lexdevil

The verdict so far...

Lounge: Black jeans and walking shoes passed muster, as did my son's t-shirt and khakis. The three of us were admitted without questions. There were also a few family groups with two or more kids. There were at least two people wearing shorts in the lounge tonight. Everyone did, however, appear clean and not too rumpled.

The room is huge and furniture very comfortable. Cookies were okay, but the scones w/ clotted cream and jam were really very good. Much better than what we had at the Renaissance St. Pancras a few years back. TV is tuned to the news, but sans sound. Annoying easy listening techno played throughout at a bit too a high volume.

Worth noting, you can check in in the lounge! I received an email to this effect and was very glad that I did. When we arrived at roughly 2:15pm, the lobby was swarming with several large families and it was clear that check in would take some time. When I saw the chaos I asked the lobby hostess (their term) if we could check in in the lounge and she took us there, where there was no line.

Checking in in the lounge got things moving sooner, but it was not without complications. I don't think that many have taken advantage of this yet, so it probably took longer than it should have. Additionally, our keys worked for our room, but not the lounge. When I returned to the lounge the attendant reprogrammed them several times without luck. Eventually sent them to the front desk where they discovered that the batteries were dying (at least that's what we were told). They do work now.

One really cool thing in the lounge is the printing facilities. You can print wirelessly from your phone or laptop. The printer pops up as an option in your print menu and installs very quickly. When I went to the desk to pick up my print job, they had placed it in a swanky, heavy envelope. Kind of cool, kind of wasteful. Not sure where I come down on this.

Upgrades: Not much to speak of, in this case. Received a "Superior" room that was at the large end of that room class, making it roughly the same size as all of the regular rooms at the Marriott Park Lane. I asked about a suite or Executive room and was told that none were available, which is the typical check in BS. There are currently Executive rooms and Deluxe Suites available for points on the website (and there were at the time we checked in). Not surprised at all as the JW is far from alone in this, just mildly disappointed.

Internet: Everything you have read about the building being wifi challenged is true. After 30 minutes of frustration I called for assistance. After being instructed (repeatedly) to do what we had already done, I was connected to Ibahn. After 10 minutes on hold I hung up. Wandered down to the lounge to get online and (if needed) move to a different room. Rather than that, however, they sent a router up to our room, which has solved the problem.

dayone

Akin to an honest thief, new antique or humane slaughter.

ohmark

Sounds like what they play everywhere at the Grand Rapids JW. Boppin in the elevator.

lexdevil

Third night here. A few more notes.

Lounge breakfast is excellent. Lots of smoked salmon and "the works." Absolutely diabolical (in a good way) chocolate muffins. Good sausage. Bacon could use some help (the streaky is not crispy in the slightest).

Night one, turn down service, bottled water left, no chocolates (don't know if that's the norm here). Night two, no turn down service (not that I care, but water would have been nice). Night three, we put the "serenity please" sign up when we returned at 9pm. At 9:45 there was a knock at the door, followed by someone trying to enter the room with a key ( I had the latch on). Looked in the hall and saw a housekeeping cart with water. Assume this was an attempt at turn down service, but I think 9:45 is a bit late. Am I wrong?

Security randomly asks people to show their room key before letting them in the elevator. Not sure how much this improves security, as it shouldn't be too hard to come up with a key to flash if asked.

Just realized I was never asked my preference for platinum amenity. I wonder if that was because the Executive Lounge attendants are not used to doing check in. I don't even remember the usual "thank you for being a platinum member" silliness, not that I miss it.

ohmark

So, based on your experience, what do you make of the situation in the lounge that Lane412000 described earlier?

lexdevil

Absolutely bizarre. I have not experienced anything even close to that. And I've seen lots of shorts, cargos, t-shirts, etc., even in the evening. My fear was that having a new lounge had somehow triggered a new policy or implementation of an old, previously enenforced policy, but that does not appear to be the case.

lexdevil

In a rush at check out because of problems with the folio, so I did not have time to ask about platinum amenity/guarantee (could not afford to miss our transportation back to Oxfordshire). Assumed at the very least that the default 500 points would be credited to my account, but I was wrong. Folio has posted without any platinum amenity points. :-(

lexdevil

Wrote to Customer Care via the website in hopes of at least getting the points credited. Just received an email from the hotel that my credit card will be credited the $100 platinum guarantee. Didn't expect that, as I always thought that one had to make the request before leaving. I guess it was because they neither offered the choice nor credited the points. Did not have to push at all. Very pleased with this outcome.

dw

An investment vehicle affiliated with Brunei (and thus the Sultan of Brunei) is one of the bidders on a portfolio of properties, including the Grosvenor House:

http://online.wsj.com/articles/sulta...don-1408226335

A change of ownership may not impact the long-term management agreement in place with Marriott, though presumably if the bid is successful at some point in time there may be efforts to transition the flag to the Dorchester Collection.

SkiAdcock

Given the boycotts of the Dorchester Collection due to the Sultan, that might not be good

Cheers.

jr1202sr

They just had a story on CNBC this AM about it. Talked about the 3 properties and the boycott. Hopefully new owners won't take the cue from the new owners of San Juan Properties and cut offerings. I can see it now no more suite upgrades for platinums..

Lane412000

lexdevil -- I have read your posts in the thread now that I am finally home. All I can say is that it makes me even more ticked off about what happened to me that evening. Your views each night were correct as these were the same we noticed after our first night encounter. People with shorts, hiking shoes, even saw a couple of muscle shirts in the lounge.

I would post what I really think the issue was, but then I don't want to make this a racial issue (I am white). I have not written to Marriott nor do I plan to do so as it has been three weeks.

SkiAdcock

Given you weren't asked to leave the other days/nights of your stay & you were allowed in by lounge attendants earlier on the day you were asked to, still sounds to me like it was a 1-off by an overzealous attendant. If it had been me I would have asked to speak to the MOD when it occurred to get it sorted right then. But as you note, it's now been 3 weeks. It's unfortunate there was the one sour note, but you did mention the rest of your stay was pleasant so focus on that part in terms of memories.

Cheers.

Lane412000

Sharon, you are correct, the rest of the stay was great. The executive lounge attendant who gave me the boot the first night was manning the desk the other evenings and never took action against other guests. Every time we would enter or exit the lounge after the first night, he was sitting at the desk and would lower his head. I am unsure if it was due to embarrassment of his actions on our first night or he just had an issue with us. He never welcomed us into the lounge when we entered or bade us a farewell when he left the lounge. Personally, I think he should send my wife a thank you card for saving him from an ... whipping, but that is just my opinion.

SkiAdcock

Given he didn't kick you out the other times, sounds like he was overzealous & perhaps realized it the other nights/was embarrassed. Of course if you had taken physical action against him, you would have been rightfully kicked out, so perhaps you should be thanking your wife Again, the thing to do at the time of his request to leave was to get a MOD involved & get it sorted out right then & there. You didn't do that. Glad the rest of the stay went well.

Cheers.