Not a 4-star experience
Written: Mar 20 '05
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Excellent Location
Cons: Expensive, Service, Smoky
The Bottom Line: Unless location is the most important criteria to consider, I would consider a different hotel.
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| limona's Full Review: Crowne Plaza London-St. James |
I traveled to London with a study abroad group of graduate students in March of 05. We stayed several nights, went to France, and then returned to the hotel for one more night before flying home. Unfortunately, I did not have positive experiences with this hotel. I felt that, for a 4-star hotel, the front desk staff was incredibly rude and to top it off one of my friends had his laptop stolen right from the hotel lobby.
First, a little about the hotel: Rooms vary widely in terms of size and distance from the elevator. We stayed at the hotel two separate times, and one time we had an "upgraded" big room near the elevator and another time we had a tiny room buried in some corner of the hotel. The small room had a lovely view of the courtyard. The big room had a view of other hotel rooms. I was a little overwhelmed by the pink decor in the interior of the hotel. When we were in the room that was far from the elevator, I felt like I was in a maze. We did ask for a room with two beds and received a room in which the beds were zipped together. Housekeeping unzipped them for us and moved them apart. The furniture in the hotel rooms was good quality, dark wood furniture. The lobby is beautiful but does smell like smoke. If you don't smoke, make sure to get on a non-smoking floor because all the other rooms reek of smoke. Breakfast was included in my package, and I found it to be okay: eggs, sausage, baked beans, mushrooms, deli meat, mushy fruit salad, pastries and fresh orange juice served buffet style. On request, the waitress brought toast and coffee. Service in the dining room was good. We were able to purchase wireless Internet service in 20 minute increments. I did not try the gym facilities. There were two Jacuzzis that were open until 9:30pm that some members of my group very much enjoyed.
The very best thing about this hotel is its primo location. The street it is located on is called "Buckingham Gate," and that correctly indicates that it is walking distance to such sights as Buckingham Palace and Westminster Abbey. It is also only a short walk to the St. James subway station and a slightly longer walk to the Victoria subway station. All of central London is delightfully accessible from the hotel. Shopping and restaurants are also walking distance from the hotel, though nightlife didn't seem to be so great in the area. I did not make use of the concierge or any of the business facilities. The doormen were extremely kind, as were the people (porters?) who held our luggage on our last day in London after we had checked out of the hotel.
These are the experiences I had that soured me on the hotel:
We arrived at our rooms a little early, around noon, and the hotel generously checked us in early. When I keyed into my room, there was a man in it and the smell of furniture solvent emanating from the room about knocked me over. The man explained he was repairing the finish on the furniture and the room was supposed to be empty. He said it wasn't his fault and left. I was jetlagged, and all I really wanted was a nap in a room that wasn't full of toxic fumes. We called the desk and asked for a different room on account of the strong smell of furniture solvent. The desk told us what we smelled was not furniture solvent, but a lavender smell from the inserts from the drawers. I explained it was not the lavender, it was furniture solvent, and then was told it was a "normal" furniture polish smell in the room. The (rude) woman wanted me to wait in the room for who-knows-how-long until they could find us a different room. The air in the room was completely unbreathable, so my roommate and I waited in the hall for a couple minutes and then hauled our luggage back down to the lobby to wait for a room. They did find us another room, but not before the woman at the front desk told us our noses were "overly" sensitive to a "normal" furniture polish smell. At that last comment, if I had not been staying with a group, my response to this woman would have been to immediately take my business elsewhere.
Our last night in Europe, we checked in to the hotel around 10:30pm. My friend's laptop was stolen right from the lobby as he checked in by a man and a woman working together. The man was wearing a suit and sat down at one end of the couch in the lobby. A woman was wandering around the hotel lobby. When my friend stood up to get his room key, one of the people in our group was watching the laptop. The woman stepped between the laptop and the person watching it and asked what time it was. The man in the suit made off with the laptop. The details became clear after the hotel reviewed the security tape. The hotel said it was "the start of the season" and said it was not something the police would have time to pursue and encouraged my friend to have a drink on the hotel tab at the bar. Obviously, this is a lesson to watch your luggage closely. I mention the incident only because I thought it was notable that the hotel was not helpful at all in terms of reporting the crime to the police. I got the distinct impression the hotel didn't want crime in their hotel on record.
The morning I was preparing to leave, I had no British pounds but desperately wanted a bottle of water. I tried to buy water from the hotel gift shop but I was not allowed to charge it to my room. I was not allowed to charge it to my credit card, either, because the woman was "new" and did not know how to do credit card sales. She couldn't fetch anyone who could do them, either.
This hotel was okay. I found it expensive, unremarkable, and some negative interactions with staff led me to decide to never return despite its great location. It may be that this hotel is a better find for business travelers.
Recommended:
No
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Epinions.com ID:
limona
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Location: NC, USA
Reviews written: 8
Trusted by: 0 members
About Me:
New mother. Wife. Tax accountant. Obsessive shopper. Avid traveler.
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