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University Arms, Autograph Collection - Cambridge, UK [Master Thread]

University Arms, Autograph Collection - Cambridge, UK [Master Thread]

Old Mar 31, 2018, 5:54 pm
  #1  
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University Arms, Autograph Collection - Cambridge, UK [Master Thread]

Opening July '18. Cat 5.

Hotel website:

University Arms, Autograph Collection: Cambridge Unique Hotels

University Arms, centrally located on Cambridge's Parker's Piece, offers views across the park. University Arms, Cambridge, opens onto Parker’s Piece, the historic green heart of the city. A short walk from Cambridge railway station, University colleges and the river Cam.. The hotel is also in proximity to Cambridge's shopping district.

University Arms, Cambridge, re-created in 2018 by architect John Simpson and interior designer Martin Brudnizki, offers 192 rooms and suites, with views over Parker’s Piece, historic Regent Street, and the hotel’s inner courtyard. The style reflects classic Edwardian interiors with bespoke, leather-padded writing desks, low ottomans and rooms full of natural light. The result is ambitious, beautiful, and full of life. Occupying ground floor of University Arms, Cambridge, Parker’s Tavern is a quintessentially English brasserie. Chef Director Tristan Welch has designed every dish to be a whimsical re-imagining of a British classic, sourced from field, fen and seas. This is where you will find plates piled high with Norfolk fruits de mer, or in winter, suckling pig with wild mushrooms, and Tristan’s signature pie of the day. You can taste England on every plate.

Last edited by SkiAdcock; May 24, 2018 at 8:28 pm
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Old May 31, 2018, 6:51 am
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Very surprised to see this at 25,000 points, can’t see it remaining there very long, that’s a real bargain for one of England’s pricier cities.
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Old Jun 3, 2018, 1:46 pm
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Originally Posted by BrightlyBob
Very surprised to see this at 25,000 points, can’t see it remaining there very long, that’s a real bargain for one of England’s pricier cities.




I'm sure it will be higher after August 1, let alone January when the new variable points scheme comes into effect.

The renderings -- I assume they're renderings and not photos, but I can't anymore these days -- are nice. There are, however, plenty of other hotels, including hordes of independent ones, across England with similar faux Edwardian or faux country house experiences. Both more expensive and less expensive. I hope this is a sign that Marriott is expanding in the United Kingdom as there are heaps of good independent, boutique-esque hotels between 3 1/2 and 4 1/2 stars that would make great Autograph Collection properties.

Here is some additional information on the University Arms, Autograph Collection:


Having first opened in 1834 the landmark hotel, which overlooks Parker's Piece, has been undergoing a major refurbishment for the past two years and is set to re-launch in the early months of 2018.

https://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/wha...evamp-13648454
The hotel, which overlooks Parker's Piece, has been undergoing a major refurbishment, which has cost upwards of 80 million.

It has been confirmed that The University Arms Hotel will reopen to the public on Wednesday, August 1.

https://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/new...ridge-14731271
What's interesting is that none of the publicity has mentioned its relationship with Marriott so, perhaps, it becoming part of Autograph Collection is relatively recent.

Even the hotel's own website (https://universityarms.com/) doesn't mention Autograph Collection.

With the hotel website listing 12 suites, 78 "superior" rooms, 76 "classic" rooms and 26 "cosy" rooms, upgrades at the right time of the year could be easy as a platinum premier or platinum premier ambassador in the new combined program.

Last edited by hockeyinsider; Jun 3, 2018 at 2:00 pm
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Old Jun 24, 2018, 10:32 pm
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Well, if you end up driving to this property in your personal vehicle or rental car in the near future, you'll get the lovely opportunity to pay for valet only parking:
Also, the hotel's detail info page title indicates it was copied from the Fitness page...Ah well, teething pains...

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Old Jun 25, 2018, 4:55 am
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Originally Posted by DELee
Well, if you end up driving to this property in your personal vehicle or rental car in the near future, you'll get the lovely opportunity to pay for valet only parking:
Approximately $39 per night for valet parking is pretty damn expensive, outside of a major city like London or New York.

There's a municipal parking garage, the Queen Anne Terrace Car Park, about 3 minutes or 0.5 miles away. Here's a map:




Looking at the website (https://www.cambridge.gov.uk/queen-a...rrace-car-park), the rates are much cheaper.
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Old Jun 25, 2018, 8:09 am
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for $39 I'd say thats a steal. I can't think of any major city that is under $50.
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Old Jun 25, 2018, 8:17 am
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Originally Posted by CALMSP
for $39 I'd say thats a steal. I can't think of any major city that is under $50.
Assuming the closest public parking garage is the one I found then you're probably right, but if there's a garage across the street then the valet parking obviously isn't much of a value.
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Old Jun 25, 2018, 8:51 am
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Originally Posted by CALMSP
for $39 I'd say thats a steal. I can't think of any major city that is under $50.
Note the charge is 39 pounds sterling per night.

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Old Jun 25, 2018, 9:06 am
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Originally Posted by DELee
Note the charge is 39 pounds sterling per night.

David
No. 30 pounds, which is about $39.
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Old Jun 25, 2018, 10:28 am
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Originally Posted by hockeyinsider
No. 30 pounds, which is about $39.
Whoops. Error on my part.

