GrizShel

Sharon - do you have an updated link for your London Marriot pictures? (I can't find them with the links anymore.)

OU812

GS offered free internet access from the CL back in January. Not sure if that has changed.

The fitness center at GS is in the basement (next to the CL) and is rather small.


Regards,

RIP...

SkiAdcock

When I clicked on the link in your quote it took me directly to the Park Lane photos. Please note, though, that I just took pics of the FTer's suite & not of the overall property. The GH photos are of the entire property.

Grosvenor House:

http://public.fotki.com/SkiAdcock/ho...-house-london/

Park Lane:

http://public.fotki.com/SkiAdcock/ho...tt-park-lane-/

Cheers.

aaupgrade

OK, I am currently at RCC. As best I can tell the only thing that has changed here is the lounge is no longer crowded like it used to be.

FWIW, I was upgraded to a CL room just down the hall from the lounge and overlooking High Holborn.

B'fast - continental in lounge 7 days a week.
0600-1030 M-F
0700-1100 Weekends
Nice selection of cheeses, meats, smoked salmon, smoked halibut, yogurt, cereals with raisin, jellied pineapple, shaved coconut, dried bananas, and granola. Also a selection of 5 fresh cut up fruit, melon, orange, strawberry, mango/papaya, and mixed fruit (an example as it changed each day). 4 choices of juice: orange, tomato, grapefruit and apple. Coffee, cappuccino, lattes made to order. A nice selection of bread and pastries. 3 types of rolls, 2 types of croissants, and 4 types of pastries. There are also a couple types of sliced breads and a toaster to make toast.

Hor'dorves 1730-1930 daily - 3 hot and 3 cold, different every evening. Examples that come to mind include Hot - Shrimp, Vegetable samosas (Veggie filled filo puffed pastry), Chicken satay, Tuna Wontons, Mini-Beef Wellington, and others; Cold - Guacamole filled pastry cup, Pâté on toast, and poached salmon on toast, and others.

Dessert 1930-2130 daily - I was only around for one evening of desserts due to theatre and dinner with friends on the other two evenings. That night they had a selection of 4 desserts, Crème brûlée, Chocolate mouse (although a little bit thicker as it was made into a cake, but not as thick and heavy as Chocolate mouse cakes I have had elsewhere) on a thin chocolate wafer biscuit (not small about 4" x 3.5" x 3.5" triangles and a little over and inch thick) - BTW AWESOME!, Almond Raspberry cake, and Blueberry scone-like cakes (but not as heavy - almost like and about the same size as the small rum cakes found in the Cayman Islands but blueberry).

OK Drinks (this is for you Sharon ) Honor Bar:
Beers - £4.65
Liquor - £6.50 (Absolut, Gordon's Gin, J&B Rare, Bacardi rum, Baileys', Gragam's Port)
Remy Martin VSOP - £9.50
Glenmorangie 10 yo - £9.25
Jack Daniel's - £7.25
Wine - £7.75 (Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay Casa La Joya, Shiraz Cabernet)
Canernet Sauvignon - £8.25
Piper-Heidsieck Brut - £14.50

Other beverages:
Water still and sparkling
Variety of sodas and bottled fruit drinks
Coffee and tea available all day

Fresh baked cookies available all afternoon.

Lounge is open until Midnight.

Mini Toblerone bars (dark, milk and white) available at the front desk 24 hours a day.

Well that's about it. If anyone has any questions don't hesitate to ask. I am off to meet friends at Victoria station for dinner.

Cheers - Bob

SkiAdcock

Hmm, reading the above I'm hungry. Campbell's chicken noodle soup at my desk not the same

aaupgrade, does RCC have free wifi or i-net terminals?

Thanks for the update! Cheers.

aaupgrade

No. HSIA fees are as posted in the http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/marri...fees-hsia.html thread.

VA1379

It appears that Boingo Global is available at several FS Marriott properties in London for free roaming for HSIA. The global plan costs $59/month, but you only need to subscribe when you are overseas and need to use it in one month increments. Boingo lists the FS Marriott properties in London covered under the Boingo Global plan:

LHR Marriott, Maida Vale, County Hall, Grosevnor House, Regents Park (guest rooms), Kensington, Marble Arch, Park Lane, and West India Quay are all in London (with the exception of LHR Marriott). There are several other FS Marriott hotels that offer Boingo roaming that are in suburban London. Since I have not been to London, I do not know if this info is up to date. Perhaps some people can check if this is so. I will be staying at County Hall and Grosevnor House later this fall, so I will report back on those two properties.

