MrHalliday

Has anyone yet had experience with a name change on the resevation?

I might like to have my parents or a friend take one of my reservations. Others previously suggested this is likely to be OK with the same last name, but my parents are risk-averse, and I would certainly contact the hotel to get this verified in advance. The case of a name change to a non-related person is harder to predict.

So if anyone has already had experience with either of these scenarios, I would like to know how it went.

If not, once my plans firm up, I will contact the hotel and report back on the response.

Thanks in advance.

law53

Just returned from a 4 night stay at the 45GPB rate. Arrived around 2 pm and had no problems checking in (although the rate was never mentioned aloud, probably because others were also checking in). Upon checkout, the desk clerk stared at the his computer screen for several seconds and then asked if this was the correct rate! (?) I said yes, it was a confirmed reservation and handed him my room/key card with the 45GBP rate. (I was glad I had kept the card!) He didn't say anything else, but then again, it was very early in the morning!

Our room was just as described by others in this forum - a view of the garden, large by London standards, with a separate sitting/work area. We were right next to the elevator on the 4th floor and did not hear a sound outside of our door. It was a lovely room!

The location is fantastic - right across from the Temple tube stop and close to the Strand. We found several areas to grab a bite within a few minutes walk of the hotel (although several of the Prets and sandwich shops close in early evening). We dined at Thai Square which was delicious (and they do serve liquor) as well as at the Wellington Pub, which is a few blocks up and west on the Strand. As you go up the hill towards the Strand from the hotel (on Arundel), turn left,and within a block or two you will see more restaurants as you head towards Charing Cross and Trafalgar Square. There are also some diners/restaurants as you head towards Embankment and Big Ben from the hotel (if walking along the Thames).

We've stayed in different locations in London over the past 5 years and this was by far the best! Although the hotel is right across from the Temple tube stop, the Circle and District lines were both closed this past weekend for maintenance.

I hope you enjoy your stay as much as we did!

GUWonder

I cancelled my reservation on this and the accompanying party for different dates on a longer stay changed his arrival date to shorten his stay. The hotel has been very gracious and I applaud Swissotel for being a class act in this regard. ^^

malteser

Just returned from a 6 night stay at the Swissotel in London .
Had no problem with the rate. Was given room 801 with a garden view.
The room was large, with a seperate siting area. TV was an old 20" Philips with no sport channels. Bathroom was normal, but to get into the bath it was like doing the high jump. House keeping was poor, and the room was not cleaned properly. Some of the snacks in the mini bar are passed their expiry date. Front desk was very helpful in all we needed. Coffee machine broke on our second day there, and was replaced within 15 mins. Beware, the cleaners are out to con you, they always forget something (missing pillows one day, no hand towels the next ect...) so when you call them to fix the problem, they expect a tip when they bring the missing items. All in all for the 45+vat and service charge it was well worth it, but I will never have stayed there for their normal prices.
Used the tube from Heathrow to hotel + 7 day pass in zone 1 & 2 and back to the airport for only 27STG. Great value.

nor4

For those of you trying to continue your good luck re the cost of things in London, here's a link http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...033000823.html to a Washington Post article on doing London cheaply. Some good stuff, be sure to check out the Oyster Card. I keep one on hand for my trips to London, never expires.

Hoc

Well, I'm leaving for Europe tonight. Will try to check in on 4/14. I never got any email confirmation, but I called the hotel a couple of months ago, and they had my reservation. The res. numbers, however, were different from those I got on the confirmation screen at Swissotel. My guess is that it's the difference between the central res. numbers and the hotel's res. numbers.

I was coherent enough in the middle of the night to get a printout of my second confirmation screen (for 8/22-29), but not my first one (for this trip).

So, I know they have my reservation, and I know the hotel's reservation confirmation number for it. I'm just hoping that I won't have any problems with the rate. From what I'm reading here, my guess is that I won't.

I sent a confirming email yesterday, letting them know that I was coming and the res. no., just to be safe, but haven't gotten any response. And now, it's the end of the day over there, so my guess is that I'll get no response before I leave.

view

Did anyone enrol in Club Swiss Gold before their stay?
Apparently the basic level, Classic, entitles you to newspaper, welcome amenity and complimentary room upgrade certificate if I'm not mistaken.

MrHalliday

here is something from the swissotel site,
I think it is a new offer
and should be useful to some on this deal.

---------------------------
Welcome United Mileage Plus!

Celebrating our new partnership with United Mileage Plus, from now until until 31th August 2007 Mileage Plus members may enjoy 500 Bonus Miles per night (up to 5000 Bonus Miles per stay) at participating Swissôtel Hotels & Resorts worldwide.

Terms & Conditions

Valid for stays between now and August 31th 2007
Mileage Plus member can earn 500 bonus miles per night up to a maximum of 5000 bonus miles per stay on qualifying rates at participating hotels
Offer cannot be combined with any other promotion or discount
Room has to be booked online
Please provide your Mileage Plus number upon check-in

GUWonder

We've had great success "shrinking" the dates of our stays to shorten the booked stay. This includes having a later check-in date and checking out earlier. This was done by calling the hotel directly to get such changes done.

MrHalliday

Just returned from 4 night stay.
All went well, the rate was never mentioned except
on the card you receive at check-in.

At check-in they did say "Breakfast Included",
and it was also noted on the card.

My jaw must have dropped just a bit too much, however. Within a few hours a nice typed note from the hotel appeared under my door, explaining that, very sorry, but no, breakfast was not included.

My room, however, did not have the sitting area.

With all the espresso I drank from the machine,
it would have been nice to have more walls to bounce off of,
but I completely forgot that was in the description.

Likely they would have honored it if I had just asked.

Thanks again to OP, and Swissotel for not making a fuss.

view

No problems with the stay, got a Garden Room with sitting room, which was nice for storing the girlfriends' shopping... Loved the espresso machine, did not have breakfast at the hotel, think it was £26 pp for English Breakfast, so for 2 people it was more than the daily room rate
Lots of Prets and Starbucks within walking distance and also a Tesco Express.

Location excellent, 10 mins to Covent Garden and a minute to Temple Tube.

All in a fantastic bargin ^