standard Hilton overall. Been a while since we were at the Waldorf Hilton, but I recall thinking that that was better.
Location: The location of the Conrad is superb. We were doing a number of things in West End and Soho, and this was very convenient. Proximity to the Tube made travel from/to Paddington for Hex very easy, as well as a trip to Camden. Did a little in the Westminster area s well. So this part was grand.
Lounge: The lounge offerings were standard to lower-end. The spirits selection (I didn't have any, but I do use this to judge quality of offerings) was sub0standard, Ballantine as Scotch. Wine choices mediocre. Canapes were below what I would have expected.
Breakfast: We had this in the restaurant 2 days and the lounge on our departure day as it opened earlier. Pretty standard Hilton offering, with ability to custom-order eggs in restaurant. Service was very good here. No complaints just, again, Hilton standard.
Housekeeping: We reuse towels. The hotel says "if you want to reuse towels, hang them." Same with sheets. Don't need new sheets for a 3-day trip. We happened to go back to the room while the housekeeper was there and mentioned that we didn't need towels changed. She indicated that here supervisor would expect her to change them, but she would not (and did not) because of our request. Why is her supervisor's expectation to counter the wishes of the guest with the hanging towel? Other than this, housekeeping was great (and this was too since we did let her know). Toffees are turn-down were a nice touch.
The thing that bugged me the most, and I would have expected this kind of support from a hotel at this level. It turns out that we had 30 quid in "old" notes (we go through LHR often, but hadn't been in London for a while. HSBC would not exchange since we did not have an account. Makes sense. No prob. We will exchange at the hotel and they, having local accounts, would deal with this when the banks opened. Nope. No dice. Asked several times and they couldn't/wouldn't do it. In the end, one of the Concierges did it out of his own pocket (and I tipped for that, of course). But that was personal, and not the hotel. That was disappointing. (In the end, should have just exchanged with our friend or relative, both of whom we saw during the weekend, but thought of that too late
).
So, I'd stay here again for the location, but my expectations have now been suitably reduced for this property.
I will say that, while I would never be wasteful enough to get a paper receipt (who uses paper anymore?), the emailed receipt I received did have proper letterhead
Cheers.
In more detail:
The place was fine, but I was expecting quite a bit more based on what I'd read. It seemed a fairly standard Hilton overall. Been a while since we were at the Waldorf Hilton, but I recall thinking that that was better.
Location: The location of the Conrad is superb. We were doing a number of things in West End and Soho, and this was very convenient. Proximity to the Tube made travel from/to Paddington for Hex very easy, as well as a trip to Camden. Did a little in the Westminster area s well. So this part was grand.
Lounge: The lounge offerings were standard to lower-end. The spirits selection (I didn't have any, but I do use this to judge quality of offerings) was sub0standard, Ballantine as Scotch. Wine choices mediocre. Canapes were below what I would have expected.
Breakfast: We had this in the restaurant 2 days and the lounge on our departure day as it opened earlier. Pretty standard Hilton offering, with ability to custom-order eggs in restaurant. Service was very good here. No complaints just, again, Hilton standard.
Housekeeping: We reuse towels. The hotel says "if you want to reuse towels, hang them." Same with sheets. Don't need new sheets for a 3-day trip. We happened to go back to the room while the housekeeper was there and mentioned that we didn't need towels changed. She indicated that here supervisor would expect her to change them, but she would not (and did not) because of our request. Why is her supervisor's expectation to counter the wishes of the guest with the hanging towel? Other than this, housekeeping was great (and this was too since we did let her know). Toffees are turn-down were a nice touch.
The thing that bugged me the most, and I would have expected this kind of support from a hotel at this level. It turns out that we had 30 quid in "old" notes (we go through LHR often, but hadn't been in London for a while. HSBC would not exchange since we did not have an account. Makes sense. No prob. We will exchange at the hotel and they, having local accounts, would deal with this when the banks opened. Nope. No dice. Asked several times and they couldn't/wouldn't do it. In the end, one of the Concierges did it out of his own pocket (and I tipped for that, of course). But that was personal, and not the hotel. That was disappointing. (In the end, should have just exchanged with our friend or relative, both of whom we saw during the weekend, but thought of that too late
).So, I'd stay here again for the location, but my expectations have now been suitably reduced for this property.
I will say that, while I would never be wasteful enough to get a paper receipt (who uses paper anymore?), the emailed receipt I received did have proper letterhead
Cheers.
Last edited by brp; Dec 5, 2019 at 12:41 pm
Dec 5, 2019, 3:43 pm
#844
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: DCA
Programs: AA Gold, HH Diamond, UA Silver
Posts: 1,366
I’ve found the lounge offerings to change a lot between my (infrequent) stays, bit Ballantine is really sad. On my last trip they had a bottle of Dalmore along with other mid to high quality spirits; sounds like I need to seriously lower my expectations before my next visit.
