HookEm

lost_in_translation

I'm not suggesting this is an uncommon approach, but at many of the hotels I stay at getting a cappuccino with breakfast isn't an issue. I suppose I'm talking about hotels outside of the US primarily, in either Asia or Europe. I've stayed at the Palace Hotel pre-merger and don't really remember breakfast, but generally speaking I wasn't floored by the level of customer service I experienced at the hotel.

If those are the rules the hotel implements then fine, but as I said there feels to be something a bit petty about being told at breakfast you can't have a drink costing a few dollars if you're paying hundreds of dollars per night.

hockeyinsider

This has been a criticism I've made of the Marriott program for a while. To my knowledge, Marriott has never said its formula for determining a hotel's award-redemption category. Most of us assume it's based on the number of redemptions. Thus, the more people redeeming points at a property the higher the category will be. There definitely doesn't seem to be any correlation between a property's brand or its nightly room rates and the category. It's also unclear how much an owner or manager can put their thumb on the scales and increase the category, especially a brand-new property that should theoretically be category 1 if the category assignment.

I would have pushed the suite upgrade if only because this is a new property and they need to learn. I wouldn't be surprised if they think as an Autograph Collection property they don't have to do suite upgrades, as other properties have tried using the Autograph Collection brand as an excuse for not following the rules.

ALGU

@lost_in_translation posted a great and thorough review. Also wanted to add on with my experience.

Stayed here over New Year’s and Christmas using a 7 night old Cat 1-5 package. It was my first time in Europe so wanted to start off with the UK and this property fit the build of being both in a reasonable destination and still being a quality hotel. It was also the highest priced Cat. 5 in Europe at the time of redemption but priced dropped closer to arrival. Unfortunately, we were never here during daylight hours other than the first day, so didn’t get to explore the property as much nor try out the restaurant.

From other reviews including those on tripadvisor, seemed like Plats were typically upgraded to a Superior Park View room which is a category below Suites. I emailed the hotel to specifically request the Suite upgrade and followed up through chat after check-in on the app and was successful. It’s worth mentioning that the Suites don’t actually have any partition to separate the bedroom and the living room, it’s actually just a large bedroom. If there’s any confusion, there’s at least a name/title under the door number to distinguish. I didn’t get a terrace suite but from a review on tripadvisor, mentions that the terrace actually occupies the suite dimensions advertised online so worth keeping in mind. Also suites, come with complimentary alcohol: one bottle each of port, sherry, and whiskey. Housekeeping didn’t restock but possible this could be done if requested. There's also complimentary shoe shine, but could be just for suites.

I think the highlight of the suite was the bathroom with heated floors and nice furnishings. I think most rooms only come with either a shower or a bathtub, with a handful having both. Might be worth requesting in advance if a suite is not available. Did not receive a turret bathroom, but probably for the better. Minibar not stocked on arrival. Powerplugs readily available next to bed.

The property has a gym on the basement floor, nothing amazing but does the job. There’s also a cute library connected to the restaurant that can be used for quick bites or coffee. Bikes are available from the hotel but didn’t inquire if they were complimentary. The concierge also provides day tours of the city but the prices were quite steep so just did a hop-on-hop-off bus instead. Overall, the hotel seems boutique. Small rooms, only 2 people at most staffing check-in desk, 8-9 floors but only a few rooms per floor.

Location: The property is on a street with plenty of restaurants and is near a big shopping mall, the Grand Arcade. There’s also an ATM and supermarket literally next door so quite convenient. A huge inconvenience is that the train station is nowhere near the property nor the city center it’s a bit of a walk, ~ 20 minutes.

Transportation: There’s direct bus service to Heathrow and Stansted, but Stansted is much closer and has more frequencies. Also make sure to have Cambridge Park Side as your destination as the other Cambridge stop is much farther away. While the station is far away, it does have direct service (50-90 minutes) to London with a few being nonstop. Really gave us some value with the London Plus Rail Pass to hub and spoke out of London. Side note: Does the UK not really inspect tickets thoroughly? Seemed to just glance at passes and wave us through the gates, and sometimes the gates were not even manned.

Sights: Cambridge was a bit boring compared to some of our other UK destination. Oxford for example was a much livelier city, with more to do, and nicer sights. Would recommend a day, two at most to explore Cambridge.


Suite 2

Suite 3

Suite 4

Bathroom 1

Bathroom 2

Gym 1

Gym 2

Library

ALGU

NYE Email

NYE Menu

richarddd

We just had a very nice stay there.