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Old Aug 22, 2018, 6:03 pm
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Interesting feature (or, arguably, advertorial) on this property with zero mention of Marriott and the Autograph Collection:

https://www.ft.com/content/b136791c-...b-b8205561c3fe

The University Arms: a Cambridge landmark reopens after a four-year, 80m revamp

Neville Hawcock

AUGUST 6, 2018

Built in 1834, the University Arms spent the first 130 years of its existence as a solid, Regency-style hotel. Late 19th- and early 20th-century additions gave it impressive scale, with turrets to match, but its character remained intact. Given its landmark position — on the main road from the railway station to the centre of town, with a commanding elevation on the broad grass expanse of Parker’s Piece — that was just as well.

Then the 1960s struck, and the University Arms began a disastrous flirtation with Modernism. It ditched the original Regency building and replaced it with a zigzag faade that concealed a car park as well as the entrance.

...

Not only has the 1960s addition been demolished and replaced with a classical frontage, but the entire building has been gutted and rebuilt within. The number of bedrooms has risen from 119 to 192, with suites incorporating the turrets on a new upper level. The front entrance has been moved back from the street, allowing more room for pedestrians to walk by. They can also pass through the porte cochre, which is an unashamed (possibly even ostentatious) feature but functional with it: when I visited, as England’s summer heatwave reached its peak, it was a relief to step into its cool shade. It has all the makings of a default Cambridge rendezvous.

Its owners are no doubt hoping that many of those who meet there will head on in to Parker’s Tavern, a new bar and brasserie presided over by Tristan Welch, formerly head chef of Gordon Ramsay’s Ptrus restaurant.
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Old Aug 25, 2018, 11:54 am
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Originally Posted by hockeyinsider
Interesting feature (or, arguably, advertorial) on this property with zero mention of Marriott and the Autograph Collection:
Marriott press release focuses more on University Arms as well

Cheers.
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Old Aug 25, 2018, 12:01 pm
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Marriott press release: Category 4. Look forward to first trip report (and please include what they do for brekkie so I can update the exec lounge sticky).

Autograph Collection Hotels Welcomes University Arms, Cambridge To Its Portfolio Of Extraordinary Independent Hotels | Marriott News Center





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Old Nov 11, 2018, 12:59 pm
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Originally Posted by SkiAdcock
Marriott press release: Category 4. Look forward to first trip report (and please include what they do for brekkie so I can update the exec lounge sticky).
Just had a weekend stay here, in short it was good with the potential to be excellent. Cash rates seem to routinely be 200-300+ per night so I seriously doubt this place will stay as Category 4 for long.

Booked a standard queen room with a free night certificate and was upgraded to a King Superior Park View room (the category below suites). There was a personal, handwritten note from the manager in the room when I arrived so it was obviously allocated in advance. There were suites still showing as available online when I checked in, but I didn't push for an upgrade and the room was perfectly nice. Was given a short tour of the public areas and walked up to my room by one of the front desk staff.

Hard product quality throughout is very good, the room is also well designed with plenty of plug sockets all of which also have two USB charging sockets built in to them which I'm not sure I've seen before. I was in 303, which from looking at the floor plans and the outside of the building I think is one of about 8 rooms that have a very generous floor plan due to large bay windows overlooking the park (some of the suites also have the same) - definitely the preferred rooms if you can get them, I think my room may even have been the one shown on the hotel website from the layout. My bathroom only had a shower but it was a large size and with good water pressure. Towels are big and fluffy, bathroom floor is also nicely heated. Found it odd there were no slippers in the room which seemed to be the one touch that was missing. There is a fridge in the room rather than a pre-stocked minibar which you can ask to be stocked for you if you want it (fresh milk is provided already). The bed was much firmer than I was expecting, reminded me a lot of an Asian hotel which I like but if you're used to US-style soft mattresses it might seem a bit firm. High quality bed linen.

Platinum welcome gift is 1,000 points or $10 food & beverage credit, on top of which you can choose either Continental Breakfast for 2 each morning or another 750 points. I chose the breakfast of course, which was a relatively small buffet but very high quality (similar spread to what you find in a good Asian executive lounge). If you are expecting a huge breakfast buffet then you probably won't be impressed, but everything is homemade / locally sourced and very high quality from the smoked salmon to the fresh honeycomb. There is also an a la carte breakfast menu which actually seemed quite reasonably priced if you didn't have breakfast already included.

Criticisms are almost all around the service which was very well-intentioned but is obviously still being polished in a lot of areas. Couple of examples:
- I ordered room service and didn't get chance to properly inspect what had been brought up before I signed the bill, so noticed afterwards that one of the items I ordered was missing (they'd given me seasonal vegetables rather than the salad I ordered). A couple of minutes later, there was a knock at the door with an apology and the missing item without me having to call down, so they obviously realized and managed to fix the problem. The quality of the room service food was very good, it has to be said.
- At breakfast I was asked if I wanted toast and unfortunately it never appeared. They were also very keen to point out that if I wanted a cappuccino it wouldn't be included in the free tea and coffee with breakfast, which is fair enough but I find really customer-focused hotels will often waive that very small charge to make a guest happy.

Overall then, I'd definitely stay again, this is surely already the best hotel in Cambridge and if they manage to fix some of the small service niggles could be a very nice hotel indeed.
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Old Nov 11, 2018, 7:04 pm
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Thanks for the detailed trip report. Much appreciated.

Cheers.
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