W Leicester Square, London, United Kingdom [Master Thread]
Feb 17, 2017, 5:39 pm
#211
Join Date: Mar 2014
Posts: 60
Great suite and club
Stayed there as a lowly Gold last weekend. Booked as one of those three shoebox sized standard rooms (forgot whether spectacular or fabulous or whatever), been upgraded to corner room a week before arrival and then further upgraded to a suite with a very huge bathroom (almost same size, if not bigger, than the bedroom) on the day of arrival automatically before checkin (what a surprise!!!, Com'on just a gold).
Been acknowledged properly as a gold, got late checkout, welcome drinkS AND welcome starpoints (another wow).
Staff were super helpful for everything and couldn't be frdlier. Club was great during weekend.
The downsides are: it's abit noisy and still as bright as daytime outside the windows till 4am, hallways are too dark, spice market had gone (burger and lobster was not too bad though, still abit disappointed).
overall I got a nice weekend stay and paying just a little bit more than 200, very value for money.
Been acknowledged properly as a gold, got late checkout, welcome drinkS AND welcome starpoints (another wow).
Staff were super helpful for everything and couldn't be frdlier. Club was great during weekend.
The downsides are: it's abit noisy and still as bright as daytime outside the windows till 4am, hallways are too dark, spice market had gone (burger and lobster was not too bad though, still abit disappointed).
overall I got a nice weekend stay and paying just a little bit more than 200, very value for money.
Feb 21, 2017, 5:46 pm
#212
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: In the air
Programs: Hyatt Globalist, Bonvoy LT Plat, Hilton Gold, GHA Tit, BA Gold, Turkish Elite
Posts: 8,720
Stayed here for the first time on Sunday as a Platinum and clearly did not get treated as well as Johnwooz.
I booked a Wonderful room and got upgraded to a Fabulous Room. Of course you never know if you really did get upgraded to the best available as a Platinum, but the website kept selling Cool Corners, Studio Suites, Screening Suite and Marvelous Suites all day (as well as the non-eligible Wow and E-Wow) so I do wonder about enforcement. No welcome drinks were offered.
I'd describe the room as "interesting", is perfect for a night out getting wasted in London or for a really dodgy romantic tete a tete. There's a tiny room for a shower and one for a toilet, with the sink forming part of a tall table which doubles up as a desk and the only readily available power socket. Novel, but not massively practical.
The place overall is classic W on steroids. Music is louder, staff are more attractive and the angles are sharper than your typical W property. The bar was obviously not at its best on a Sunday evening and had a particularly obnoxious "rah rah" crowd downing "shots of your cheapest tequila" and cheap champagne.
I'm going to give the place another try, as the cool factor does have potential and the location just south of Soho is perfect for me. Not sold on this visit though.
I booked a Wonderful room and got upgraded to a Fabulous Room. Of course you never know if you really did get upgraded to the best available as a Platinum, but the website kept selling Cool Corners, Studio Suites, Screening Suite and Marvelous Suites all day (as well as the non-eligible Wow and E-Wow) so I do wonder about enforcement. No welcome drinks were offered.
I'd describe the room as "interesting", is perfect for a night out getting wasted in London or for a really dodgy romantic tete a tete. There's a tiny room for a shower and one for a toilet, with the sink forming part of a tall table which doubles up as a desk and the only readily available power socket. Novel, but not massively practical.
The place overall is classic W on steroids. Music is louder, staff are more attractive and the angles are sharper than your typical W property. The bar was obviously not at its best on a Sunday evening and had a particularly obnoxious "rah rah" crowd downing "shots of your cheapest tequila" and cheap champagne.
I'm going to give the place another try, as the cool factor does have potential and the location just south of Soho is perfect for me. Not sold on this visit though.
Mar 30, 2017, 6:25 pm
#213
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: Near the pole, at the beach, top of mountains, underwater, golfing
Programs: AC E, FPC plat, TK E, VA G, HIlton diam, spg plat, CX gold, US air Plat, Hyatt Dia, A club Plat
Posts: 287
i should have read ft before booking this hotel. TRULY regret not reading ft before booking hotels. every bad review and comments are confirmed...
1. location: while central, it is noisy and extremely hard to drive to the hotel. The only way in by car and the one way street is closed 2 blocks away, everyday from noon to midnight , closed for pedestrian only!
we had lots of luggage and the driver was circling the area for 1 hour, almost giving up. We had to call the hotel for help, and finally they sent an ambassador out to "open" the gates and let us drive in. They should have notify guests in advance, or have notes on their website on how to reach the hotel by car in case of their daily pedestrian street closure. extremely frustrating.