We booked a king suite, which was a large room with a bookcase as a divider and a curved outer wall (there's a terrace version, with a smaller interior and the curved portion essentially replaced with a terrace). The room looked out over a large expanse of grass (Parker's Piece). The hotel was in a good location.

The check-in agent was friendly and helpful. As we arrived early, he volunteered to contact us when the room was ready. We got an email a few hours later.

Breakfast was within the range of hotel standard. On our first day, I almost finished the buffet eggs and, despite many people telling the waitstaff, the eggs were not replenished while we were there. The following days they kept the egg tray full.

Our one experience with the concierge was not great. He barely looked up from some paperwork, gave a brief answer and handed us a map. Other staff were uniformly friendly and eager to help.

Despite the initial breakfast issue and the concierge, it was a very nice experience and we would return.

SkiAdcock

Thanks for the updates. Much appreciated.

Cheers.

CalAlumnus13

We had a lovely one-night stay earlier this month. The hotel is very tastefully designed: it fits Cambridge well, emphasizing the blue color that seems to be a symbol of the university and city. The hotel is well situated to explore the town.

As a Bonvoy Titanium member, I received a complimentary upgrade to a larger room with a view—though not a suite. I had emailed a few days prior to check in and requested a room with a bathtub; they replied saying they would try to accommodate me at check in. They did, indeed, try to find a room with a bathtub at check in, but all were taken (there was a law firm retreat of some sort at the hotel). It would have been nice if they could have set aside a room with a bathtub since I asked in advance, and if they had, it would have eliminated my only complaint.

The staff were welcoming and helpful, the breakfast in the restaurant was delicious, and I especially enjoyed the D.R. Harris bath products (they use the “Twenty Nine” fragrance). All in all, it felt like a luxury stay.

I would highly recommend the University Arms for anyone staying in Cambridge.

TGLoyalty

Agree with all of this. Only comment I would make is limited parking on site and closet multi story is across the park which could be annoying depending on the weather.

Radiation Station

Does anyone have an email address for this property? Hoping to stay here this month but ideally need parking at the hotel as we are driving down from the North-East. The hotel website seems to suggest there is no parking but this thread contradicts that.

Marriott Bonvoy Lurker

Hi Radiation Station! I called the University Arms Hotel, Autograph Collection and spoke with a front desk agent. I was informed there is limited parking at the hotel; however, it's on a first come, first serve basis. Once you arrive at the hotel, you can speak with the concierge's about parking and if there is no parking available onsite, they will be able to assist you with finding nearby parking that is available. Furthermore, I recommend that you call the hotel directly at: +44-1223-60 60 66 and select prompt # 4 for parking information. Also, feel free to email the hotel at: [email protected]. I hope this is helpful; be well and have a wonderful stay!

Warm regards,

Leanne
Social Media Liaison
[email protected]

Radiation Station

Thank you for your swift and helpful assistance. I have made a booking for this weekend and called the number suggested.

pazza2000

Let us know what the breakfast situation there looks like right now please!

Also, this may be a good property so apply a SNA by the sounds of things

Radiation Station

No worries, I shall report back. Weather forecast looks excellent.

Sadly not Bonvoy Plat but working my way towards it - will scope it out for SNA use next year.

Radiation Station

Apologies, took me a while to post. Hopefully I’ll find time to do a proper review too.

Breakfast was included in my Member Welcome Back Rate. Service was better on the first day than the second. It was always friendly and well-intentioned, though. I sensed that some staff members were very new but the important thing was that they were doing their absolute best. They were actually very busy in the restaurant for our entire stay, from breakfast into the evening. The restaurant has a good reputation locally, and it was packed full of locals and other brits the entire time.

Due to covid, there was no buffet available. You essentially ordered all the items you wanted from a menu and they would be delivered to your table. As part of the local covid guidance, the staff tried to minimise their trips to the table, so this did make it more awkward for them to provide the attentive service they wanted to, and were probably used to. The quality of the breakfast items was high and the oats in a jar were particularly tasty. The sausages in the cooked breakfast were also delicious, as were the eggs. Overall, we were both very satisfied with the food.



Decent flat white. Included in breakfast. Strangely one of the staff on day two didn’t seem to think we could have flat whites, but we had already had one. I didn’t press the issue, as English was not their first language, and perhaps I didn’t communicate what I wanted very effectively.

The menu.

Cooked breakfast.

Fruit, oats with chocolate and other accoutrements. There was also fruit juice available, and yoghurt.