Help with London Hotel - The Conrad St James Hotel or Marylebone Hotel?
 

Hi,

My parents (73-75 years old) will be traveling to London during the end of July 2019. They are trying to figure out if they should stay at The Marylebone Hotel or the Conrad St. James Hotel. Which area has more choices for restaurants, grocery stores, etc? They will probably want to eat dinner near the hotel after a long day of sightseeing

I've done a lot of research for the Marylebone area but I haven't been able to research the area around the Conrad. I notice some people say that the area around the Conrad is full of office buildings and pretty dull on the weekend? Would the main eating areas be on Victoria Street? Any other area near the Conrad that is less busy than Victoria St?

It looks like the area near The Marylebone Hotel would have more eating choices? .

I would think the Conrad would be pricier than the Marylebone, but maybe they are running a special??

The Conrad is in a very central location near St James's Park and practically on top of a tube station. It is close to a lot of sites -- the Palace, Westminster Abbey, Cabinet War Rooms, Trafalgar Sq/National Gallery, etc. It would be a 1 or 1.5 mile (or just a skosh farther) cab ride to countless restaurants around Covent Garden, in Soho, in Mayfair, along Piccadilly, around Sloane Square, in Belgravia, in Knightsbridge, etc etc

The Marylebone is fairly central too but quite a bit farther north. It is about a6 or 8 minute walk to the nearest tube station. Lots of restaurants in the general area.

I would not worry at all about dining options in either location (and I seldom choose my restaurants by proximity to my accommodations)

I'd choose the Conrad.

Me too :)

Thanks for your replies!

Ok so 2 votes for the Conrad! At the end of the day, I'm not sure if my parents will want to just stay near the hotel. Any good recommendations for restaurants maybe a 10 min walk away from the Conrad?

Janis - thanks for letting me know how close all those places are by taxi. I noticed in another thread that you have stayed at the Conrad. Did you notice any noise in your hotel room from the St James Park tube stop? I noticed some people's reviews said they did.

Sorry don't know if this is a stupid question - I know my parents can easily get a taxi at the hotel but how about getting back to the hotel from a restaurant? Do people ask the waiter/waitress to call them a taxi? Or do most people use a taxi app /uber app to get a taxi back to their hotel? Or call the taxi company on their phone?

You usually go outside and wait for a taxi to come by, which they do regularly. Or you book Uber.

I've stayed at the Marylebone, not at the Conrad. The Marylebone is nice, has a good bar too, and an indoor pool which is unusual for London. Their smallest rooms are very small.
The Conrad is more central to the sites your parents will want to visit, and in a great location too.

I love the Marylebone area. Very cute, very french (most french expats live there). There are many restaurant options and there is a very chic high street. I like it more than the area the Conrad is in.

>>Did you notice any noise in your hotel room from the St James Park tube stop?<<

I didn't.

>>Do people ask the waiter/waitress to call them a taxi? Or do most people use a taxi app /uber app to get a taxi back to their hotel? Or call the taxi company on their phone?<<

For me - almost never any of the above. There are nearly 25,000 taxis in London - one simply looks down the block for the first one with the yellow light on

. . . but if it is pouring down with rain, or if one is in a theatre area as the shows are letting out (10PM-ish) then you can have the restaurant call one.

Anna1013: I'm going to the Conrad very soon and will report back on my personal experience. I have contacted the hotel via email and asked for a higher room floor specifically because of the train noise I've read some have heard. I encourage you to do that for them along with any other requests they may have. The email address is [email protected].

Thanks everyone for your replies! I really appreciate it!

Jamila - yes please report back! Can you also mention any restaurants around the Conrad that looked good? Thanks for the email - I will definitely be writing to them

I did think my parents would enjoy the area around the Marylebone more but their deluxe room is very small (269 sq ft) while a deluxe room at the Conrad is bigger (301 sq ft). Plus the Conrad is around $50 cheaper a night - my parents qualify for the senior rate...not sure if that's why it was cheaper. I think the size of the room and the advantage of being so close to so many attractions might make the Conrad a better choice for my parents.

How the neighborhood around the Conrad? I'm assuming it's not as quiet or quaint as the Marylebone area? Any recommendations for restaurants within 10 min walking distance of hotel?

Marylebone without a doubt. Much better area to stay. It's a proper neighbourhood. You say that they want to eat, etc. near their hotel after sightseeing. You can do that around the Conrad too as it's central London but for an area you want to return to and enjoy after seeing other parts of London. No competition...Marylebone is head and shoulders above the Westminster area. it would be a no brainer for me.

Anna1013 - I just returned from London. The Conrad is a really nice hotel but I think the Marylebone area will be more bustling. The Conrad is located on a quiet road and we were able to run across many times with no cars in sight. There is a Blue Boar restaurant connected to the hotel, Feathers' pub and EAT restaurant. We went to Blue Boar the first day for lunch since our room was not ready when we arrived. There is a post office and Starbucks just down the street and a couple options in the St. James's Park tube station to grab something quick. For us, it worked out no problem because most of our meals were while we were out somewhere or we ordered room service for dinner but if you are looking for more options right at your doorstep, Marylebone area would be better.