2. platinum recognition: Front desk (FD) staff said we are gold in system, hence no upgrades available. He even ask (snob tone) if we are just brand new platinum (been for years, was going for lifetime). He then offered to fix and note in system our platinum status, by offering breakfast vouchers.
3. upgrades: we got lazy (we were supposed to go to another hotel the next few days) and book 2 more extra nights after checkingin for our first night. Next morning, before checking out and checking in again, we asked for possible rooms or suite upgrades. We were told by the ambassador on phone, no better rooms available, and no suites for upgrades available (despite web site and spg app showing availability on all rooms ans suite category for the whole duration of stay). we were offered $250 gbp paid upgrade to wow suite (declined). We only asked for slightly better rooms (was told nothing available, only option is paid upgrade)
4. spg platinum call centre: we called the spg agent to verify the availability of rooms and suites. Agent told us the hotel have total discretion on upgrades and who to upgrade. we then ask what is the spg platinum upgrade policy, she suddenly hang up on us...
5. rooms: as others have noted: leaking water in bathrooms to outside floor making it slippery, weird non functional design (there is no thought in design, whoever designed the rooms had only one purpose: use as little space as possible and maximize the number of rooms). We do not mind the open plan, but the whole room is truly ennoying to use, not functional at all. There is no space for your luggage, only one high chair (bar style). bathrooms and shower are in the "closet". one power plug for whole room, and it is under the sink. The sink is extremely shallow, water can splash everywhere and will drip on the floor, making us slip and almost fell a few times.
Pro: bed is really comfortable.
6. staff communication: despite having been told and confirmed late checkout (by the same FD that downgraded us to gold status) on our first night, the tv somehow turn on by itself right at 11:30am. At noon, we received a phone call. at 1pm, housekeeping called and asked when we will be out and if we need housekeeping...
7. spg platinum liaison: we emailed and asked spg platinum. Their reply was upgrades is only available if whole stay the rooms is available (it was), and that Spg app availabilty may be different from hotel availabilty as there may lag time...
while the lack or refusal of upgrades do not bother us (as we encounter in the past, some spg hotels are known to be against upgrades), the attitude of some staff, and misleading information are concerning.
Since we travel so much, and stay at hotels a lot, we tend to encounter more issues than others. Some get resolved, some don't, but the common point about the past issues is that you can rely on either a hotel manager, or spg corporate to at least have a look at it, and you can trust that they truly consider improving for future guests. Even if the issues do not get resolved, or things do not change, at least you feel confident that it was properly reviewed. Even if we do not get any compensation for our reports, we felt we can trust management or corporate to work to improve the other guests' future experience. However, this experience make us doubt the hotel or spg commitment, or simply w london should not be representing the spg brand...
we went out of our ways to book with spg hotels, (especiallly in london) in pursuit of keeping our platinum status. We trusted spg brand, if not we could have booked many other hotels (big hotel chains or smaller luxury ones, as we have access to automatic upgrades from our exclusive travel agent though our bank). We also could have book hiltons or hyatts or even savoy fairmont( have top tiers at all). Should we be still in pursuit of trying to renew our spg platinum status (especially after the merger)? Is this the new normal with spg? we wonder.
We should have read FT before... that was the lesson learned, read ft before!
1. location: while central, it is noisy and extremely hard to drive to the hotel. The only way in by car and the one way street is closed 2 blocks away, everyday from noon to midnight , closed for pedestrian only!
we had lots of luggage and the driver was circling the area for 1 hour, almost giving up. We had to call the hotel for help, and finally they sent an ambassador out to "open" the gates and let us drive in. They should have notify guests in advance, or have notes on their website on how to reach the hotel by car in case of their daily pedestrian street closure. extremely frustrating.
2. platinum recognition: Front desk (FD) staff said we are gold in system, hence no upgrades available. He even ask (snob tone) if we are just brand new platinum (been for years, was going for lifetime). He then offered to fix and note in system our platinum status, by offering breakfast vouchers.
3. upgrades: we got lazy (we were supposed to go to another hotel the next few days) and book 2 more extra nights after checkingin for our first night. Next morning, before checking out and checking in again, we asked for possible rooms or suite upgrades. We were told by the ambassador on phone, no better rooms available, and no suites for upgrades available (despite web site and spg app showing availability on all rooms ans suite category for the whole duration of stay). we were offered $250 gbp paid upgrade to wow suite (declined). We only asked for slightly better rooms (was told nothing available, only option is paid upgrade)
4. spg platinum call centre: we called the spg agent to verify the availability of rooms and suites. Agent told us the hotel have total discretion on upgrades and who to upgrade. we then ask what is the spg platinum upgrade policy, she suddenly hang up on us...
