chistery

Arrived shortly after 3pm and my room wasn't quite ready so had a complimentary coffee whilst I waited. Eighteen, the top floor bar won't be open till next year, but the Clipper bar is, will try that out tonight.

Upgraded from a Superior King to a Riverview Superior King. Room was very hot. Hopefully it will have cooled down by the time I go back later.

There is still work being done around the place and I believe it's about 20% capacity today.

Everything looks very nice though, all brand new, and a welcome addition to the hotel/bar scene round this way.

A few pics of the place...

IMG_20151219_151747 by Mike, on Flickr

IMG_20151219_151814 by Mike, on Flickr

IMG_20151219_155316 by Mike, on Flickr

IMG_20151219_155247 by Mike, on Flickr

IMG_20151219_155830 by Mike, on Flickr

Petrus

Thanks for posting! The heat is a concern... can't stand warm rooms.

turner32

hmm. the mini-bar is almost skeletal.

nicolas75

As long as I can see Diet Coke, that's fine with me

What about club lounge ?

Raffles

Friend of mine ate here on Christmas Eve and was told they had 8 - yes, 8 - rooms operational! Not sure if he got confused or if the building schedule really is that bad.

He was officially the first non-resident to eat in the restaurant.

chistery

Well the O2 can't be the best place to spend Christmas day with no public transport and nothing open.

I imagine they'll do quite well when there's a major event on at the O2.

davidw70

The Club Lounge is not yet open (according to my welcome letter).

In terms of other dining venues:

Meridian Lounge in the lobby - open serving coffees/teas/cakes (which looked delicious)/light breakfast

Clipper Bar on the first floor (second for those who consider the ground floor to be the first) - open for drinks and light snacks (some glasses of wine looked a bit too expensive for my tastes - a Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc was GBP18 a glass but there were others half that price). Great view over Canary Wharf and the hotel entrance

Market Brasserie - next to the Clipper Bar serving an excellent breakfast buffet and other meals

Eighteen - now open on the 18th floor (didn't get a chance to look at it)


Which leaves the following not open (I was told many of these would happen in January):

Peninsula Restaurant
Walkway through to the O2 (currently, if walking from North Greenwich Underground, cut through the bus station and round the side of the main O2 building to get to the hotel car park)
Club Lounge
Spa/Pool
Quite a bit of landscaping

As I mentioned in the Ambassador thread, I was treated very well by the staff at the hotel and would recommend.

One final point - the TV had mainly Freeview channels but with the usual foreign language channels, e.g. TV5 Monde, ARD 1, etc. In addition, there was BT Sport 1 and 2 (but no Sky Sports)

Raffles - I can't believe there's only 8 rooms - there were a lot more names than that on the breakfast list

nicolas75

Thank you for your comments.
Currently at the hotel

First impression:
+
Warmly welcomed by friendly staff
Nice room (even if it is more a room than a suite) and great view

-
Architecture of the hotel is really poor
No signs from Underground station (don't follow O2 direction: it is just the opposite)
Entrance strangely facing the river (which means you see first the parking)
Current surroundings looking more a building site rather than luxury hotel (you walk along a way which is so uninviting that you have the feeling to be the delivery man of a building site).
Club lounge is closed but hotel selling club rooms
Spa is closed. No pool

davidw70

Sorry to have missed you nicolas75.

Not sure I agree on the architecture - it is pretty much what you'd expect for a modern riverside building in London. Admittedly from the outside, it is not anywhere near as impressive as Davos, but inside I think they've done a good job.

Agree they shouldn't be selling Club rooms without an open lounge.

Petrus

I arrive tomorrow evening nicolas75. You still around?
Was hoping the pool would be open for some exercising. What upgrade did you get?

nicolas75

Hey Petrus
I checked-out today.

I expected the pool too but - as the club lounge and business centre - they are not open yet (despite no indication about it on internet site ).

As a compensation, I received free breakfast (which is very good) and club access for my next stay.

I received as an upgraded a so called suite ...which is not exactly a suite (but nice and comfortable).

All details on twitter

nicolas75

pictures of the hotel

woodcocksj

I am staying here at the beginning of March and have been told that all facilities will be open by then. The Hotel also told me that lounge access will cost Ambassadors �75 per room compared to the normal �95 per night.

nicolas75

As promised:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/25961483-post18.html

Petrus

Had my first night out of three and impressions are mixed so far:

Positives
GYM is very very good
Breakfast of high quality
Comfortable bed - slept extremely well
Room is modern and of good standard, but not Luxury
Views West are fantastic
Public areas pleasing
Staff are outstanding - but then occupancy is not even 10%
Was upgraded to a deluxe Suite. Not sure I would class it as a suite, junior would be more accurate. View is straight on the O2... will change today to a different view

Negatives
Overall the quality of the building and fittings is of UK standard. It looks rushed and not properly crafted in places. Gaps visible
Prices in the restaurants are shocking. They want �80 for a bottle of NZ Pinot Cloudy Bay and meals are too highly priced. With the O2 less than 10 minutes away and a bucket load of mostly chain restaurants to dine at they have competition
The overall impression from rooms and public areas is that this is a high-end business hotel, not a luxury 5-star like the Park Lane