sbrower

Just spent 7 days (award) at Grosvenor Square. Good location to walk to Oxford Tube and go anywhere. Good location to walk to bus and go anywhere. (We used the Travelcard for one week of unlimited tube/bus).

dg1

You guys have sold me on Grovesnor Square. I have a three day reward stay planned over Thanksgiving. Thanks for all the tips.

A side note -- I booked one night at the Renaissance London/Gatwick so I can catch a morning flight easily. Any comments about this hotel? Do they have their own airport shuttle or something else? How often does it run? Is it on call/schedule? And finally, to get from downtown back to the Renaissance, is it suggested to go the airport and then Renaissance, or straight to the Renaissance?

Thanks!

happywanderer

County Hall is quite elegant and close to Picadilly. theatre area, Parliament, etc. London Transit stops at hotel entrance. Grosvenor Square is also elegant and convenient. Regents Square and Marble Arch are just run-of-the mill properties -- nothing to write home about.

UpgradeMe

I've got a choice of the Marriott Grosvenor Square and the London Conrad for my January trip to London. I'm using points either way.

Which one would you choose, and why?

dg1

I spent the points for Marriott Grovesnor Square for a trip over Thanksgiving. It seemed to be the universal vote among the Marriotts for location. I don't know about the Conrad but I'd be happy to post my experience after I return from Grovesnor Square.

onedog

The Mrs. and I stayed at the Marriott Grosvenor Square for a couple of weeks last year. I have also stayed at all the other Marriott properties in London. I have not stayed at any other hotel properties in London.

Using all the other Marriott properties as comparison, I was a bit disappointed in the Grosvenor. IMHO, the furinishings were getting a bit long in the tooth, and the lobby area was small and left a lot to be desired, especially considering the price(Mrs. Onedog's company was paying the bill @ ~$450 a night! Ouch!) The room we received (the Mrs. was Marriott middle elite at the time) looked out onto the inner courtyard (if you can call it that) and was quite a bit smaller than the average hotel room. We had a queen bed, and there was about a meter or so of space on either side of the bed, with a smallish desk in the corner next to the television cabinet at the foot of the bed. I think this is a function of the fact that this was a centuries old building which was converted into a hotel.

Aside from the facilities, the Grosvenor LOCATION was excellent, very close to fantastic shopping (I believe all the big sales start in January/February right after the holidays, right?), easily accessable to restaurants and a close by underground station. Also, just around the corner from the US embassy.

You may have a reason for needing to stay in the area of Grosvenor Square, but my favorite Marriott in London is still the London County Hall on the banks of the Thames near the London Eye and across the river from Parliament, Big Ben, Westminister Cathedral, National Gallery etc. Great location, newly opened just a couple of years ago so the furnishings are still in newish condition, nice sized rooms with a health spa, workout room and a nice big indoor swimming pool. Also, the main restauarant has a view of the Thames towards Big Ben and Parliament which is quite spectacular. If you can, ask for a room with a view of the river.



[This message has been edited by onedog (edited 09-15-2000).]

rmccamy

Does anyone here have experience with any of the Marriotts in London? I'm planning on spending a long weekend there in December to visit some friends. (I will probably pay for the stay, not use points.)

Anyone have any comments or critiques of past stays?

UpgradeMe

Use of search reveals numerous threads, including:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/Forum63/HTML/000133.html

happywanderer

County Hall is my top choice -- great view of the River Thames, Parliament, Big Ben and Westminster Abbey. AIt's a 20-minute walk to the theatre district, a few minutes from the War Rooms, a couple of minutes to the Abbey, etc. London Transit also stops at the corner. Beautifully decorated and elegant. Grosvenor Square is my next choice. Nice ambience, elegant rooms, excellent restaurant, just a few blocks from Oxford Street. Marble Arch, also is just a few blocks from Oxford Street, but hotel itself is pretty run-of-the mill American style hotel. Same for Regents Park and its location is not great. Heathrow is also a very nice newer hotel but not convenient to get to underground. It has a very nice concierge lounge. I would recommend points because all of these hotels are in the $280 to $350 price range as I recall. There are some good weekend specials however, called leisure breaks. I think you can find out about by going to www.marriotthotels.co.uk

Merry

I have to agree with Happywanderer that the location of the County Hall is great, but there is no way I would stay there. I have always found the service extremely poor, the facilities dreadful and overall a certain arrogance that the location makes up for the poor service.

I would opt for Grosvenor Square.

Nick

AtlMan

I recently stayed at the London Marriott - West Hampstead, about three miles from the city center. It is close to Hyde and Regent's Park, about a five minute walk away from the Maida Vale tube station. Nice Italian and Mediterranean bar/lounge/restaurants on-site.

North-Central London location. Area around the hotel is primarily residential, but there are a few quaint restaurants, shops, and a couple of neighborhood markets w/in two blocks in either direction.