Dec 6, 2019, 3:30 am
#845
Join Date: Jun 2013
Location: norwich, uk
Programs: hhonors diamond
Posts: 5,397
In word: underwhelmed.
In more detail:
The place was fine, but I was expecting quite a bit more based on what I'd read. It seemed a fairly standard Hilton overall. Been a while since we were at the Waldorf Hilton, but I recall thinking that that was better.
Location: The location of the Conrad is superb. We were doing a number of things in West End and Soho, and this was very convenient. Proximity to the Tube made travel from/to Paddington for Hex very easy, as well as a trip to Camden. Did a little in the Westminster area s well. So this part was grand.
Lounge: The lounge offerings were standard to lower-end. The spirits selection (I didn't have any, but I do use this to judge quality of offerings) was sub0standard, Ballantine as Scotch. Wine choices mediocre. Canapes were below what I would have expected.
Breakfast: We had this in the restaurant 2 days and the lounge on our departure day as it opened earlier. Pretty standard Hilton offering, with ability to custom-order eggs in restaurant. Service was very good here. No complaints just, again, Hilton standard.
Housekeeping: We reuse towels. The hotel says "if you want to reuse towels, hang them." Same with sheets. Don't need new sheets for a 3-day trip. We happened to go back to the room while the housekeeper was there and mentioned that we didn't need towels changed. She indicated that here supervisor would expect her to change them, but she would not (and did not) because of our request. Why is her supervisor's expectation to counter the wishes of the guest with the hanging towel? Other than this, housekeeping was great (and this was too since we did let her know). Toffees are turn-down were a nice touch.
The thing that bugged me the most, and I would have expected this kind of support from a hotel at this level. It turns out that we had 30 quid in "old" notes (we go through LHR often, but hadn't been in London for a while. HSBC would not exchange since we did not have an account. Makes sense. No prob. We will exchange at the hotel and they, having local accounts, would deal with this when the banks opened. Nope. No dice. Asked several times and they couldn't/wouldn't do it. In the end, one of the Concierges did it out of his own pocket (and I tipped for that, of course). But that was personal, and not the hotel. That was disappointing. (In the end, should have just exchanged with our friend or relative, both of whom we saw during the weekend, but thought of that too late).
So, I'd stay here again for the location, but my expectations have now been suitably reduced for this property.
I will say that, while I would never be wasteful enough to get a paper receipt (who uses paper anymore?), the emailed receipt I received did have proper letterhead
Cheers.
In more detail:
The place was fine, but I was expecting quite a bit more based on what I'd read. It seemed a fairly standard Hilton overall. Been a while since we were at the Waldorf Hilton, but I recall thinking that that was better.
Location: The location of the Conrad is superb. We were doing a number of things in West End and Soho, and this was very convenient. Proximity to the Tube made travel from/to Paddington for Hex very easy, as well as a trip to Camden. Did a little in the Westminster area s well. So this part was grand.
Lounge: The lounge offerings were standard to lower-end. The spirits selection (I didn't have any, but I do use this to judge quality of offerings) was sub0standard, Ballantine as Scotch. Wine choices mediocre. Canapes were below what I would have expected.
Breakfast: We had this in the restaurant 2 days and the lounge on our departure day as it opened earlier. Pretty standard Hilton offering, with ability to custom-order eggs in restaurant. Service was very good here. No complaints just, again, Hilton standard.
Housekeeping: We reuse towels. The hotel says "if you want to reuse towels, hang them." Same with sheets. Don't need new sheets for a 3-day trip. We happened to go back to the room while the housekeeper was there and mentioned that we didn't need towels changed. She indicated that here supervisor would expect her to change them, but she would not (and did not) because of our request. Why is her supervisor's expectation to counter the wishes of the guest with the hanging towel? Other than this, housekeeping was great (and this was too since we did let her know). Toffees are turn-down were a nice touch.
The thing that bugged me the most, and I would have expected this kind of support from a hotel at this level. It turns out that we had 30 quid in "old" notes (we go through LHR often, but hadn't been in London for a while. HSBC would not exchange since we did not have an account. Makes sense. No prob. We will exchange at the hotel and they, having local accounts, would deal with this when the banks opened. Nope. No dice. Asked several times and they couldn't/wouldn't do it. In the end, one of the Concierges did it out of his own pocket (and I tipped for that, of course). But that was personal, and not the hotel. That was disappointing. (In the end, should have just exchanged with our friend or relative, both of whom we saw during the weekend, but thought of that too late
).So, I'd stay here again for the location, but my expectations have now been suitably reduced for this property.
I will say that, while I would never be wasteful enough to get a paper receipt (who uses paper anymore?), the emailed receipt I received did have proper letterhead
Cheers.
