Radiation Station

Yep, I’m there right now and the soundproofing is pretty good.

oxfordjames

How's the stay going after the all the SNA drama?

eponymous_coward

Ground floor room LG7 at Town Hall Hotel in Bethnal Green.

Regrettably, caught COVID so this became a quarantine except for the first night I was there before symptoms showed.

Pretty good room and Uber Eats delivers (even paid £££ for a house call from a doctor, who said I was in decent shape and should be on the mend soon, which is proving to be true). The view is of a rubbish bin so not much there. The hotel is down the street from an excellent London bar, Satan’s Whiskers, which did me the kindness of giving my friend some cocktails to go so I could have some.

Radiation Station

Well deduced! You know what, we are having a pretty good time. The room is fine, if you allow for the fact that most W Suites are just not actually suites. The hotel staff have been lovely and we received free drinks vouchers upon check in. They were very proactive with offering late checkout. We came back from a walk yesterday and found a bottle of wine in our room with a note from the welcome desk manager. So it’s been pretty solid so far. Ironically I still don’t have my SNAs back, so I’m just going to email the Ambassador team on Monday. Thanks for asking.

Radiation Station

Thanks for posting. I hope you aren’t feeling too wretched. FWIW Omicron covid does appear to be a short ride for most people, especially if you’re in good nick and vaccinated. You might be tired for longer than your other symptoms last. Get well soon!

eponymous_coward

Yes, I am getting better (though it’s unfortunate to have this happen during an extended holiday). Thanks for the well wishes. Thought I would share about my hotel experience- I’m an East End fan so Shoreditch/Whitechapel/Bethnal Green are up my alley, and while Town Hall isn’t a five star and the Marriott benefits are “eh” (no upgrade, DID get offered breakfast that I couldn’t take in the lounge because of COVID, can’t use an SNA) I would come back on a good points rate (I paid less than 40k a night at booking, cash rates were $350++ USD).

NYC Flyer

At least you've got your mind set on a good cure...feel better!

Based on prior research I had imagined the Town Hall rooms would have more character. Were the fridge and kettle a quarantine provision, or is their placement part of the standard decor?

eponymous_coward

Standard decor I think- you get an espresso machine and nice tea as well. I booked a base room and literally got the basement (a decent amount of natural light though), I imagine better categories would be better.

I’m the sort of person who will appreciate a good deal for luxury but can be very happy in “cheap and cheerful” so this was fine for me. Rooms at the London Edition or Bankside or County Hall were running nearly 2x the point value (and frankly most luxury hotels in London are outside my cash price range unless I REALLY want to kill the fatted calves in my 401k and savings). Since I adore that part of London anyways they wouldn’t be 2x the value for me, YMMV.

Orange County Commuter

Quick review - Residence Inn Kensington and St. Pancras Renaissance

I spent one night in each of these as I flew in and out of London but spent my vacation in Paris.

St. Pancras upgraded me to a Chambers Suite with an SNA and the room was very nice. Enjoyed the Chambers club and the location was outstanding for catching the train to Paris. Front desk staff leaves a LOT to be desired however, Got there at 11 or so and my room wasn't ready... they seemed to expect me just to take my luggage and wait in the Chambers Club until whatever time it would be ready (they didn't have a clue when that might be) After I declined this "outstanding" offer they found a bellman who took my luggage so I could leave the hotel. At about 2:45 I got a message on the App that my room was ready... Get to hotel at 3:15 and front desk staff acts like I am crazy and lying. (My room was ready) Entire scene was unprofessional and they really seemed clueless.. Not sure I would return. I got a good points price (40K) and used my Free Night cert so the "cost" was very low. but at their normal points/cash I think I have better options, but I am glad I stayed here once. It is a very nicely redone property

Spent my last night at Residence Inn since it was cheap (points wise) and on the Piccadilly line) No upgrade but the 1 bedroom was the same points as the studio so I booked that. One note if you have a family it's not a separated one bedroom. There is no way to close off the living area from the sleeping area. Easy walk to Earl's Court Tube station and HUGE grocery next door. Room was also in good shape and front desk was very good. Breakfast was probably one of the bigger spreads i have seen at a Residence Inn and staff circulated constantly to clean up. I'd definitely stay here again. For a longer stay the kitchen area would be really useful! Turns out being on the Piccadilly line was useless as it was partially out of service so I had to head back to Paddington and take the Heathrow Express. Probably for the best as Heathrow as a mess so the extra time was useful.

