Luxury hotels in London
#17
Join Date: Feb 2003
Programs: AC SE MM, too many others
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This is a good question, and the answer is no. I have the chance to try it on an upcoming trip. Is it that different from the Soho, Charlotte Street and Covent Garden hotels that it will it change my mind ? I find the "chain" consistent enough in terms of approach that I wouldn't have thought so - but I am keen to be persuaded otherwise, because they are pretty fun places to stay.
#18
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jun 2006
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TMOTEE recommended it >
http://flyertalk.com/forum/showpost....8&postcount=30
interesting magazine review >
http://flyertalk.com/forum/showpost....9&postcount=11
will be interesting to see how it is compared to One Aldwych by others here.
http://flyertalk.com/forum/showpost....8&postcount=30
interesting magazine review >
http://flyertalk.com/forum/showpost....9&postcount=11
will be interesting to see how it is compared to One Aldwych by others here.
Last edited by Kagehitokiri; Feb 19, 2008 at 3:42 pm
#19
Join Date: Feb 2003
Programs: AC SE MM, too many others
Posts: 1,407
TMOTEE recommends it >
http://flyertalk.com/forum/showpost....8&postcount=30
interesting magazine review >
http://flyertalk.com/forum/showpost....9&postcount=11
will be interesting to see how it is compared to One Aldwych by others here.
http://flyertalk.com/forum/showpost....8&postcount=30
interesting magazine review >
http://flyertalk.com/forum/showpost....9&postcount=11
will be interesting to see how it is compared to One Aldwych by others here.
#20
Moderator: Luxury Hotels and FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Sep 2002
Location: Palo Alto, California,USA
Posts: 17,856
...and I got that odd bad room the two times I stayed there, so I stopped staying there! While everyone expects rooms to vary within a hotel, should a really great hotel have ANY bad rooms?
#21
Join Date: Feb 2003
Programs: AC SE MM, too many others
Posts: 1,407
My experience in the grand dame hotels is that you really have to book a fairly high category room to avoid this problem - and I agree with you, really great hotels should not have rooms that have significant variances in quality.
#22
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This is a good question, and the answer is no. I have the chance to try it on an upcoming trip. Is it that different from the Soho, Charlotte Street and Covent Garden hotels that it will it change my mind ? I find the "chain" consistent enough in terms of approach that I wouldn't have thought so - but I am keen to be persuaded otherwise, because they are pretty fun places to stay.
The pool is astounding but, again, they have a habit of renting it out for corporate functions and private parties so there is a chance it won't be available for guests. I have been to one party there and been in the hotel when another was going on.
#23
Join Date: Feb 2003
Programs: AC SE MM, too many others
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No. And it has a problem in that the bar and restaurant are very heavily used by non-residents because of its position directly on Haymarket. I was in the bar before Christmas and it was heavily packed - you were lucky to find standing room yet alone a seat.
The pool is astounding but, again, they have a habit of renting it out for corporate functions and private parties so there is a chance it won't be available for guests. I have been to one party there and been in the hotel when another was going on.
The pool is astounding but, again, they have a habit of renting it out for corporate functions and private parties so there is a chance it won't be available for guests. I have been to one party there and been in the hotel when another was going on.
#25
Join Date: Feb 2003
Programs: AC SE MM, too many others
Posts: 1,407
It's a hotel in a large city, where there is a need for these facilities - and the Firmdale hotels are currently hot, so you can understand why they would be a destination for even small scale events or meetings.
#26
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Here there and everywhere
Posts: 6,303
Sure, but as an individual guest, this would tend to make me avoid Haymarket, especially when I can stay at Firmdale's Soho, Charlotte St or Covent Garden hotels. Also, the location of Haymarket is very poor as this area is quite run down and full of tourists.
#27
Join Date: Feb 2003
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You find Soho (and Covent Garden) more peaceful, less tourist crammed and not as run down ?
#28
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Here there and everywhere
Posts: 6,303
I do! Soho has a certain 'pink' charm to it, and great restaurants. Charlotte Street and Covent Garden are more about theatre, galleries, restaurants, whereas Haymarket is brutal, with endless tourist buses and crowds of people.
#29
Join Date: Feb 2002
Location: USA
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I've become a devoted Mandarian Oriental London client. It certainly cant compare with the best in New York, Hong Kong, etc., but it has a unique combination of old-world charm & modernity that has become addictive in my relatively infrequent trips to London.
All this being said...
MO London is sold out late next week during my next visit, so I need an alternative. I'd like to try something more modern this time around. One Aldwych seems the likely choice. Does anyone have another suggestion, even if it teeters on the edge of being a luxuty hotel as we regualrs have come to define it in this forum?
I'm thinking maybe the FS Canary Wharf (which is a lux hotel) as I can get in at 175GBP over the weekend portion of the trip....
All this being said...
MO London is sold out late next week during my next visit, so I need an alternative. I'd like to try something more modern this time around. One Aldwych seems the likely choice. Does anyone have another suggestion, even if it teeters on the edge of being a luxuty hotel as we regualrs have come to define it in this forum?
I'm thinking maybe the FS Canary Wharf (which is a lux hotel) as I can get in at 175GBP over the weekend portion of the trip....
#30
Join Date: Feb 2003
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Posts: 1,407
Driving Rain - if you are unsure about One Aldwych, my backup (as I have stated somewhere above) is Brown's - which also has that combination of old and new. Or (though I haven't yet stayed there) Duke's in St. James's.