dayone

St Ermin's also has allowed elites to pay a supplement to guarantee a Family Room.

DL-Don

Staying at the Marriott County Hall right now and I can't say it has been a good stay. First problem, they tried to put me in an accessible room (that's not a problem)... one without a desk. Me? Really? The Op of this?? So they moved me to another room with an "great" view and all the noise of the trash and building material dump. This morning, they moved me to a smaller room but at least one with a partial river view of Big Ben and Parliament. Still, none of the rooms has a clock or even a TV with a clock (those can be read only with binoculars). The Executive Lounge is still being remodeled and the room being used for the evening hors d'oeuvres barely seats 20 people. How long does this remodeling really take? The building was clearly not designed as a hotel. Everything is strangely positioned and the hallways need moving sidewalks given the distance involved to get to some of the rooms. Even though the location is great (London Eye, Big Ben, etc.) I won't stay here again; there are better properties with better rooms.

SPSTiger

Didn't see Family Room as a buy up option on a points stay for my dates on Marriott.com. Guess I'll need to call.

ankomonkey

When I booked mine it was available online during a normal search to pay with points, and that's how I booked it. Hope it's still available for you...

SPSTiger

I see the Family Room available online for cash during my dates but not for any points redemptions.

dcchi

Any thoughts on Marble Arch vs. Grovesnor Square? For stay with school age kids. Plan to visit typical touristy sites (Tower, Eye, a museum here or there, Selfridges, etc.?). Looking for input on how the hotels fare on rooms quality, lounge, as well as location.

Thanks in advance.

SkiAdcock

MA has a pool & also family rooms (not sure if FR are available for standard award redemption). Surprisingly enough Marble Arch is not next to the MA tube stop, but a 10 minute walk. It's in a bit of a Middle Eastern area, which bothers some folk & doesn't bother others (dif food options). Grosvenor Square is about a 5 minute walk to the Bond St & Marble Arch tube stops, and a couple of blocks from Oxford St near Selfridges. GS is kitty corner to the US Embassy. GS rooms can be a bit small depending on what you get. Don't know if GS has family rooms.

Cheers.

c0mm0n

Had the same equation and ended at park lane with a junior suite.

UA-NYC

I did the MA for a few nights last fall, and found it very mediocre overall - not bad, just so-so. Area is fine but not exactly hopping I'd say.

myperks

What are everyone's thoughts now that spg is part of the marriott family. Looking for a place with a pool in London and close to touristy stuff.

Marriott County Hall - 45K MR/night (15K SPG/night)
Renaissance St. Pancras - 45K MR/night (15K SPG/night)
Le Meridien Piccadilly - 60K MR/night (20K SPG/night)

It seems that all (decent) SPG properties in London are 60K MR/night (20K SPG/night) and all (decent) MR properties in London are 45K MR/night (15K SPG/night).

Stayed at the LM Piccadilly way back when it was still cheap.

Any thoughts for a 3 night stay?

lexdevil

Renaissance St. Pancras ≠ close to touristy stuff, except that it is located very well for transit. Both of the others are better, with the County Hall in the heart of the tourist stuff along Southbank (the Eye, NT, and Tate Modern and Globe Theatre if you are willing to walk a bit...) and just across the bridge from Westminster, and Le Meridien more convenient to theatres and shopping.

At a lower price point you might consider St. Ermin's. Another lower priced (but dull) option is the Marriott Kensington, which is near the Royal Albert Hall, V & A and the Natural History Museum (but a bit out of the way for other tourist stuff). At a higher price point you might consider my favorite, the London Edition (close to Soho, Covent Garden, etc.).

myperks

Thanks. I was hoping for St. Pancras be good enough for shopping/touristy area but it may turn out I need to pay the premium for LM Piccadilly (since having a pool is essential).

London Edition looks nice (and cheaper than LM Piccadilly) but it seems that there are no breakfast benefits there.

lexdevil

I used to really care about the breakfast/lounge benefit, but staying in the Fitrovia/Soho area puts me near so much good food that I would rather go out for a great early lunch than have a lounge breakfast (of whatever quality). If I take advantage of the lounge breakfast that means I miss having lunch at BAO, Hoppers, Portland, Quality Chop House, Dishoom, etc. Limiting myself to one meal out per day means missing too many great spots! For me, the service and location at the Edition trumps all of the lounges (even the St. Pancras and the JW Grosvenor House).

SkiAdcock

LM Picadilly has been getting hammered in the SPG forum; gone downhill in a # of ways.

If a pool is essential & you want to be close to tourist activities, I'd go w/ Marriott County Hall.

Cheers.

myperks

Wow... thanks lexdevil for all the restaurant recommendations. Will definitely want to hit a couple on your list.

The Edition definitely looks nice but standard rooms are not available for my dates of travel.

i guess pool is not "essential" anymore after negotiation with the family which opens up a lot of possibilities but probably sticking with MR properties as SPG properties are way overpriced for London (point-wise). Kind of makes me wish the conversion is 2:1