sxpsxpsxp

If you're looking for lots of space for a family and aren't particularly fancy or demanding, the Marriott Executive Apartments Canary Wharf is a decent option and perhaps a "safer" alternative to booking something like Homes and Villas or Airbnb because it is run by the same people who run the hotel. I also think the location is decent. I posted a review of my recent stay in the dedicated thread.

LovetoTravel83

Booked a home and villa property recently and had an absolute shocker. The experience all in all is just horrible. One property in London asked to send a selfie with me holding a passport (I mean really?!), sent the email to Marriott and they also didn't budge so I cancelled the reservation.

Had another bad experience in the south of Spain where the keys didn't work, so I booked a hotel and returned the keys the next morning. Received a full refund as well.

All in all, I would stay away from Homes and Villas.

WillBarrett_68

for those who aren't familiar with this, the host here is a virtual lock to be engaging in racial discrimination

VSLover

your description of the front desk is completely accurate. i have stayed at the St Pancras ren a few nights over the last six months and they only seem to get worse and more inept and disinterested. upon check out last monday morning it took THREE agents no less than TEN minutes to check me out of my room which was a one night stay. a mix of people without the "correct" computer access and waiting until someone would show up to be able to do this and all i wanted was the emailed folio since i can never have faith my nights or points would post.

i also found the chambers club lacking. as they have food from 530-730, i arrived at 645 and much of the food was depleted, which i asked if they would bring out more cheese "yeah in half hour" which didnt make sense. well after asking a few more times they made up a cheese plate for me...but never did they ever refresh any of the food. it was more like what they put out at 530pm was all--and if you didn't get there early, tough luck! really poor show.

spgflyer

Although we had originally planned to stay with our daughter and thus reserved a "family room" with two double beds at the Marriott Maida Vale, the hotel wasn't able to switch us later to a regular king room so we ended up with the family room anyway. It was quite spacious and the beds were extremely comfortable; I slept longer than I typically do in a hotel room so was grateful for that two days into our trip to the UK. The downside was that the front desk staff were mostly new and unable to do anything; they kept saying they had to confer with the other staff member who had more experience, and invariably that person was either on the phone or engaged with another guest. So it took forever to get checked in (there was a busload of tourists who arrived just as we got there) and checked out (ultimately we did it through the app but we still haven't received a folio or credit for the 2d night stay). And they did not acknowledge us or say they'd be with us shortly while we were waiting. All in all I probably wouldn't return; it was a decent rate (50K points plus £50 upgrade per night, which was relatively reasonable compared to cash rates right now in London), and free breakfast in the restaurant as a Titanium member was quite good, but the slow service and relatively inconvenient location (distance from West End, where we went to two shows during our stay, is about 35 minutes on the Tube) didn't really make up for it. Also it was quite a contrast with the very positive experience we had the previous 2 nights at the JW Grosvenor Square; I'd return there in a heartbeat if I could afford it. Next time we'll book even farther in advance to lock in good rates at the JW.

ElevatorEnthusiast

Am I missing anything? I've been working on getting my first ever Europe trip set up for Christmas and New Year's, which will, not shockingly, be my first time in London. I don't have flights locked down (thanks, Virgin's apparent 24-hour waiting period after account opening, according to their call centre), but I do have hotel reservations made. Is there anything on the Bonvoy side that is a must-visit that I am missing?

Now, I have:

• Two nights at Marriott County Hall
• Two nights at Bankside
• (Hyatt) One night at Great Scotland Yard
• (FHR) One night at the Shangri-La (woohoo, The Shard!)
• One night at the EDITION
• One night at The Westin London City
• One night at St. Pancras Renaissance
• One night at JW Grosvenor House
• (Super excited) One night at Renaissance Heathrow for my assumed flight the next morning