beerflyer

Staying at the Marriott Marble Arch in London next week. As a MR Platinum, what should I expect - I know it is a small hotel with only 240 rooms.
Any decent pubs nearby as well?

lele14

Beer...

You are staying in LONDON and you are asking if there are any decent pubs nearby

Head up the Edgware Road and take a couple of the side streets off it - you will find plenty!

sawsmanfc

Haven't been there for a few years, but the Carvery restaurant in the Cumberland Hotel used to be pretty good. I know you asked about pubs, but thought you might enjoy a good spot to eat as well.
The Cumberland Hotel is right at Marble Arch on Oxford St., across the street from Speaker's Corner. Try their prime rib.

Travalot

We stayed at the London Marble Arch for a week this summer. Their concierge level was very nice at breakfast and included smoked salmon. In the evening, they had at least one hot item. The first alcohol drink is free. The attendants need a little "warming up," and were more rigid than other CLs we've been to.

We enjoyed the hotel, and the ice machines on every floor (my parents had so much trouble getting ice in London, they still talk about it.)

We enjoyed eating in the area. One restaurant that stood out was Spighetta at 43 Blandford Street (several blocks walk).

Steveman

I'm not sure if this is an error or permanent but it appears the Marble Arch has be downgraded back to a cat 7

TrojanHorse

I can't see how (other than its in London) is anything higher than a cat 4

craz

+1 to that, although at 1 time when MR didnt have so many Hotels it had a 6 due to being in London.

SkiAdcock

I know the answer to this I think! The Cats are based on awards redeemed, and when I was in London last weekend I was told (by mgr at a dif hotel) that MA fought to be a lower level in cat - I'm guessing because people have an expectation of a higher level being really fab, such as GH or CC, and MA is still basically a biz hotel, and they didn't want to deal w/ the discrepency between what they are & what is expected of a more luxury hotel.

Cheers.

TrojanHorse

my real problem with the hotel is the area is so disgusting

SkiAdcock

Uh, that's probably a you thing then. I & others have stayed there & not found it 'disgusting'. No need to make people concerned. It's only a 5-10 minute walk to Marble Arch tube stop/Oxford street. I still think a Cat 7 is too high for it, but again that's because it's just a basic biz hotel.

Cheers.

TrojanHorse

I've stayed there too and although not thrilled with the property in genl, that wasn't my main beef. I'm not sure i'm making too many people concerned, there are a ton of threads on here about MA and every MR prop in London.

But inquiring minds want to know; please do tell what is NICE about the immediate AREA?

sure the tube stop is a 10 minute walk.. sure isn't five minutes.. but thats not what I don't like as walking in London is usually pretty fun.. howeve in this case, its getting from the hotel to the tube stop

SkiAdcock

I guess I would say back at you. What's bad about it? Are you implying that because there are Middle Eastern shops, etc, that it's not nice? It's not the same as walking through Mayfair, but it's not like you're walking through the ghettos of London either for crikey's sake. BTW - this is really taking the thread off-topic, so you can PM me.

Back to the property itself. I've heard it's been recently renovated. It's got a pool (where until GH is open is where they're sending their guests if they want to swim), and it has rooms that are large enough for families. Still not a Cat 7 in terms of calibre, but not a dump either.

Cheers.

TrojanHorse

Well lets just say that does have something to do with it *boldfaced*
Not sure how it takes it off topic, the thread is supposedly about the hotel in gen'l and the category; part of the hotel's luster (to me anyway) is the hood its in

Pool yes.. nothing special but then again, I don't go to Europe for the pools although I'm sure there are some decent ones LOL.. Kensington MR has one that is not bad.. better than MA. YMMV, I'm not a pool expert

SkiAdcock

I'm not either, as I rarely use pools when traveling. But it has one & it also has rooms that accomodate families.

But besides Marble Arch, Maida Vale is also in a Middle East area. Does that mean people should avoid it as well (since we're not taking this to PM)? Both hotels have gotten good reports, and the neighborhoods being scarey due to Middle East has been debunked. Obviously if you or someone else has a problem with Middle Easteners & are worried about a 5-10 minute walk through a regular neighborhood, then pick a different hotel.

But in fairness it's not like there are terrorists sitting on the stoops saying I will get you now. It's just areas w/ bizness & restaurants. And if you're that worried, walk down the other side which is less like that.

Back to the main topic. Cat 7 still too high, but good for them for getting it down a bit. And again Cats are based on # of awards redeemed. MA had/has a lot of them evidently.

Cheers.

thegoderic

I've just checked my account and something didn't seem right. A further check indicates that something definitely isn't right.

I've been staying at the Marble Arch in London quite a lot recently, and the points awareded seem way too low.

Examples:-

Bill = GBP 340.00, given 2,053 base points
Bill = GBP 312.80, given 1,906 base points

at 10 points per USD, this means they've used a conversion rate of 0.6 GBP per USD, which I guess might be the wrong way around.

Seems limited to this hotel. My stays elsewhere in the UK have posted more reasonable rates.