[ARCHIVE to 2019] Conrad London St. James {GBR}
Sep 14, 2014, 5:22 pm
#76
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: Amsterdam, Asia, UK
Programs: IHG RA (Spire), HH Diamond, MR Platinum, SQ Gold, KLM Gold, BAEC Gold
Posts: 5,072
But would you stay at £400 a night if there was no C&P availability? I wouldn't and suspect anyone else who is cost conscious wouldn't either. If not there is no loss in offering C&P.
I actually wouldn't stay at much over £200 when I was willing to pay much more when the property was an IC because I don't value HH points.
I am looking forward to my stay in just over a week though to see what has changed.
I actually wouldn't stay at much over £200 when I was willing to pay much more when the property was an IC because I don't value HH points.
I am looking forward to my stay in just over a week though to see what has changed.
With new higher Conrad price point of £400 (although includes lounge access + breakfast) I am struggling to stay again at Conrad as one of my other three go-to's is always a better value price point wise.
Once IC-PL with lounge exceeds £400 my usual choice was either of cheaper IC-Westmnster OR cheaper CP-St James (now Taj since Jan2014) where at CP/Taj I always get at least a double upgrade as a longterm regular.
Sometimes CP/Taj. is costlier than both of IC-PL or Conrad/IC Westminster, as can be CP-The City. I check them all out price-wise before booking my nights
Blue Boar food is also disapointing for this standard of hotel, so I always eat out !
Sep 15, 2014, 12:03 am
#77
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: MAN and LON
Programs: Mucci, BAEC LT Gold, HH Dia, MR LT Plat, IHG Diamond Amb, Amex Plat
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Heck this is London. And yes I was/am willing to forgo IC Westminsterc at £220-250/night and stay at IC-Park-Lane at £330+78 Lounge access, a £400 total.
With new higher Conrad price point of £400 (although includes lounge access + breakfast) I am struggling to stay again at Conrad as one of my other three go-to's is always a better value price point wise.
Once IC-PL with lounge exceeds £400 my usual choice was either of cheaper IC-Westmnster OR cheaper CP-St James (now Taj since Jan2014) where at CP/Taj I always get at least a double upgrade as a longterm regular.
Sometimes CP/Taj. is costlier than both of IC-PL or Conrad/IC Westminster, as can be CP-The City. I check them all out price-wise before booking my nights
Blue Boar food is also disapointing for this standard of hotel, so I always eat out !
With new higher Conrad price point of £400 (although includes lounge access + breakfast) I am struggling to stay again at Conrad as one of my other three go-to's is always a better value price point wise.
Once IC-PL with lounge exceeds £400 my usual choice was either of cheaper IC-Westmnster OR cheaper CP-St James (now Taj since Jan2014) where at CP/Taj I always get at least a double upgrade as a longterm regular.
Sometimes CP/Taj. is costlier than both of IC-PL or Conrad/IC Westminster, as can be CP-The City. I check them all out price-wise before booking my nights
Blue Boar food is also disapointing for this standard of hotel, so I always eat out !
You had said effectively that offering C&P midweek cannibalises revenue and dissuades customers from paying full price if C&P is available. My point was that this is effectively price discrimination in action. If you are willing to pay £400 a night (which seems to be the current asking price until the owners swallow the realism pill) then it is unlikely that the availability of C&P will radically sway your judgement. If you are not willing to pay £400 a night then the availability of C&P makes no difference to your behaviour.
When this property was an IC I would have been prepared to pay more for it than I would for the PL simply because it is a better property with what was in many ways a far better location for my needs and better rooms (in my opinion) for studio suite and above. If this property couldn't come close to matching the rate of the sole inferior IC PL what hope does it have of regularly commanding more than every other Hilton Property in London? It will be a very tough sell trying to command a 50% premium over the nearby Waldorf and Trafalgar (which seems to be the price point targeted). Let's also not forget that it was a rare day in IC guise that this property didn't have redemption availability.
Sep 15, 2014, 3:33 am
#78
Join Date: Jun 2013
Location: norwich, uk
Programs: hhonors diamond
Posts: 5,399
Wow!!!.....what an amazing review!.....gotta try this place.