LKO

Is there a computer available to guests in the CL?

Thanks for all the info on the food offerings! Does make me hungry!

aaupgrade

That was the question that Sharon asked regarding "i-net terminals" and the answer today is still no.

Now FWIW, I plan my trips way out. Yeah, I'm one of those. And the rates I have for this trip for the 1 paid night is £160, which was way below that of the other Marriott properties. I have been promising Sharon I would try GH, but my condition was that I could find NON-advance purchase rates that may be canceled as good as those for RCC. I haven't yet and check weekly. I will be back in March for 5 nights for which I have a £145/night non-advance purchase rate which may be canceled up until 6 PM day of arrival. So even with the extra £15/night for HSIA in my personal experiences staying at RCC I have still come out way ahead dollar wise compared with staying at the other comparable properties and vying for shared i-net terminal(s) in the lounge. YMMV. Actually if you want to venture out of your room for free internet, you can just cross the street to McDs and surf to your hearts content.

Well, it is a beautiful morning in London. It is suppose to rain later, but I will leave that behind me as I train to Paris today.

Au revoir - Bob

SkiAdcock

And as mentioned before, not everyone can plan out in advance (btw - those are GREAT rates!), so adding on i-net fees does alter the financial plan when the rates aren't so lovely. Not a diss on any particular property, just the way that it is.

AFAIK, all the London properties have HSIA in the rooms for a fee (15.95GBP?). It's just that some offer either a single i-net terminal in the lounge or have free wifi in the lounge, but it's not (obviously) universal across the chain.

Speaking only for myself, I prefer the room or exec lounge to a McDs, but that's a personal preference.

Not to sidetrack the thread, which is which Marriott in London do you recommend, but a small trick to Boingo is to sign up for the Global but cancel it after your return. You won't get hit w/ the $59 charge (although depending on how long you're gone, that could still be a good deal), but the pro-rated. I wouldn't do that too many times, but it is good for the occasional trip. And for those who have ATTUVerse, if you bump up to the Premium wifi access, it's only $9/mth (which is Boingo's domestic rate) & includes int'l access. Premium if you're not a ATT customer is still only $20. Heard about that in the Travel Tech forum, so am thinking of adding that & dropping Boingo. I might add it while I still have Boingo for my trip to AMS next week & see how service is.

Getting back on topic: I do like the properties that offer free wi-fi in the lounge because I can use my own laptop. BTW - Regents Park (which is a basic biz Marriott) has an ethernet box in the lounge that multiple laptops can be plugged into & actually provides long ethernet cables. FWIW - RP's eve offerings are no great shakes, but they do have a good breakfast spread.

Cheers.

LKO

Bob & Sharon-

Thanks for the info! I have a trip planned to RCC later this year and it's good to know the computer situation. Not a big enough deal to switch properties over, but I'm glad to know what to expect in advance.

I agree with Sharon that the room or exec lounge are a more comfortable option than McD's for computer usage!

ohmark

Thanks for the suggestion. I'm headed to Paris next month and noticed that the Renaissance Parc Tracadero is listed on the Boingo Global site.

VA1379

I am going to London for two weeks this fall, so it is of particular interest to me. It seems like Boingo Global has a lot of locations in the London Metro area (a lot of Hilton, Marriott, Holiday Inn and other European chain hotels). The coverage is not as big in some other European or Asian cities, but it is worth a look if you are planning a week long stay or longer overseas.

VickiSoCal

Great I think we will do this (Boingo). We are at County Hall 4 nights starting Friday and at the Shelbourne for 3 nights. Sounds like it will pay off.

ohmark

If you have access to the Heritage Lounge (concierge lounge) at the Shelbourne, please add to the reports in the Shelbourne thread. When we were there a few years ago, it was perhaps the finest I had ever been in. But more recent reports indicate the management has severely cut the hours and reduced the food from superlative to ordinary.