Kagehitokiri

after looking over london threads again, one aldwych still seems best regarded.

article on Connaught in latest Departures >
http://www.departures.com/articles/b...otel-refreshed
(john smith / 371909)

vuittonsofstyle

I find the One Aldwych service very cold. My male friends like it, but female friends agree with me. Also, the rooms are tiny and the suites not too comfortable (apart from the beds).
Browns has a nice feel to it and the rooms/suites are very spacious, but the quality of the work in the bathrooms is really bad and the restaurant service can be patchy. Like its location though.
MO bathrooms are old fashioned and small and the plumbing is out of the ark. Like the restaurants, dislike the bar which is full of noisy locals. I think they need a big refurbishment fast.
Dorchester looks good but fails to perform so many times - slow service etc. They always put it right, but I wish they would do it properly in the first place.
Canary Wharf has good staff but is such a cold hotel. feels like you are sleeping in a board room.

grumbler

For One Aldwych, you have to make sure you are in a midlevel room or better - but the rooms are small, with the exception of the 04 rooms, which overlook the bridge.

luxury

I have only experienced very warm and sincere service at One Aldwych. However, with personnel change and Campbell Grey Hotels expansion (Dukes in London; Goodwood Park in Chicester; Carlisle Bay in Antigua and 2 Middle East developments) the charm and warmth of the flagship may have become diluted somewhat.

listener

my expierence at the ritz has been sub standard on the last three occasions that have been obliged to stay there.
one Aldwych has never impressed me allways been cold and distant..
The dorchester when it works works well, the halkin has great service.

Goodmorning2U

Has anyone been to Hotel 41? I would love to hear your thoughts on this property.

submonte

Does anyone know this hotel (Kempinski):

http://www.thebentley-hotel.com/

from Oct. 1st on:

http://www1.hilton.com/en_US/hi/hote...SH14CSGBIV2VCQ

1) What have been your "5-star-luxury" impressions of this hotel?
2) Reputation?
3) Why will it leave Kempiski?

vuittonsofstyle

The hotel is decorated in a very over the top style, sort of bordello-meets-gentleman's-club. It has never quite got its profile on target, or its service, IMHO.

Kempinski does nothing for its luxury aspirations. Let's face it, Kempinski is a second string hotel brand - OK for the occasional business stay, but not in the truly high-end sector.

Goodmorning2U

Specifically, room choice, food quality, and butler service....

rfrost

I used to stay there occasionally; good-sized rooms, I think they always managed to find a room for me when I arrived off an overnight flight in the early morning, my beloved Penhaligon Quercus bath products, a 24-hour fitness center, and I used to find pretty good rates. They had one terrific concierge, but she left, and the guy who replaced her was useless (well, he knew how to look up a restaurant in Harden's, so next-to-useless). I stopped returning after a billing problem which took too long to resolve. But even at its best, there were usually worn patches in the rooms, spotty doorman service, and other service glitches that, together with its rather unprepossessing location, would not have supported a categorization as "luxury."

Raffles

Used to have an acclaimed restaurant (in the basement) called 1880 but the chef, Andrew Turner, moved on a year or so ago and the restaurant is no longer a high point of the place. We got the tasting menu for half-price one night through an internet promo and it was excellent. Surreally, though, at one point in the evening a birthday cake was brought out to my girlfriend and the staff all sang happy birthday to her .... except it wasn't!!

It's one of the many pseudo-luxury hotels in South Ken / Knightsbridge / Chelsea which seem to remain in business despite having absolutely zero public profile. You can never imagine who would end up staying there.

Goodmorning2U

I was suprised to learn that this hotel ranks 2nd of all London properties on TA...

submonte

Hilton guests

But thanks, I understand better now what type of hotel category (price category) it is, another class compared to Ritz, Savoy or Lanesborough, probably more trying to compete JW Marriott or IC, but very small, boutique like sized. Nevertheless I will try it out next time when I go to London. It seems to become the best Hilton Hotel there, I guess (I hope) maybe mid term rebranded to CONRAD or WA (although also those brands do not reflect the small size of The Bentley) after some renovation and so on. I am interested as a Hilton guest to see if there is any progress with their further strategy of setting higher levels of Hilton hotels at top locations, which has been promised since long, but with few progress so far, or no progress, see European major capitals like Berlin or Paris, exception Rome (Cavalieri=WA).

rfrost

I thought the Waldorf was supposed to be Hilton's top-of-the-line in London? LOL.


Raffles, I ate at 1880, too, back when, and quite liked the food, though IIRC, I was one of three diners there.

vuittonsofstyle

Now that FS is closed for a couple of years (amazing plans, including a rooftop spa and two restaurants on the ground floor), my favourites are Soho Hotel, Charlotte Street Hotel and Covent Garden Hotel - all Firmdales.

The new Bar at The Dorchester is a huge improvement, but everything else, especially the service, continues to disappoint.

Anyone tried the Connaught lately?