Pausanias

I'm just back from Guatemala City and . . . . oh no, I'm sorry that was a mistake. It was London that I'm back from! It looked a bit like Guatemala City, apart from the odd palm tree, but it was up there with sheer squalor. I've never seen the centre of the city look so awful - people dossing in doorways, litter everywhere, the roads falling apart as if earthquakes were a common occurrence and apart from that it's a building site because of Crossrail. It was also strangely empty, which is surprising given the low pound at the moment. Even a big store like Selfridges on a Saturday morning was deserted with sales staff having nothing better to do than pick their noses and ignore you. The food hall is a pale shadow of its former self and those choice items I sought were not available. And I was terribly sad to see that London's best butcher, Allen's, opposite the Connaught, had closed for good. I came away with some speciality pasta and cotechino sausage bought from a deli in Soho. I don't think I'll ever go again.

scubadu

Ummm... wow, way to completely and unnecessarily diss Guatemala City...

Regards

0bsidian

Except that it's not.
There has been a record influx of tourists in July.

Source: http://www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/lo...-a3307491.html

RichardInSF

All the above is interesting but can we stick to the topic of London luxury hotels? Further comments on alleged squalor in London can best be posted in the Omni or UK forums.

RichardInSF, moderator, luxury hotels

Bootman4U

I'm not sure I quite "get" the comment about some sort of "attitude" at The Savoy. I've never, EVER had anyone in that hotel give me any sort of attitude other than, "Is there something I can help you with?"

We stay there routinely because of the service we have received as well as the location within walking distance of West End theatres.

But I understand what constitutes "the best" for some is not the same for others but I'm happy, as always, to know there's an opportunity for some of us to actually "improve" our educational levels when it comes to luxury hotels.

offerendum

Had a day trip to London last week and Lunch at Dinner by Heston Blumenthal (Mandarin Oriental). Didn´t see a room but wasn´t impressed by MO, which I considered for my next overnight stay as I thought the pool looks lovely. Used the public restrooms and was some kind of shocked. This was the condition:



Don´t think I will choose it for my next stay, much better alternatives.....

0bsidian

In their defence, their other public restroom (the one next to the SPA) is in immaculate condition (with futuristic looking fully closed off cubicles for the toilets).

offerendum

It was near by the SPA

scented

Luckily, London has so many stunning hotels that we don't have to resort to MO for our stays. Phew!

I'm personally most excited about FS Trinity -- cannot wait to stay there.

0bsidian

So it was underground, right? Level -1?

Also very curious about this property (albeit a bit puzzled about the location)!

Buster

That is an interesting location for the FS Trinity.

I also recently had lunch at Dinner (how awkward) and had the exact same thought that the bathrooms were in terrible shape. They also were allowing someone to smoke cigarettes in the lobby of the hotel, which was really unpleasant.

RichardInSF

On my stay there in a junior suite, the experience started with an annoying, superior-acting check-in clerk. Anything I asked for, the answer was "no" even if I later found out it was OK. .

This was the lowest level room supposed to have 'butler service.' It was never offered to me nor did I ever see a butler during my multi-day stay.

I had a credit from making a Virtuoso booking, but it specifically disallowed the Gordon Ramsay restaurant (now apparently gone) so I went to what I thought was the next best choice, Kaspar's Seafood bar. Dinner was a catastrophe in so many ways that I don't want to start to enumerate them.

Staff members I encountered in the hallways almost never acknowledged me, even to say hello. Small thing but it does make the place seem cold.

That being said, when I asked for something other than at reception, it was handled promptly so that is a plus. But the overall experience was so unwelcoming that I feel no need to ever go back again.

Kagehitokiri

do some properties/chains seem to treat 'normal' business travelers (on V/FHR?) poorly?

Virtuoso, Plat FHR, Cent FHR, etc (clients) seem to be viewed differently in different places

MacMyDay

In 2012 I tried nearly all the FHR properties in London and never felt any downside to booking with AMEX. The only major difference between properties was how flexible they would be on breakfast. Whereas some said "continental breakfast included" and in fact that meant breakfast was completely free (I remember breakfast at Claridges and The Savoy costing over £100 and it being removed from the bill on checkout), others would stick to it to the letter, meaning that if you had just 1 item outside of the allowed list, they would try and push you into a different bill category and charge you, sometimes for the entire amount.

offerendum

Should be interesting. Hope for good opening-offers like they had at PL.

Yes