Renard

I had a stay here just before Christmas.

Overall it was fine but probably wouldn't stay here again unless the price was right. As others have mentioned, the rooms are a bit small and dated. Small is not surprising. Dated is a little disappointing but not problematic. My brother stayed at the nearby Hotel Indigo -- their room was much, much nicer and a lot cheaper but I needed the stay credit at the Marriott

One day I didn't get any housekeeping despite being out of the room all day (10am-5pm) and there was not a DND tag on the door. I called down and they said they'd send someone up and all they managed to do was leave fresh towels--appreciated but not what they said they were going to do. This is not rocket science and should not be a big issue in a full service marriott of this size.

I found the executive lounge disappointing overall and was probably my biggest beef with the place. You better arrive early if you're interested in snacks as there didn't seem to be much restocking when food items ran out. A fair amount of the stuff screamed 'Costco frozen food'. The drinks were pretty limited. Just beer and wine. The beer (Carlsberg?) was tasteless so I had one and didn't bother. Seemed to be largely staff by someone hiding in the back room only emerging to occasionally clear dishes.

I was told I could do the regular breakfast buffet instead of the lounge in the morning... and I typically always do this if given the opportunity. Given my evening experience in the lounge, I was very happy to go to the restaurant for breakfast. The buffet breakfast was nice and what one would expect.

toothy

I would point out to those of you mentioning about the food in the exec lounge that there are lots of restaurants nearby, particularly by Earls Court and Gloucester Road tube stations.

I used to stay here a lot. I stopped staying after a couple of changes of management who decided that milking it rather than looking after regulars was the way to go. These days I tend to stay at Marriott Regents Park instead.

T

jtwiz

I just had my 3rd stay here in the last 18 months (two of which were in the last 5 months.) It typically fits under my corporate spending cap for London, it is very easy to get to from Heathrow (Piccadilly line to Earls Court), and it is a straight shot on the Circle line to my office.

I really like that you can choose between the full English breakfast, including eggs cooked to order, in the restaurant or for a quick fix, the Lounge has scrambled eggs, cereal, pastries, yogurt.

I find the Lounge selection of appetizers in the evening to be more than adequate. Two nights, I made my dinner out of what they were serving. Of course, having free wine and beer helps with that.

I have yet to get an upgrade at this hotel and that is likely because I have been there on sold-out Saturday nights all three times. They did tell me I could move to a better room on Sunday for the rest of my stay, but once I unpack - I do not feel like moving. Yeah, call me lazy

It is a good location with plenty of places to eat, have a pint, etc. close by. Having both Gloucester Rd and Earls Court tube stops around the corner work very well for sight seeing and business.

They were re-doing one of the two lifts (the other one is already done), so that was a bit painful in terms of wait time and how packed it was. The second lift should be done this month.

The rooms themselves need refurbishing (the carpet in particular...) but I've been saying that for the last 18 months!

The bottom line is I will likely stay here again. The staff are nice - from the Concierge, to the Executive Lounge to the restaurant staff, I was welcomed back. And the price/location really work well for me. If they could throw me an upgrade once in a while, it would go a long way toward making it my go-to hotel in London.

toothy

This is where to me this hotel has got a lot worse in the last 5 years. The previous GM always kept the rooms and carpets fresh, without doing a whole bit spend on a full revamp. He basically kept a certain amount of revenue reserved for it so you were always noticing new carpets.


T

SkiAdcock

Thanks for the updates. Much appreciated.

Cheers.

greatbelgian

Stayed here last week for the 1st time in years. Staff were much friendlier than I remembered so I think that has improved! Also got an upgrade to a family sized room for platinum status and some cheese and crackers. All in all very pleasant stay until checkout...

When checking out for a heathrow flight at 6am it became 'complicated' to get a cab as the concierge couldnt locate an available car from one of his contacts. He steadfastly refused requests to hail a london black cab and wasted 20 minutes of my time. Eventually I ran down the ramp (hotel entrance situated just off the road) and hailed one myself.