5. rooms: as others have noted: leaking water in bathrooms to outside floor making it slippery, weird non functional design (there is no thought in design, whoever designed the rooms had only one purpose: use as little space as possible and maximize the number of rooms). We do not mind the open plan, but the whole room is truly ennoying to use, not functional at all. There is no space for your luggage, only one high chair (bar style). bathrooms and shower are in the "closet". one power plug for whole room, and it is under the sink. The sink is extremely shallow, water can splash everywhere and will drip on the floor, making us slip and almost fell a few times.
Pro: bed is really comfortable.
6. staff communication: despite having been told and confirmed late checkout (by the same FD that downgraded us to gold status) on our first night, the tv somehow turn on by itself right at 11:30am. At noon, we received a phone call. at 1pm, housekeeping called and asked when we will be out and if we need housekeeping...
7. spg platinum liaison: we emailed and asked spg platinum. Their reply was upgrades is only available if whole stay the rooms is available (it was), and that Spg app availabilty may be different from hotel availabilty as there may lag time...
while the lack or refusal of upgrades do not bother us (as we encounter in the past, some spg hotels are known to be against upgrades), the attitude of some staff, and misleading information are concerning.
Since we travel so much, and stay at hotels a lot, we tend to encounter more issues than others. Some get resolved, some don't, but the common point about the past issues is that you can rely on either a hotel manager, or spg corporate to at least have a look at it, and you can trust that they truly consider improving for future guests. Even if the issues do not get resolved, or things do not change, at least you feel confident that it was properly reviewed. Even if we do not get any compensation for our reports, we felt we can trust management or corporate to work to improve the other guests' future experience. However, this experience make us doubt the hotel or spg commitment, or simply w london should not be representing the spg brand...
we went out of our ways to book with spg hotels, (especiallly in london) in pursuit of keeping our platinum status. We trusted spg brand, if not we could have booked many other hotels (big hotel chains or smaller luxury ones, as we have access to automatic upgrades from our exclusive travel agent though our bank). We also could have book hiltons or hyatts or even savoy fairmont( have top tiers at all). Should we be still in pursuit of trying to renew our spg platinum status (especially after the merger)? Is this the new normal with spg? we wonder.
We should have read FT before... that was the lesson learned, read ft before!
Last edited by globaltravelers; Mar 30, 2017 at 7:03 pm
Mar 31, 2017, 1:50 am
#215
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: Near the pole, at the beach, top of mountains, underwater, golfing
Programs: AC E, FPC plat, TK E, VA G, HIlton diam, spg plat, CX gold, US air Plat, Hyatt Dia, A club Plat
Posts: 287
initial refusal or downgrades on first night of front desk do not bother us as much as miscommunications, or the perceived lack of care from spg liaison...
we have encounter a lot of refusal to upgrades at other spg hotels, everywhere in the world, from st regis to four points, even to a better rooms (while there are availability), so no big deal about upgrades before. However OUR past and recent trends in last year seems to confirm that spg upgrades are like the agent said: depends on the hotel and who, and certainly not automatic. It was not like that before merger, spg hotels were friendlier, spg corporate and agents seemed to care, and upgrades were automatic (rooms or suites). We cannot help to doubt our future with spg...
Mar 31, 2017, 10:19 am
#216
Join Date: Jan 2016
Location: Boston, MA
Programs: Delta DM, SPG Ambassador Platinum
Posts: 90
to clarify, we booked extra nights right away after check in on first night, fearing about the daily street closure in front of the hotel, and before the other bad experiences the next day. That fear and laziness really got in the way.
initial refusal or downgrades on first night of front desk do not bother us as much as miscommunications, or the perceived lack of care from spg liaison...
we have encounter a lot of refusal to upgrades at other spg hotels, everywhere in the world, from st regis to four points, even to a better rooms (while there are availability), so no big deal about upgrades before. However OUR past and recent trends in last year seems to confirm that spg upgrades are like the agent said: depends on the hotel and who, and certainly not automatic. It was not like that before merger, spg hotels were friendlier, spg corporate and agents seemed to care, and upgrades were automatic (rooms or suites). We cannot help to doubt our future with spg...
initial refusal or downgrades on first night of front desk do not bother us as much as miscommunications, or the perceived lack of care from spg liaison...
we have encounter a lot of refusal to upgrades at other spg hotels, everywhere in the world, from st regis to four points, even to a better rooms (while there are availability), so no big deal about upgrades before. However OUR past and recent trends in last year seems to confirm that spg upgrades are like the agent said: depends on the hotel and who, and certainly not automatic. It was not like that before merger, spg hotels were friendlier, spg corporate and agents seemed to care, and upgrades were automatic (rooms or suites). We cannot help to doubt our future with spg...