Sep 15, 2014, 8:52 am
#79
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Glasgow / London
Programs: BA GGL
Posts: 3,457
Very comprehensive set of pictures! The hotel looks really nice. Thanks for posting 
^
^
Sep 15, 2014, 1:34 pm
#80
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: Amsterdam, Asia, UK
Programs: IHG RA (Spire), HH Diamond, MR Platinum, SQ Gold, KLM Gold, BAEC Gold
Posts: 5,072
So the previous IC-Westminster "included (free)" minibar at this hotel in Exec and higher room types is now discontinued as the rebranded Conrad?
Sep 15, 2014, 2:36 pm
#81
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Somewhere in Europe
Posts: 3,362
Brilliant set of pictures. Am I reading that correctly? £5 for a Nespresso capsule?
Sep 15, 2014, 4:32 pm
#82
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: JFK/LGA
Programs: AA EXP/5 MM, BA Blue Bayou, HH LT Diamond
Posts: 5,835
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Sep 15, 2014, 4:43 pm
#83
Join Date: Jun 1999
Location: NYC/LA
Programs: DL Plat, AA Plat Pro, Marriott Titanium, IHG Diamond Amb
Posts: 7,511
I'd read that as a full refill of the capsules (looks like there are 6 of them?) ahead of the regular daily replenishment. That being said, it seems a little cheap for a "luxury" (if you'd put this property in that category) hotel to charge for extra tea or coffee.
Sep 16, 2014, 1:53 pm
#84
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: If only I knew
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Posts: 1,074
Note to self: bring extra Nespresso capsules from home or go to Nespresso store and buy them.
Thanks, BotB, for the great pics/report. Looking forward to staying there soon.
Sep 16, 2014, 4:10 pm
#85
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Bristol, UK
Programs: HH D, Rad VIP, Marriott G
Posts: 5,363
Thanks for the comments so far, hope to post text to accompany photos tomorrow when I 'm back home and have more time.
dw is correct, the £ 5 charge for Nespresso is only if you use up the 6 capsules and want a refill same day. The capsules are replaced each day free of charge otherwise.
Minibar was indeed free for IC RA guests but not Ambassadors or other status guests and lounge access was stupidly expensive as an IC hotel so personally happy to get lounge access for exec room or Diamond guests instead of a free minibar... Just go to the lounge if you need to drink more than the two free bottles provided or want some snacks over the fruit provided IMO.
One great benefit here is FREE FAST INTERNET for Gold and Diamonds. 50 MBit / sec IIRC (could be wrong about speed setting, I'm not in IT). In any case not just the basic internet available to normal guests but proper high speed internet with password protection and login FREE to Gold and Diamonds ^
More to follow in day or so, thanks for your patience...wonder how princess Fiona got on?
dw is correct, the £ 5 charge for Nespresso is only if you use up the 6 capsules and want a refill same day. The capsules are replaced each day free of charge otherwise.
Minibar was indeed free for IC RA guests but not Ambassadors or other status guests and lounge access was stupidly expensive as an IC hotel so personally happy to get lounge access for exec room or Diamond guests instead of a free minibar... Just go to the lounge if you need to drink more than the two free bottles provided or want some snacks over the fruit provided IMO.
One great benefit here is FREE FAST INTERNET for Gold and Diamonds. 50 MBit / sec IIRC (could be wrong about speed setting, I'm not in IT). In any case not just the basic internet available to normal guests but proper high speed internet with password protection and login FREE to Gold and Diamonds ^
More to follow in day or so, thanks for your patience...wonder how princess Fiona got on?
Last edited by BotB; Sep 16, 2014 at 4:13 pm Reason: Damn iPhone spell correcting always wrong!
Sep 16, 2014, 5:26 pm
#86
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: MAN and LON
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High speed internet was always available to RAs when this property was an IC.
For some time Exec rooms and above came with free minibar, this wasn't just a RA benefit. This might have been a promo dating back to when the property first opened as an IC.
I agree the lounge is worth more than a free minibar but I did like the free minibar here.
For some time Exec rooms and above came with free minibar, this wasn't just a RA benefit. This might have been a promo dating back to when the property first opened as an IC.
I agree the lounge is worth more than a free minibar but I did like the free minibar here.
Sep 17, 2014, 4:29 am
#87
Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: singapore, the netherlands
Programs: SQ PPS, KLM Platinum, Air Berlin gold, HHonors Gold, SPG gold
Posts: 81
Looking forward to my first stay here next week so will post a review after. I always worry about new properties but given their IC history will remain hopefully optimistic. The cash rates quoted appear over the top; the corporate rate I'm getting makes it much more reasonable and in the league of Trafalgar, which I would have booked but they insisted they were out of corporate rates :/
Our rates are usually worse off than market, however I find that they often represent a good deal when booking high end properties during high occupancy periods. Tried and tested in London, Singapore, Dubai.