Perhaps get a larger room at Marylebone to take care of the size issue. We had an Executive room at Conrad which is 2 categories up from Superior and one category up from Deluxe. While it was comfortable, it was a typical American style hotel size and the bell hop was saying our room was very spacious.

Hi Jamila,

Thanks so much for reporting back! My parents decided to stay at The Conrad and they have booked the Deluxe Room. They have diamond status so they might be able to get an upgrade upon arrival - don't know how likely that is during August.

Any problems with noise from the tube station?

How was the Blue Boar restaurant for lunch? Didn't know there would be food options in St James Park tube station - I'll look into that. Thanks again!

There is a pub/dining area at the Sanctuary House, adjacent to the Blue Boar. For quick bites the Starbucks on Palmer Street is larger than the one closer to the post office and it has a selection of ham & cheese croissants and other "lunchy" items. There are various places on Buckingham Gate and there's a Pret close by, too.

I'd avoid The Albert on Victoria Street as it really has gone down hill the last few times we tried it... It used to be one of our reliable stand bys years ago. I've heard The Old Star is good but we've never gotten in... I'd try for reservations. It doesn't look like much but you can't go by that.

I hope they have a lovely time!

They will definitely enjoy the Conrad. I am a Diamond member as well and had booked a standard room on points. I emailed ahead requesting an upgrade and to be on a higher floor so we would not hear the train. We got an Executive room. As I had written before, this is 2 categories above the standard room. Deluxe is one category up. I think your parents will get at least an Executive room, if not a Junior Suite. When I received an email reply, I was just told they noted my requests in the reservation. It was not until the night before my arrival before takeoff on the plane that I checked my Hilton app and saw my reservation had been changed from Standard King to Executive room. When we arrived, the room was not ready and they kept telling me since we were staying for so many days, they wanted to give us the larger room. We had room 109 which is around the corner from the Executive lounge on the 1st floor. I expressed my hesitations on the train but noticed I did not hear or feel anything when I was in the Executive lounge while waiting for the room to be ready. They told us they would move us to a different room if we heard it. We heard nothing. We had an "inner" room therefore no view but it was a very quiet oasis. The rooms on this side of the hotel are not near the tracks so I do recommend your parents express they do not want to hear or feel the train. It was really nice being close to the Executive Lounge.

Blue Boar restaurant food was nice. We had the Chicken Tikka Masala. We felt the train vibrations underneath our seats the whole lunch. I do remember now there is a Pret Manger next to it but it's a smaller one. We stopped in later in the day once and they were out of a lot of food.

The food options in the train station are like grab and go type.

I posted a reply yesterday but it seems not to have posted so I will try again...

Janis - that's encouraging but I gave the wrong month! They will actually be in London July 25th-29th.

Trophywife - thanks for all your suggestions! Yes The Albert didn't seem like the kind of place my parents would enjoy.

JamilaZ - That's nice that you got an upgrade to an Executive room! My parents are also using points but my dad didn't want to risk booking the standard room and then not getting an upgrade upon arrival in London. They decided to get the Deluxe room...my sister and I think they should have just booked the standard room but he's very picky about room size/outside noise so it's better that he's happy with what they have. They have looked at the reviews on Tripadvisor and we told them that some people (especially reviews from July-August) said because the hotel was booked, they could not get an upgrade even though they were diamond members.

They also requested a higher floor/quieter room as you did - hopefully they will also offer to move them if they are given a lower floor and they don't like it. They are very excited about being able to us the executive lounge - did you only eat breakfast in the lounge or in the restaurant also? Did you prefer one over the other?

I'm glad the food at the blue boar restaurant was good. Wow didn't know you would notice the train from the restaurant. I noticed a review recently said they are renovating the blue boar restaurant? Is that true?

We ate breakfast in the lounge most days because we were running late so it was convenient. It was continental but we were filled. Diamonds get complimentary full breakfast in the restaurant. We went once and it's a much larger selection.Also, there is a menu where you can choose an entree included in the buffet. We had pancakes with berry compote and the omelet. The omelet was the best I've ever had a restaurant. It was seasoned to perfection. One morning we had breakfast delivered by room service. You can get the English breakfast complimentary and order the entrees at a 10 GBP charge. There is also a 4 GBP tray charge. So I have to say they really treat Diamonds well here!

I didn't see any renovations going on when we were there. That may be scheduled. You can email and I'm sure they will tell you.

Hopefully they will get an upgrade to a larger room but they always say "based on availability." From my check-in experience, they really try to put you in a room you will be happy with.

Yes, when they get there, they will understand the layout of the hotel and see which side the train is. We were seated by the windows at the Blue Boar lunch. When we went for breakfast, it was in another room and we did not feel the train.