terpfan101

Hello. I'm going to be on an eight night trip to Europe in early July. As of now the plan is 3 nights in London, 3 nights in Paris, and 2 nights in Bruges, Belgium. I've gotten my hotel taken care of in Paris with another program and want to use my points and credit card benefit for a hotel in London.
I am considering the following five Club Carlson properties (listed in order of their ranking on TripAdvisor). Thoughts on any property is appreciated:

1) Plaza on the River - $1,994 for three nights or 100,000 points
2) Park Plaza County Hall - $800 or 100,000 points
3) Park Plaza Westminster Bridge - $785 or 100,000 points
4) Radisson Blu Edwardian Mercer Street - $1,245 or 100,000 points
5) Radisson Blu Edwardian Bloomsbury Street - $985 or 100,000 points

I'd get the most value per point for the Plaza on the River followed by the Radissons and then the Park Plazas. I've been to London quite a few times and the location for the Park Plaza seems to be the worst, although not bad. Can anyone attest to its location? Also a consideration is that #1 and #3 have a king bed while the other three have a double as the standard award room. I find it difficult to sleep in a double with a significant other so that is leaning me towards #1 since I don't want to have to rely on my Gold status for an upgrade. Can you pay to upgrade an award room?

Lastly, would any of you do two nights at a Club Carlson property to maximize the "last night free on stays of two nights or longer" benefit of the credit card? If I did that I would have to stay one night elsewhere which I could easily do at a nice Hyatt or Priority Club property using points. I'd really only be saving 25K points, which is 50% of the regular award rate. Thanks in advance!

pazza2000

Would 3 nights not cost 150k Gold Points (50k pn)?

Either way, I recommend the Plaza on the River on points. Stayed there recently with a great upgrade as a Gold. Failing that and with the current triple points promo, cash at the Park Plaza Westminister Bridge would be my pick^

spankytoes

Last night is free.

Any reason why The May Fair isn't in the mix?

terpfan101

Yes exactly, since the last night is free as a credit card holder. I started off including the May Fair along with a few other Radisson Blu Edwardian properties. However after reading reviews for the other four properties, I quickly ruled them out.

The May Fair I thought would be a good option, however it gets an average of 4/5 (instead of 4.5) on TripAdvisor and has far more 1 and 2 rated reviews than all the others I mentioned before. Some of the candid photos show dirty rooms.

So pazza2000, do you think the Plaza on the River was a really nice place? What do you think about its location being on the other side of the River in terms of being a good spot to sightsee from?

DCAcubsfan

The May Fair seems to be a more central location to a lot of attractions and I would think should be in consideration as well.

shocky

I stayed at the Mayfair and Park Plaza Westminster.
I didn't like the Mayfair at all. It is at best a 3 star hotel, mediocre room even after upgrade, though location wise is OK.
Park Plaza was very modern, large rooms, great view from some of the rooms, nice upgrade as gold and convenient public transportation, with buses across the street and underground around the block.

chrisljo

While I can see the argument for the Mayfair not being a true 5 star, saying it's 3 star is going too far. It's a really nice hotel, and better than most European 4 stars.

spankytoes

+1

To me, the location alone is worth the price. It’s within walking distance to Hyde Park, Harrod’s, Buckingham Palace, Piccadilly Circus, Theatre District, Trafalgar Square, etc. Plus, you can take the tube from Heathrow to Green Park instead of having to pony up for the Heathrow Express only to change to the subway. The hotel itself is fine. It’s not the Park Hyatt Paris Vendome, but it will get the job done.

To the OP: It really depends on what you are looking for in a hotel. For example, if you want a lot of space and stellar service, Plaza on the River is great. If you want to be within walking distance to a lot of sights, it’s not an ideal choice and the underground station is a good 15 minute walk. The other hotels that you mentioned are more “tourist friendly” but each has their pluses and minuses. The Mercer would be my choice out of the ones you posted.

terpfan101

Hi. Thanks spankytoes for that...its what I had originally thought about the Plaza on the River (being a bit too far from things). I'd like to have no more than a 5-10 minute walk to the nearest tube coupled with ideally being near enough to some attractions to be able to walk to places. I once stayed at the hotel right near the Charing Cross station which was great for walking to Leicester Square, Picadilly Circus, Covent Garden, Trafalgar Square, etc.

So I think I've ruled the Plaza on the River out despite it being the "nicest" and most expensive property. But the guaranteed king bed there is keeping it in consideration...Just trying to decide between the other four so any other advice is appreciated.

Mora

Well my favourite out of all London properties is the Mayfair but since you seem to have ruled that one out here is my view on the Park Plaza Westminster bridge. The award redemption rooms usually face the atrium of the hotel and you can't open a window. And it's a bit too big for my liking and the breakfast room can get incredibly crowded especially on weekends.

trvllvr123

There is a very good bus service from Plaza on the River, makes a nice change from the tube!

CoweyB

Of the hotels you have mentioned my favourite is Westminster Bridge and it's five minutes on foot to Westminster or Waterloo tubes. I think it is the best Park Plaza I have stayed in and has its own Club Carlson check in desk. Situated at the end of the Southbank it is beside the Thames and there is so much to see and do along the river.

OskiBear

I stayed at the Riverbank last month and while it's a great property, the location was slightly less than ideal.

There really wasn't anything that I could do by just walking outside. At night/on the weekend, the adjacent buildings were deserted and it was a bit of a walk to Vauxhall station.

I would say that I'd prefer one of my usual Radisson hotels in really good locations even though they have tiny rooms.

tsmith12

If I may ask a similar question for a friend ..(I might be using my points or C+P to get him a room)

What's a good CC hotel to stay for a day..with flight getting in LHR at 9am and leaving LHR the next day at 6:30am. He wants to be able to be in a central location where he can see the main touristy sights during the day (maybe use a HOHO) and have easy access back to Heathrow in the morning. Thanks

kellyl

I've stayed at Westminster and Mercer

Westminster - new, good sized rooms, good coffee shop, not as much walking nightlife, indifferent staff. The inside rooms have an atrium view - again nice layout but no daylight and a little claustrophobic. upgraded rooms have killer view of Big Ben and London eye. Consistent last minute deals here when I'm in a pinch.

Mercer - small but newer rooms, tiny but efficient bathroom. Friendly staff. By far the biggest upside here is the location - 5 minutes to Covent Garden, tons of restaurants, coffee shops, 2 tube stops options close by. Must try Monmouth Coffee 3 doors down! This is my go to spot now as I'm out and about in London - lots to take in within 10 minutes of "Seven Corners"