I would certainly choose the Waldorf or Bankside and even park lane above this......some wouldn’t agree.
Dec 6, 2019, 4:57 am
#846
Join Date: Nov 2009
Posts: 284
I stayed here last weekend and was underwhelmed too. It’s a good hotel in a good location, just not great - like it used to be.
The exec lounge offerings were far below the Bankside - the Prosecco and wines were dreadful. The canapés delivered to the table were much smaller than last year, with no replenishing. The staff were totally overwhelmed; no topping up at the table unlike previous stays. They’ve removed the reception desk and reconfigured the smaller room at the back.
The room was ‘upgraded’ on a basic points stay, apparently more square footage but it was tiny. The chair was sideways against the bed it was so small. The bathroom was a good size with tub and shower.
The breakfast downstairs was pretty poor. Understaffed again, tables not being turned around. Around a 10minute wait for a table, then more waiting for drinks. The buffet is a temporary installation that they make every day, so not as generous as the Bankside or even the Doubletree Tower Hill. I ordered poached eggs, they came after 20mins and were hard/dry. They did have a nice selection of smoothies though.
If you want opulence the choose the Biltmore but if you want a solid hotel with a great lounge/breakfast then the Bankside has #1 slot.
The exec lounge offerings were far below the Bankside - the Prosecco and wines were dreadful. The canapés delivered to the table were much smaller than last year, with no replenishing. The staff were totally overwhelmed; no topping up at the table unlike previous stays. They’ve removed the reception desk and reconfigured the smaller room at the back.
The room was ‘upgraded’ on a basic points stay, apparently more square footage but it was tiny. The chair was sideways against the bed it was so small. The bathroom was a good size with tub and shower.
The breakfast downstairs was pretty poor. Understaffed again, tables not being turned around. Around a 10minute wait for a table, then more waiting for drinks. The buffet is a temporary installation that they make every day, so not as generous as the Bankside or even the Doubletree Tower Hill. I ordered poached eggs, they came after 20mins and were hard/dry. They did have a nice selection of smoothies though.
If you want opulence the choose the Biltmore but if you want a solid hotel with a great lounge/breakfast then the Bankside has #1 slot.
Dec 17, 2019, 11:28 am
#847
Join Date: Mar 2017
Location: USA
Programs: AA Gold, Hyatt Globalist, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 310
I stayed here last weekend and was underwhelmed too. It’s a good hotel in a good location, just not great - like it used to be.
The exec lounge offerings were far below the Bankside - the Prosecco and wines were dreadful. The canapés delivered to the table were much smaller than last year, with no replenishing. The staff were totally overwhelmed; no topping up at the table unlike previous stays. They’ve removed the reception desk and reconfigured the smaller room at the back.
The room was ‘upgraded’ on a basic points stay, apparently more square footage but it was tiny. The chair was sideways against the bed it was so small. The bathroom was a good size with tub and shower.
The breakfast downstairs was pretty poor. Understaffed again, tables not being turned around. Around a 10minute wait for a table, then more waiting for drinks. The buffet is a temporary installation that they make every day, so not as generous as the Bankside or even the Doubletree Tower Hill. I ordered poached eggs, they came after 20mins and were hard/dry. They did have a nice selection of smoothies though.
If you want opulence the choose the Biltmore but if you want a solid hotel with a great lounge/breakfast then the Bankside has #1 slot.
The exec lounge offerings were far below the Bankside - the Prosecco and wines were dreadful. The canapés delivered to the table were much smaller than last year, with no replenishing. The staff were totally overwhelmed; no topping up at the table unlike previous stays. They’ve removed the reception desk and reconfigured the smaller room at the back.
The room was ‘upgraded’ on a basic points stay, apparently more square footage but it was tiny. The chair was sideways against the bed it was so small. The bathroom was a good size with tub and shower.
The breakfast downstairs was pretty poor. Understaffed again, tables not being turned around. Around a 10minute wait for a table, then more waiting for drinks. The buffet is a temporary installation that they make every day, so not as generous as the Bankside or even the Doubletree Tower Hill. I ordered poached eggs, they came after 20mins and were hard/dry. They did have a nice selection of smoothies though.
If you want opulence the choose the Biltmore but if you want a solid hotel with a great lounge/breakfast then the Bankside has #1 slot.
Dec 17, 2019, 11:33 am
#848
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: SJC
Programs: AA EXP, BA Silver, Hyatt Globalist, Hilton diamond, Marriott Platinum
Posts: 33,535
I stayed here last weekend and was underwhelmed too. It’s a good hotel in a good location, just not great - like it used to be.
