Grosvenor House Hotel, London
 

Has anyone stayed at this hotel recently? I'm trying to decide between my usual budget hotel (Holiday Inn, Welbeck St; about 100 pounds a night), and paying about 1/3 more (129 pounds a night) stay at Grosvenor House. It's a Meridien Hotel, so it should be decent (but so is the Russell Square Hotel, and it's kind of "faded glory" hotel, that has rather shabby rooms). If I'm going to end up with shabby, I might as well stick with my old stand-by.

This hotel is 5star as opposed to the 3 star holiday inn, which I am sure you are aware. The Grosvenor house has a good restaurant, and is very well located, and cannot be compared to the Holiday Inn.

£129 sounds very reasonable.

you got a fantastic rate

It's been a couple of years now, but when I stayed there I thought it was very very nice, perhaps a notch below the very top places like the Dorchester or Lanesborough. Some rooms had been refurbished more recently than others (nothing shabby tho!), but it was in all other ways a first-class experience.

Thanks for the advice. It sounds like the rate I got is a good value. Now I've got a follow-up question. I've been doing a little more shopping, and noticed that a few Thistle Hotels have some really good rates. For example, the Selfridge has a rate of about 90 pounds per night (including tax and breakfast), versus my room only rate of 129 pounds per night at Grosvenor House. The Selfridge seems to be a 4 star, while the Grosvenor is a 5 star. Any views on the Selfridge.

There's a current thread that mentions the Selfridge. Try putting it in the text search. Great location for shopping.

hi
I don't know where the Selfridge is, but check where the tube stop is.
From Grosvenor House, it is a 10+ minute walk to either the Marble Arch or Hyde Park Corner tube stops
All other things being equal, I prefer to be closer to tube stops than that, when I can

Grosvenor Hotel is a very nice property especially with the great rate of 129 pounds. Just curious, is that for a single or a double? The only drawback to the hotel is the location. While it is centrally located between the major sights, there aren't many pubs and restaurants in close proximity. Not a neighborhood feeling to it, which I prefer. Mostly banks and embassies. Also was a bit of a walk to the Marble Arch underground station. As I recall the Marble Arch station only has one line running though it so you need to transfer to another line to reach many of the sights.

Thanks BoulderCo. I'm not too concerned about Grosvenor House's location because it looks like a reasonable walk to the Jubilee and Central Lines at Bond St, which will enable me to get to Canary Wharf and to the City. I used to live a little north of Mayfair, and this trip is a quick trip to catch up on business, shopping and friends. I like to walk (if it's not raining - a big if for London). If I was travelling solo to a new city, the lack of nearby pubs and restaurants would be much more important (because I might be discouraged from going out at night).

I'm thinking that the Selfridge would be much more convenient but perhaps less of a treat (and I'm debating between splurging and saving). The Selfridge (a 4 star), however, seems to be less expensive than the three star Holiday Inn, so I've knocked the Holiday Inn off my list for now.

I'm replying to my own message, but I wanted to report on my stay at this hotel. It was a very good value for the price (118 pounds a night, including 17% tax and breakfast) - booked through Superbreak. There was a little glitch in the reservation (Superbreak hadn't faxed the details to the hotel prior to my arrival, and I'd forgotten to bring the form Superbreak sent me), but the hotel staff handled it extremely well. I was very impressed with their attitude. They quickly called Superbreak, got a fax confirmation and gave me a larger room than I'd booked (King, instead of a single) to compensate for the fact that it took them about 10 minutes to sort out the problem. The room was huge, with high ceilings, great storage, attractive furnishings, a giant bathroom, and a foyer (with a door to the bedroom, thereby reducing noise from the hall). The breakfast was excellent, and served in an airy room overlooking Hyde Park. They have an excellent large gym, a good-sized pool and a spa. There are also some very attractive public rooms, including a cozy library/bar. I would note, however, that my room was one of the "unrenovated rooms" and was directly across from the elevator (it would have been a little noisy but for the separate door from the foyer). I would have been a little disappointed if I had paid a lot more for this room (e.g. at 150 pounds plus, I would have asked to be moved), but for the rate I paid, this was a really good value. The hotel is about a 7 minute walk to the Marble Arch tube (Central Line only), and probably a 12-15 minute walk to either Bond St (Central and Jubilee lines) or Green Park (Jubilee, Picadilly and Victoria lines, I think).

If this is the same one I stayed twice in. Next to the train station you enter off the lobby? Next to Sloane Square? If yes, it's a fantastic location. Have not been there since it has been remodeled but back in those days, I liked it's shabby chic. It was clean and had a helpful staff.

No, it's not the hotel you're thinking of (perhaps you're thinking of the Moat House Hotel?) The Grosvenor House Hotel is in Mayfair (north and east of Sloane Square, which is on the border of Knightsbridge/Belgravia and Chelsea), facing west onto Hyde Park, and about a 10 minute walk from the department stores on Oxford Street (and the very fancy shopping on New Bond Street).

Was the nonrenovated room threadbare or spotted? Was it well maintained? I gathered from your note that it was not shabby. Is it still run (sevice wise, etc) like a 5 star hotel?

Some parts of the walls were a bit scuffed, especially in the bathroom where moisture may have caused a bit of the wallpaper to peel, and the bathroom windowshade looked a little worse for wear. Some of the walls looked a bit scuffed around doors and windows, etc. However, the furnishings were in good shape (but somewhat old-fashioned), and the bedding was very new, attractive and of a very high quality. The bathtub/shower was a bit old-fashioned (very large tub but with an old-style overhead shower), with decent (but not powerful) water pressure (made me homesick for my flat in London ...). The room's window was parallel with a low level roof - so not worth opening the curtains. But it was a terrifically spacious, attractive and comfortable room. As I noted in the earlier message, I was very pleased with what I got for the price I paid - and would have considered the room a good value (for London) up to about 150 pounds - higher than that and I would have asked for a different room.

The service was excellent, and there were some thoughtful touches (e.g. there was coffee and tea available in the lobby for those checking out before breakfast started).