Cab driver told me they get this a lot as their driving services offer commission and the staff could be making as much as 10 or 15 pounds a ride. Whilst I personally dont care who makes the money as long as it doesnt increase the price, the fact that the concierge was willing to mess me around for 20 minutes to get his kickback leaves a very bad taste in my mouth.

Spoiled what was otherwise a surprising good stay and would recommend the hotel, just hail your own cab!

SkiAdcock

Thanks for the update. Much appreciated.

Cheers.

jtwiz

Has anyone stayed here recently? (I.e. in the last month) I see on their website that the rooms are (finally!) being renovated, which is good news although may be noisy during the day. However, my biggest concern is that I saw on TA that the hotel responded that the lounge is being made into an M Club. Once again, that is good news, but I am wondering what that means for lounge access currently.

While the Kensington is my go-to for business in London (location great for my office and fits under my corporate hotel cap), I may stay at Maida Vale or Regents Park if there is no lounge at the Kensington. As a solo female business traveler, I use the lounge a lot on evenings when I don't have client dinners.

If no one here knows, I will give them a call and report back to you all.

jtwiz

As no one responded to my question above, I reached out to the Kensington via email. I was told the Lounge renovations are due to be started at the end of February/beginning of March, although those dates are not firm. They said that a temporary lounge would be set up elsewhere in the hotel. I think I am going to hedge my bets and make a reservation at Maida Vale too (my stay will be for 7 nights beginning March 7th.) I've dealt with these temporary lounge situations before and it's usually an uncomfortable conference room. Some place that is not conducive to relaxing. I will update what I know on this closer to my trip dates.

SkiAdcock

Thanks for the update. Much appreciated.

Cheers.

jayer

Solid if maybe not the most luxurious hotel stay of your life.

Renovation underway, although we landed in an "older" room. Seemed to upset the FDC he could not find a "new" room since after the merger I seem to have acquired lifetime status. I found the room to be only mildly dated, very quiet, and quite comfortable. Room was a bit tight with a king-sized mattress but then it is a major city. (Surprisingly, the furniture and granite was identical to a Marriott I all but lived at in Houston during the mid-00's when I traveled for work every week. Felt like home).

The FDC's, servers, club attendants, and front-facing kitchen staff were above and beyond exceptional. I'd like to adopt them all. Maybe even marry one or two into the family. Well, there was one hiccup one day. But on average just wonderful.

Club does not seem to be under renovation yet and is really too small in the evening. Or people need to not just sit there after they finish eating. Food there was ample, balanced, warm if it was supposed to be, and replenished (except for the one hiccup); if not necessarily the best club food menu choices you have ever had. Would have preferred a bit more British orientation. Breakfast was restaurant buffet if you preferred and most people went that way.

Turned out to be a great location even if we just picked it out of the air. A few blocks to Earl's Court and Glouchester Road subway stations, which are well-connected to get to most touristy places. Can subway to and from Heathrow. (Two different tour buses dropped us off at the Glouchester Road tube stop as an alternative exit, although to board you had to get to departure points farther into town. Still, saved time on the back end). Variety of mid-price dining and grocery stores nearby if you want them. Laundromat across the street. I could have packed lighter.

Oddly, and I was in an un-renovated room and hope it changes with the reno, there were no USB ports in the wall or on a lamp. One single 110 outlet in North American plug configuration and one single 220 outlet in standard English configuration that would take a voltage converter. Lighting had incompatible plugs that would not accept the converter. This was a problem charging phones, using the CPAP I need, and the vaporizer Mrs. Jayer sometimes needs all at the same time.

For those of you who care and know the difference the toiletries are branded Acca Kappa. (To me it is all just soap and shampoo).

Sure there will be another trip to London some day, and price being similar I would lean towards booking the same hotel.

SkiAdcock

Thanks for the update. Much appreciated.

Cheers.

Soulfish

Soulfish

jtwiz

I was just about to book a stay here - I haven't been here since the rooms and lounge were renovated. But I now see on their website that all "public" rooms are being renovated including the restaurant and bar. Anyone stay there very recently? It is a really convenient hotel for me for work, so I will likely stay there. But just wondering how noisy and disruptive these further renovations will be!