davidw70

If my memory serves me correctly:

In recent history there were 3 IC properties at once - Churchill, Mayfair and Park Lane. IHG sold the Mayfair and lost the management contract on the Churchill to get down to 1 property, which they closed for a time for refurbishment.

Then Westminster opened for a year before rebranding to a Conrad.

Later this year, the O2 property will open, so we'll be back to 2 hotels.

Big_Foot

Are they offering paid upgrades on awards at checkin to regular members?
I got a couple of free nights there, but I'm nobody now
Are prices out of the blue? Any experience going from classic
to something decent, I guess London deluxe or London exec?

mitpat474

Of course you can pay to upgrade either call or ask at check in.prices will be the diff between flex rates.

404

I'm staying on points in a few weeks time.
As a Plat AMB, I was quoted 78GBP per night as the upgrade to Club Lounge access.

I'm thinking, that 39GBP each, for a full buffet breakfast, afternoon tea, and twilight drinks and canapes is to be considered as 'good value' ??

davrossuk

+1

Land-of-Miles

I have always seen it as a bit marginal especially if you are an RA with free minibar. The evening drinks start and finish quite early (which sits badly with work stays), the afternoon tea is ok rather than spectacular and breakfast is surprisingly reasonable if order a la carte from room service.

If you really want and will attend all 3 servings it is OK but it isn't a great bargain I feel. I haven't taken club access for over a year now.

DavidDTW

Thanks for the quick history lesson. I wasn't aware of the Mayfair location at all.

Land-of-Miles

I am coming to the end of my worst ever stay at this property.

I have always been looked after here and generally seen it as an IC benchmark but the entire property is occupied by a HUGE Mary Kay group this weekend.

Tbe ambience is more 3 star Benidorm than 5 star park lane. This is a rare weekend in London with my wife and it has been utterly ruined. I am also paying for this stay and have a single category upgrade as RA from King London Exec to Studio Suite.

The bar area is generally packed and awful. There can be up to 100 people waiting for the lifts. The club lounge is just horrible and we spent an hour there with zero service whilst the Loung filled with the delegates who were conversing with each other like their counterparts were still in the US and they needed to make the self heard without a phone.

We left after 45 minutes in the lounge so horrible was the vibe. I went to the lounge at around 21:00 to grab a slimline tonic only to be met with circa 20 drunks in the midst of an acapala rendition of "I love you baby", as I entered.

It is simply awful and I shan't risk another leisure stay here.

stimpy

Sounds awful, but truly most any hotel in the world can be subject to a Mary Kay convention. There are precious few hotels that will turn down that much guaranteed room and bar revenue.

Land-of-Miles

Not what you expect at an IC though and it will change my future stay patterns. I wish they had found some way to tell me in advance that the property was going downmarket with a vengeance. I would then cheerfully have stayed elsewhere.

The property really can't have it both ways.

stimpy

It is true that hotels aren't good at communication in these cases. Good hotels will let you know when there is renovation going on, or the pool is shut down, etc. Why can't they also let you know in advance that the hotel is 90% sold out to a convention of rubes?

I recall one time when a hotel (I think it was a Hilton) was 90% sold out to a convention of internet geeks and they did warn the non-geek guests about this. I was surprised that the hotel took this action because I can't recall ever seeing such a warning before.

nicolas75

I would suggest then to inform guests with a huge board at the entry of the hotel:

"please, be aware that a huge Mary Kay convention is taking place at the hotel and may ruin your stay".

Imagine now that the hotel had an outdoor pool...

Henrik_B

I stayed there with my wife and two kids during the same weekend May 1-3. We probably bumped in to each other. Got upgraded from London King to Studio Suite as AMB. Stayed on BOGO cert. They pre-guaranteed me the upgrade over email twice in advance. However we just got the first floor facing the court yard, reason was probably the Mary Kay event.

I wasn't that disturbed by the event although I was busy running after the kids. But I agree, ICPL was a bit overcrowded.

Plus for hotel lending out their only baby stroller!

BTW, what is this Mary Kay thing all about?

Land-of-Miles

Interesting as we also had a Studio Suite as a RA, also a 1 Cat upgrade but I guess the large group had all the decent rooms.

The impact in the main hotel was sporadic and centred around peaks of activity (presumably coinciding with meals/events).

The impact in the club on the Sunday night was simply catastrophic (circa 50 convention guests standing as if it was a bar on the left hand of the reception desk). We moved as far as it is possible to get (sofa by the TV on the extreme right of the lounge) and were still disturbed by loud conversation and antics from the large group. We left the club after about 20 minutes s we couldn't really bear it any longer.

The company itself is an Avon like cosmetics firm as I understand it and it appeared that the convention guests were perhaps top regional sales people.

DYKWIA

I've just noticed this... We were also there that weekend. It wasn't a particularly enjoyable hotel experience to say the least. It's good to know it's not always like that!

We arrived on the Friday. There was no queue to check in, but the lobby area was full (maybe 70-80) of Americans literally shouting at each other to make themselves heard. It was a struggle to hear the check in agent.

It took ages to get checked-in. The agent kept saying he was trying to get us a "good room on the 6th floor", but he'd need to clear it with his manager. She eventually came over, said something to him, and we were presented with a key for a room on the 1st floor Not a great way to do business.

I'm a Gold Ambassador, so should have been due an upgrade of some sort. We did get a view over Hyde Park corner, but I'm not sure that should be classed as an upgrade

The other issue was the bar. We went for drinks about 23:00 on the Saturday. The bar was packed. We managed to get one round, but then the servers just seemed to disappear. When one eventually went passed, I tried to get his attention but he just ignored me. After 20 minutes or so, we decided to forget another drink. I just went to the bar and asked for the bill. Of course, it was presented with a 12.5% "service" charge. For the first time ever I asked for the charge to be removed.

We were also a bit disappointed with the Theo Randall restaurant. OK, but not great.