hockeyinsider

I hope someone tries not paying for parking and reporting back to us because when I stayed there in May you could exit the parking lot without paying.

PrancingPonyGoldMember

I also saw that desk over on the left but do not think anyone was working there either... If it was open, it was not obvious.

Other than that the place is really pretty great though. Free bus from the airport, and airport noise was not an issue at all even though you are literally looking at the active runway. I would stay again if I had another late arrival into Heathrow.

stc

There are signs all over the Heathrow Hotels about using ANR (automatic (plate) number recognition) in the the parking lots. I would not be surprised to find a nasty note on your car, or worse a clamp on your tire.

hockeyinsider

Perhaps, but I never gave the hotel my license plate at registration or when I paid for parking nor was there a machine to take my validated, paid parking ticket.

SkiAdcock

So the bottom line was you were lucky. Moving on...

FlyinHawaiian

Nottingham Nick

Just had another satisfactory stay at this hotel. We booked a 'park'n'fly' deal and everything went like clockwork. The barriers on the car park are fully operational now, and your parking ticket has your reg number printed on it, thanks to ANPR.
I had checked in on line, and all the paperwork including car park form and room keys were waiting for us at the small desk in front of the main check in area.
Nice upgrade to a refurbed runway view room.
We always eat at The Pheasant when we stay on the Bath Road, but we did look into the lounge and have a couple of beers, as it was a hot day ;-) .
The menu for the appetisers was :-
Smoke Salmon with Keta Caviar, Horseradish Cream
Beetroot and Goat cheese mousse
Mini pulled pork burgers
Cheddar Cheese and onion flutes
The young lady distributing the beer and wine was very proactive, anyone with a nearly empty glass or bottle was replenished quickly.
Breakfast in the lounge was fine. The staple clients, apart from airline passengers, are coach parties - if you can avoid hitting the restaurant at the same time as them, then it is a lot quieter and a much more pleasant experience all round.
The advantage of the parking here is that you self park and keep your keys, rather than risking putting your car in the care of a boy-racer to park it for you. The free buses to and from the airport are also a plus.

Nick

SkiAdcock

Thanks for the update Nick. Much appreciated.

Cheers.

Lizie

Just to update my previous remarks after this weekend's stay, the air conditioning is now on in the executive lounge and they can also take credit card deposits and take payment for parking at the small concierge desk. Note though that the small concierge desk isn't always manned.

Not currently relevant but some may be interested to hear they are applying to open the roof up and make it into a bar sometime in the future.

arlflyer

Possibly OT, but I just wanted to say that this is one of the better thread titles on FT.

dayone

I agree (and it was modified from its original title after a renovation).

Lizie

Stayed this weekend two nights and really surprised how poor it has become from my last stay. Staff at breakfast complaining over work conditions within earshot, other guests walked into our room after being given our room, a beggar walking around the dining room and the outside patio area asking for money and food, corridors with room service trays from previous evening. Perhaps it was just a bank holiday weekend problem but I'm thinking twice about going back. Got 2,500 points for service recovery.

hockeyinsider

I have to imagine staff at just about every London-area hotel complain about working conditions since it has to be impossible to make end's meet working at hotel wages in London. It's no wonder that pretty much all the staff are Eastern European, Middle Eastern or Asian. It's also no surprise an increasing number of London hotels are outsourcing housekeeping to third-party companies to reduce labor costs.

This isn't exclusive to London, either. I stayed at a Mercure hotel in Gloucester and found out the hotel used a combination of Eastern European workers (housekeepers, front desk, etc.) and then British workers from a temporary staffing agency for waiter/waitress jobs so sometimes the staff changed every day or two.

transportprof

Yah, the place is slipping back into mediocrity again. Stayed last week and the room was already showing signs of wear - lumpy (new) mattress means they are not being turned properly. Plus I had the pizza in the cafe for dinner, and spent an hour in the loo afterwards. Something's rotten in Denmark!

FoxCrane

I am currently staying at the Renaissance Heathrow, and am a bit disappointed. I never stayed prior to the renovation, but it is no different than a typical Novotel in feeling and design. By comparison, the Sheraton did a MUCH better job with their renovation, and the Sheraton property definitely feels like a higher category than the Renaissance. In addition, the quality of the breakfast at the Renaissance (in the restaurant and in the lounge) is disappointing compared to the Sheraton. This is the first and last time I'm staying at the Renaissance Heathrow, just because the Sheraton is a much better experience. I wouldn't call the Renaissance a dump, but it's probably only a couple years away from becoming a dump again.