Apr 1, 2017, 12:45 am
#217
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: Near the pole, at the beach, top of mountains, underwater, golfing
Programs: AC E, FPC plat, TK E, VA G, HIlton diam, spg plat, CX gold, US air Plat, Hyatt Dia, A club Plat
Posts: 287
pro: the bells boys and security are extremely friendly and helpful.
cons: we were quoted 100 gb fixed price for van transfer booked by hotel concierge and again in front of the driver the bell boy said 100gb. At airport, driver said 105 gb, want cash and demand extra tips... if pay by credit card it is extra 10 percent... no where in the world that someone asked "where is my tip" before unloading luggage.. even in egypt, india, burma, china, indonesia, china etc.. no one DEMANDED tips while blocking access, holding luggage hostage and ask for tips...
while the driver does not work directly for the hotel, but as a sub contractor, booked by hotel, it represent the brand indirectly. At most other five stars or decent hotels in the world, the concierge would have send an automatic written confirmation to your room, to confirm and prevent misunderstandings about ANY services booked. And usually, the bell boys also note the fixed agreed price on a hotel business card...
again, discrepancy of information at this w hotel london, between staff, and its sub contractors is amazing.
cons: we were quoted 100 gb fixed price for van transfer booked by hotel concierge and again in front of the driver the bell boy said 100gb. At airport, driver said 105 gb, want cash and demand extra tips... if pay by credit card it is extra 10 percent... no where in the world that someone asked "where is my tip" before unloading luggage.. even in egypt, india, burma, china, indonesia, china etc.. no one DEMANDED tips while blocking access, holding luggage hostage and ask for tips...
while the driver does not work directly for the hotel, but as a sub contractor, booked by hotel, it represent the brand indirectly. At most other five stars or decent hotels in the world, the concierge would have send an automatic written confirmation to your room, to confirm and prevent misunderstandings about ANY services booked. And usually, the bell boys also note the fixed agreed price on a hotel business card...
again, discrepancy of information at this w hotel london, between staff, and its sub contractors is amazing.
Apr 2, 2017, 10:09 pm
#219
Join Date: Jan 2001
Location: Boston, MA
Programs: AA Lifetime Platinum (3MM), QF Lifetime Gold, Bonvoy Lifetime Platinum, Ex-Hyatt Diamond
Posts: 7,541
Never met a hotel w such bad, bads, where management didn't care
There are many goods.
But as a Plat on a 5 night stay here last year:
1) they could never get the phones to work in whatever room we were in;
2) there was a constant other problem that occurred on a daily basis, technology or human;
3) bartender der actually said to me "f-inkg boyfriend" in reference that I showed up to bthenar to order a drink within a few minutes of my significant other having been waiting for a drink at the bar...finally the other bartender apologized said he was drunk and served us drinks.
Upon reporting this all to the staff while we were there or to the general manager by email after we left (he was on vacation during our stay), there was no response.
They are just too busy, too profitable.
We had some great times. But really among the worst and most frustraing/disapppinting/bad experiences, ever.
There are many goods.
But as a Plat on a 5 night stay here last year:
1) they could never get the phones to work in whatever room we were in;
2) there was a constant other problem that occurred on a daily basis, technology or human;
3) bartender der actually said to me "f-inkg boyfriend" in reference that I showed up to bthenar to order a drink within a few minutes of my significant other having been waiting for a drink at the bar...finally the other bartender apologized said he was drunk and served us drinks.
Upon reporting this all to the staff while we were there or to the general manager by email after we left (he was on vacation during our stay), there was no response.
They are just too busy, too profitable.
We had some great times. But really among the worst and most frustraing/disapppinting/bad experiences, ever.
Apr 2, 2017, 11:54 pm
#220
Join Date: Apr 2015
Location: Sweden
Programs: Marriott Platinum - LT Gold
Posts: 688
Sad to hear these mini reviews. Planning a stay in London with my GF of three nights and I very much would like to book a stay at the W London hotel but think I'm moving towards Sheraton Grand instead. Have just fallen in love with the W brand after a recent stay in another city :/
Apr 10, 2017, 5:02 pm
#221
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: In the air
Programs: Hyatt Globalist, Bonvoy LT Plat, Hilton Gold, GHA Tit, BA Gold, Turkish Elite
Posts: 8,720
Stayed here on my second stay for 3 days which I think will be my last.
The base 3 room types look identical to me and are identically sized, and I again received one of those. I'm still not convinced they're following Starwood Platinum upgrade policies, but obviously impossible to prove.