The room we got for the first stay was an interior room overlooking the courtyard. It was kind of tight w/two double/full size beds in there. However, on the return stay we got an outside room which was noticeably more spacious. The room decor consists of warm pastel colors (peach/soft yellow) and have very nice, bright, all marble bathrooms.

This hotel is one where quite a few entertainers stay when in town. Actually saw a hot new U.S. R&B group, Lucy Pearl, in the lobby when checking in for the second stay. Spoke to one of the group members briefly.

Anyway, that is the only hotel I can provide information about. Overall, it is a nice modern American hotel that has a boutique-feel/style about it. Adequate fitness center with a pool that is larger than most indoor pools of hotels that size. Here is the link to the property website:

http://www.marriotthotels.com/dpp/Pr...rshaCode=LONWH

Hope it helps!

[This message has been edited by AtlMan (edited 10-23-2000).]

sfpaul900

I just returned from 5 award nights at the Grosvenor Square Marriott. The location is wonderful; two blocks from Oxford Street and another block to the Bond Street tube station. My Platinum Status got both of us free buffet breakfast in the restaurant, which was quite nice. The rooms are small and have only one window, although we were overlooking the park. They have an in-room hot water machine for tea and the only hotel on the trip (Paris Hilton, Gritti Place, Venice) to include an iron. It also was the only room of the three to have a genuine king bed, not two twins pushed together (whereupon I always fall into the gap). They also didn't mind 2 men sharing a king bed (but then, nobody has raised an eyebrow to that in years). The Times is delivered to the room each morning. The bathroom is small, but at least the shower is mounted high and not one of those awful hand-held types. The water is hard and it takes awhile to get all the soap off. The phone charges are exorbitant. 65p for each minute or a flat 12 pounds a day for the Internet connection. Check your email and get off asap! BTW, if you need an adapter for your laptop, don't buy the one at Harrods(4.95). I saw one at a corner shop for 99p.Other than that, I recommed "The Witches of Eastwick" (so-so music but a very enjoyable show), dinner at Marco Pierre-White at Le Meriden (the leg of lamb is magnificent), skip tea at the Ritz and have it instead at the Georgian Room at Harrods. The Heathrow Express train is THE way to get into town, a taxi to Paddington from the Marriott will cost about 7 pounds. Have a great trip, I wish I was going back tomorrow.
Paul

rmccamy

I just returned from my London trip. We ended up selecting the Regents Park (a.k.a. Swiss Cottage) Marriott for a four-night stay. Because there wasn't really a good award for four nights (two weekend nights, two weekday nights), we paid for the stay, which is what led us to Regents Park instead of Grosvenor Sq or County Hall (109 GBP per night vs. 240+ at Grosvenor Sq or County Hall).

In general, we liked the hotel. We had a standard room with two double beds (not twins), TV with a decent cable selection (Sky, CNN, etc.), and a nice bathroom with a working shower (always hit-or-miss in London!). The room size was typical for an American Marriott - which is rather spacious by London standards. We were offered a free room upgrade upon checkin, but declined it because two double beds weren't available in the larger rooms.

The service at the hotel was efficient and compentent. The staff was knowledgeable about both the hotel and the city in general. The hotel contains a health club, a casual Mediterranean restaurant, and a bar. All fairly typical for a Marriott...

The location was nice, although the hotel is NOT on Regent's Park. It's actually a half-mile north of the park in the Swiss Cottage neighborhood. Most cabbies in London know the place as the "Swiss Cottage Marriott". We didn't particularly care about Regent's Park or the fact that we weren't really near it. Swiss Cottage is a mostly residential neigborhood with a Jubilee Line tube stop and lots of tasty Thai food. Nice area...

Only minor downsides: (1) The bar and food prices were reasonable with one exception: breakfast was OBNOXIOUSLY expensive. 13 pounds for a cold breakfast, 17 for hot. Even by London standards, this is pretty out of line. (2) There is some construction going on at the hotel. The actual construction didn't bother us - but sometimes an elevator would be out of order, leaving the hotel with only one working. A couple of times we waited five minutes for the elevator, and there are no stairs except the required fire escapes. (3) No business center, although it seems they are planning on adding one. If you need to get online and don't have a laptop, you'll need to use the 'Net cafe down the street.

Overall, I'd stay there again; it was a good value if you're looking for a lower-priced Marriott in London.

dg1

I stayed at the Grosvenor Square Marriott on a reward stay over last Thanksgiving. It does have a great location, closer to the tube than some would have you believe and the staff is amazingly friendly and helpful also. Overall a very nice hotel to stay at when I wasn't paying the ~300 pounds a night

Next time I plan to try County Hall. That's got an interesting location too.

World20

I agree with Happywanderer. County Hall is my first choice but only with view room of the River Thames. Grosvenor Square is also very good. Marble Arch is OK. Regents Park is very inconvenient location and deferred maintenance last time I was there two years ago. Heathrow is nice, but don't expect your Reward points to post automatically - I quit staying there because of this.

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Have passport, will travel...
LAX, LHR, et.al.