Our rates are usually worse off than market, however I find that they often represent a good deal when booking high end properties during high occupancy periods. Tried and tested in London, Singapore, Dubai.
Sep 17, 2014, 2:50 pm
#88
Ambassador: World of Hyatt
Join Date: Apr 2000
Location: San Diego,CA
Posts: 10,112
Heck this is London. And yes I was/am willing to forgo IC Westminsterc at £220-250/night and stay at IC-Park-Lane at £330+78 Lounge access, a £400 total.
With new higher Conrad price point of £400 (although includes lounge access + breakfast) I am struggling to stay again at Conrad as one of my other three go-to's is always a better value price point wise.
Once IC-PL with lounge exceeds £400 my usual choice was either of cheaper IC-Westmnster OR cheaper CP-St James (now Taj since Jan2014) where at CP/Taj I always get at least a double upgrade as a longterm regular.
Sometimes CP/Taj. is costlier than both of IC-PL or Conrad/IC Westminster, as can be CP-The City. I check them all out price-wise before booking my nights
Blue Boar food is also disapointing for this standard of hotel, so I always eat out !
With new higher Conrad price point of £400 (although includes lounge access + breakfast) I am struggling to stay again at Conrad as one of my other three go-to's is always a better value price point wise.
Once IC-PL with lounge exceeds £400 my usual choice was either of cheaper IC-Westmnster OR cheaper CP-St James (now Taj since Jan2014) where at CP/Taj I always get at least a double upgrade as a longterm regular.
Sometimes CP/Taj. is costlier than both of IC-PL or Conrad/IC Westminster, as can be CP-The City. I check them all out price-wise before booking my nights
Blue Boar food is also disapointing for this standard of hotel, so I always eat out !
The bread was outstanding as was the service. I had sole which was fairly good and great side dishes. My rib appetizer could have been a meal excellent by London standards
My rooms was the smallest ever as an Ambassador and the welcome amenity had diminished. They seem to not care much about anything IHG at all which is stupid.
There was pressure to upgrade to the club at check. I'm hoping the transition to Conrad will translate to be better upgrade recognition and benefits and HH elite friendly business behavior.Otherwise I will be gone with the HH point devaluation
I'm hoping to hear from others who experience the property as a Diamond or a Gold
Sep 17, 2014, 2:55 pm
#89
Ambassador: World of Hyatt
Join Date: Apr 2000
Location: San Diego,CA
Posts: 10,112
Looking forward to my first stay here next week so will post a review after. I always worry about new properties but given their IC history will remain hopefully optimistic. The cash rates quoted appear over the top; the corporate rate I'm getting makes it much more reasonable and in the league of Trafalgar, which I would have booked but they insisted they were out of corporate rates :/
Our rates are usually worse off than market, however I find that they often represent a good deal when booking high end properties during high occupancy periods. Tried and tested in London, Singapore, Dubai.
Our rates are usually worse off than market, however I find that they often represent a good deal when booking high end properties during high occupancy periods. Tried and tested in London, Singapore, Dubai.
The hotel will have to start treating guests very well to make up the difference. Cash and points are available and I saw rates around for my October dates £ 337
Having said that I booked Andaz for the weekend at £149 per night as the Conrad was over double
Sep 17, 2014, 2:59 pm
#90
Ambassador: World of Hyatt
Join Date: Apr 2000
Location: San Diego,CA
Posts: 10,112
It's obvious from the list that the room descriptors have changed although this makes sense I think for all above the club studios.
It will be interesting to see if what in IC Speak was a club studio = a Conrad King Exec or whether they have also included the in IC speak Exec Room Pool.
Exec rooms as an IC were quite small but with decent sized bathrooms with separate shower. Club Studios were quite a bit larger sometimes L shaped.
Do you get a choice of lounge or blue boar breakfast? You never had a choice when on a club rate as an IC, that said the club menu was identical in the end to the blue boar.
It will be interesting to see if what in IC Speak was a club studio = a Conrad King Exec or whether they have also included the in IC speak Exec Room Pool.
Exec rooms as an IC were quite small but with decent sized bathrooms with separate shower. Club Studios were quite a bit larger sometimes L shaped.
Do you get a choice of lounge or blue boar breakfast? You never had a choice when on a club rate as an IC, that said the club menu was identical in the end to the blue boar.