The exec lounge offerings were far below the Bankside - the Prosecco and wines were dreadful. The canapés delivered to the table were much smaller than last year, with no replenishing. The staff were totally overwhelmed; no topping up at the table unlike previous stays. They’ve removed the reception desk and reconfigured the smaller room at the back.
The room was ‘upgraded’ on a basic points stay, apparently more square footage but it was tiny. The chair was sideways against the bed it was so small. The bathroom was a good size with tub and shower.
The breakfast downstairs was pretty poor. Understaffed again, tables not being turned around. Around a 10minute wait for a table, then more waiting for drinks. The buffet is a temporary installation that they make every day, so not as generous as the Bankside or even the Doubletree Tower Hill. I ordered poached eggs, they came after 20mins and were hard/dry. They did have a nice selection of smoothies though.
The exec lounge offerings were far below the Bankside - the Prosecco and wines were dreadful. The canapés delivered to the table were much smaller than last year, with no replenishing. The staff were totally overwhelmed; no topping up at the table unlike previous stays. They’ve removed the reception desk and reconfigured the smaller room at the back.
The room was ‘upgraded’ on a basic points stay, apparently more square footage but it was tiny. The chair was sideways against the bed it was so small. The bathroom was a good size with tub and shower.
The breakfast downstairs was pretty poor. Understaffed again, tables not being turned around. Around a 10minute wait for a table, then more waiting for drinks. The buffet is a temporary installation that they make every day, so not as generous as the Bankside or even the Doubletree Tower Hill. I ordered poached eggs, they came after 20mins and were hard/dry. They did have a nice selection of smoothies though.
Our upgraded room was pretty spacious, spanning the full width of the building with windows on both ends (bedroom and bathroom).
Also, our breakfast experience was very different: Good selection, no wait, rapid service and the poached eggs I got were nice and runny, just the way I like them. Breakfast eas actually something of a highlight, all things considered.
Cheers.
Dec 17, 2019, 12:19 pm
#849
Join Date: May 2001
Posts: 4,772
This hotel wins my award for "Longest Wait for Fried Eggs" anywhere I have stayed in the world.
Dec 17, 2019, 1:35 pm
#850
Join Date: Jun 2013
Location: norwich, uk
Programs: hhonors diamond
Posts: 5,397
Agree with most of this, except:
Our upgraded room was pretty spacious, spanning the full width of the building with windows on both ends (bedroom and bathroom).
Also, our breakfast experience was very different: Good selection, no wait, rapid service and the poached eggs I got were nice and runny, just the way I like them. Breakfast eas actually something of a highlight, all things considered.
Cheers.
Our upgraded room was pretty spacious, spanning the full width of the building with windows on both ends (bedroom and bathroom).
Also, our breakfast experience was very different: Good selection, no wait, rapid service and the poached eggs I got were nice and runny, just the way I like them. Breakfast eas actually something of a highlight, all things considered.
Cheers.
Dec 17, 2019, 1:50 pm
#851
Join Date: Apr 2016
Programs: Bonvoy Titanium, Hilton Diamond, BA Silver, IHG Spire, AMEX Plat
Posts: 608
hilton is pretty poor in London. Best VFM is probably bankside.
only thing I liked about this property was allowing your free gold breakfast to be taken as room service for £5 tray charge.
other than that tired and poorly maintained for the price.
only thing I liked about this property was allowing your free gold breakfast to be taken as room service for £5 tray charge.
other than that tired and poorly maintained for the price.
Dec 17, 2019, 9:01 pm
#852
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: ORD
Programs: AA EXP >3 Million miles,HH Lifetime Diamond
Posts: 2,890
Thanks for all the expectation setting for our 3 night stay in January. I will lower my expectations for breakfast and room size. We stayed at the Waldorf years ago and didn't like it, and I see a lot of favorable reviews on Bankside, but its not the location I would choose.
BTW, note to BRP, we had the old notes problem in 2018 and we went into an HSBC branch - we were not even in central London but in Walthamstow Central and they could not have been nicer and exchanged our notes. I was apprehensive as we did not have an account, but they said what is a tourist supposed to do?
BTW, note to BRP, we had the old notes problem in 2018 and we went into an HSBC branch - we were not even in central London but in Walthamstow Central and they could not have been nicer and exchanged our notes. I was apprehensive as we did not have an account, but they said what is a tourist supposed to do?
Dec 17, 2019, 9:12 pm
#853
Join Date: Jun 2014
Programs: Honors Diamond, Bonvoy Gold, Accor Gold, OW Emerald, SIXT Diamond
Posts: 833
What would you suggest as an alternative ?
Dec 18, 2019, 2:46 am
#854
Join Date: May 2005
Location: Cote d'Ivoire
Programs: OW Emerald - HH Diamond
Posts: 3,418
Interesting to read they removed the reception desk in the lounge. What’s there now? Do staff sit anywhere now?