konaflyer

My husband and I will be staying in London for 5 nights starting on July 2. We like to stay in historic properties near tourist attractions (or subway stations) with club floor access if possible. We will probably go to a few museums and the theatre. I have points and status with the following chains: Marriott Plat, Hilton Diamond, IHG Plat Ambassador, and Hyatt Explorist.

Also we would probably like to go on a day trip out of London. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Ldnn1

I haven't stayed there, but if you want a historic property with fabulous location walkable to everything, with a club lounge, well the Marriott County Hall undoubtedly ticks those boxes, plus has some amazing views to boot.

There is a whole thread (probably several) on these, but I always recommend Cambridge as an ideal day trip, especially if it's good weather for a punt on the river.

konaflyer

@ldnn 1 Thank you for responding so quickly! I hadn't heard of that Marriott hotel. I will check it out as well as punting in Cambridge. I would appreciate any others out there with knowledge of London chiming in.

Ldnn1

Another hotel you might consider is the Kimpton Fitzroy - a very impressive historic property newly refurbished and rebranded as Kimpton. I'm not sure what benefits an Ambassador gets there. It's in a different area to County Hall but also very convenient, especially for the British Museum, Covent Garden and Regents Park - where I'd highly recommend the Open Air Theatre if visiting in summer.

There's also the Renaissance St Pancras - a stunning building revitalised a few years ago. This is slightly less central but is still an excellent location, and has the lovely Granary Square development and Regents Canal right behind it.

I wouldn't hesitate booking any of those three properties if you can get them on points, although County Hall would probably be my top suggestion for a sightseeing stay.

Do note by the way - you won't get any good pics of the Big Ben clocktower on your trip as it's covered in scaffolding, but you can still find them on the internet.

Jono

I recently enjoyed a five night award stay at the Marriott Park Lane which is right next to Hyde Park, the Marble Arch tube station and steps away from Oxford St shopping. As a Marriott Platinum, I got lounge access which included breakfast, daytime snacks, evening drinks. The hotel is boutique-like - only 150 rooms, and with great service - I believe it was an old apartment building converted to a hotel. I used upgrade certs to get a suite and was suitably impressed.

FlyinHawaiian

I have stayed at the following properties, either on points or paid, with meaningful elite status:

Marriott (Platinum):
St. Pancras - Great if you are travelling via Eurostar; also not bad for destinations via The Tube. Need to pay extra for the uber-nice Chambers Club, but boy, was it worth it!
County Hall - Convenient location but pretty mediocre overall

Hilton (Gold)
Conrad St. James - Good location and convenient to The Tube. Really nice breakfast in the restaurant.

Hyatt (Explorist)
The Churchill - If you are able to use the Lounge Cert, it is one of the best lounges in the Hyatt network.

I'd probably rank my preferences (taking in location, elite benefits, and overall experiences) as follows:

Conrad
Churchill
St. Pancras
County Hall

Later this month, I will be staying a few days at the Intercontinental Park Lane as a Spire Ambassador and will have tea at the Fitzroy and see if they would be willing to show me some rooms while we are there. After that, I will be at The Churchill and enjoying their lounge.

Ldnn1

FlyinHawaiian

My stay was a few years ago while the renovations were going on: https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/25888317-post524.html

Reading recent posts, other members seem to have the same impression that I had; great location, but mediocre guest treatment. The Conrad is one or two Tube stops from County Hall and as a Hilton Diamond, the benefits/experience should be on par or better than a Marriott.

Each hotel program forum as a "Best Property in London" thread in case the OP wants to so some reading on their own.

TomSmith123

Cambridge and Oxford are both very accessible and have lots of history for day trips. Brighton is also down by the coast, and is a vibrant and fun place to visit. If you want to go a bit further afield, Dorset on the South coast is stunning - and lots of history there!

OskiBear

I would second the recommendation for the Conrad. Nice hotel, great location. It's close to a lot but without unending traffic/noise. Breakfast spread downstairs is great and you'll get it free as a Diamond.
Rooms aren't enormous, but are well-appointed.
Also very handy as it's essentially on top of St. James's Park Station on the Circle and District Line

WilcoRoger

We stayed at the County Hall as Marriott Plat (pre-merge) - we liked it very much, can wholeheartedly recommend.

Tax Dude

For your day trip, have a look at London Walk's "Day trips from London" Other Tours - London Walks
We've gone on several of these and have found them to be good value and very interesting. Their regular London walks are also great. A nice feature is there's no advance booking required, you just show up at the designated tube or railway station and pay the guide directly.

konaflyer

@Tax Dude. Thanks for the great suggestion. I went on their website and it looks wonderful!

konaflyer

@TomSith123. I will check out these options. Thanks.

FlyinHawaiian

I got back from London yesterday. My analysis of the IC Park Lane and Kimpton Fitzroy as an IHG Spire Elite may be found here: https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/31063971-post6.html

Club access at The Churchill was lovely, as always, but we were assigned a lousy room.

As a Hilton Diamond, I would just stay at the Conrad and enjoy the top-tier benefits. As for location, being near a Tube station is nice, but I'm finding using the public buses to be even more useful for getting places within London, especially in that I can use my iPhone to pay for the fares.