The room configuration is interesting and creative, but for someone who is on business travel it simply doesn't meet some basic requirements. You can't easily use the desk, the main room floods and not having a bathroom is a pain.
Service appeared a bit more attentive than last time, and I think the hotel had lower occupancy. The W Insiders emailed me with one of their welcome to London emails and ignored my response with a couple specific requests. They then followed up with a second "we're here to help" email, which managed to really get on my nerves.
I don't see myself coming back here. The location is perfect for me and it has potential, but it doesn't consistently manage to combine being cool and being competent.
The base 3 room types look identical to me and are identically sized, and I again received one of those. I'm still not convinced they're following Starwood Platinum upgrade policies, but obviously impossible to prove.
The room configuration is interesting and creative, but for someone who is on business travel it simply doesn't meet some basic requirements. You can't easily use the desk, the main room floods and not having a bathroom is a pain.
Service appeared a bit more attentive than last time, and I think the hotel had lower occupancy. The W Insiders emailed me with one of their welcome to London emails and ignored my response with a couple specific requests. They then followed up with a second "we're here to help" email, which managed to really get on my nerves.
I don't see myself coming back here. The location is perfect for me and it has potential, but it doesn't consistently manage to combine being cool and being competent.
Apr 11, 2017, 3:31 am
#222
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: SFO, LON
Programs: BA GGL/CCR, Bonvoy Tit, Hilton Dia etc etc
Posts: 2,354
They know what they want to be and it most definitely is not competent. Honestly, they don't need to. I don't want to keep blabbering on about "how can you be a good hotel/airline/whatever if your service sucks". The service is targeted to a very specific demographic, pulls in said demographic in droves and I'll bet the hotel does very nicely. When I was going back 'n' forth a lot before moving to London I stayed here a good deal to begin with, as the location was about as perfect as could be for me, but eventually I started staying at the GNH a lot more as it was usually quite a bit cheaper and the area was convenient for me to walk from to places almost as much as Leicester Square. There is much I liked about the W, but it was most definitely not a hotel for staying in or expecting much in the way of niceties towards plats.
Apr 11, 2017, 1:45 pm
#223
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: In the air
Programs: Hyatt Globalist, Bonvoy LT Plat, Hilton Gold, GHA Tit, BA Gold, Turkish Elite
Posts: 8,720
I've reached the same conclusion. Based on two stays in each, the GNH seems like a great option in a relatively convenient area, even if it means I can't walk to everything I need quite so easily.
Apr 11, 2017, 7:29 pm
#224
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Aug 2002
Programs: UALifetimePremierGold, Marriott LifetimeTitanium
Posts: 71,113
I normally stay in Mayfair at the Marriott properties (and would probably stay at Sheraton Park Lane if I was going to switch), but was interested in the location of this property because it's close to where I have bizness. Having read this thread I'll avoid this property.
Cheers.
Cheers.
Apr 30, 2017, 4:39 am
#225
Join Date: Dec 2013
Programs: AC SE100K, Bonvoy Ambassador Elite, Hilton Silver
Posts: 340
Above average stay
So I'm not in the W target demographic however I have been thoroughly enjoying a 5 night stay here. It may have helped that my ambassador was keeping an eye on the reservation and also assisted in providing a nice welcome amenity with my favourites of sparkling water and fresh fruit and cheese.
Check in was quick, had to wait a bit for my room but I did arrive early.
The marvelous suite (used 5 SNA's) is a really great space. The WC is huge and the bedroom also quite large with a great desk and sitting area. Although it is bright outside the heavy curtains do their job in creating almost an entire blackout. I am on the 4th floor so can hear some bleedthrough of subwoofers but not loud enough that it bothers me at all or prevents sleep (if you are sensitive to this you would want to go with a higher floor).
Staff have been universally friendly and always have a smile and a greeting. Location is great for walking and close to the tube. Platinum breakfast is a very nice continental spread plus one hot item from the menu.
If if you like the area and like the W concept I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this hotel.
Check in was quick, had to wait a bit for my room but I did arrive early.
The marvelous suite (used 5 SNA's) is a really great space. The WC is huge and the bedroom also quite large with a great desk and sitting area. Although it is bright outside the heavy curtains do their job in creating almost an entire blackout. I am on the 4th floor so can hear some bleedthrough of subwoofers but not loud enough that it bothers me at all or prevents sleep (if you are sensitive to this you would want to go with a higher floor).
Staff have been universally friendly and always have a smile and a greeting. Location is great for walking and close to the tube. Platinum breakfast is a very nice continental spread plus one hot item from the menu.
If if you like the area and like the W concept I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this hotel.