Which Marriott "London Marriott Hotel County Hall" or the "London Marriott Park Lane Hotel" would you recommend for a family of 4 - first time visit to London. We will be staying 5 nights (using Marriott Points).

For location, I would pick the County Hall location. It's right on the Thames overlooking Big Ben and Parliament and is equally convenient to the Westminster and Waterloo underground stations.

Thanks Kayb95 - what about for access to the tube and "moderately" priced restaurants and places for breakfast - we'll be with kids 8/11?

The Marriott County Hall is a great hotel, but its only weakness is an absence of many moderate restaurants in the area. For breakfasts . . . other than Macdonalds, in that area, I don't know. Similar problem would arise at dinner time. The other complaint we had about this hotel is that it was sort of far from theaters, and after the show there are never any taxis, especially if raining, and the underground is mobbed . . . Even though views of Parliament and Big Ben are breathtaking, our family would find another location more convenient.

For a family -- County Hall hands down. there is soooooo much w/i walking distance and w/ Big Ben and the Eye right outside your bedroom window the kids will be in heaven.

taxi's are a problem after the theatre no matter where you stay, so I don't see why that is an issue here. (The walk from County Hall or Park Lane to the main theatre streets are about the same anyway)

Don't worry too much about b'fast places right next door - you can walk across the river or catch the tube in just a few minutes and have B'fast anywhere you want.

(Post-theatre Cab Hint - if you walk away from the whichever theatre area you are in - for instance from Shaftsbury Ave/Leicester Square down towards Trafalgar Square or up towards Oxford Street you will find more cabs available. When the theatres let out you will be competing for thousands of others so you want to get away from the throngs)

I actually don't think that the County Hall Marriott is a very good choice.

It's location is great if you just want go and look at Big Ben everyday. But it's so far away from the central London attractions like leiscter square, Covent garden, Oxford street shopping, the Hyde park and so on.

You can easily take the subway from the Country Hall Marriott to any where you want, but if you stay at this hotel, you will need to use it to get ANY where.

I would stay at the Marriott in the Mayfair area which is very centrally located.
There are actually two Marriott hotels located at the Mayfair area! Now why would they put two of their hotels just three feet away from each other?!
location location location !!!

There are actually THREE Marriott hotels in the Mayfair area alone ! I just looked it up!

OK. same question again, WHY would the Marriott put three hotels very close to each other?! the answer can be found on the above post !

I'm just trying to think where they mean by Park Lane (it's not actually Park Lane Park Lane location), but that'd be the best bet position wise. However, I quite like the Mariott County Hall as an hotel, however, if you're not prepared to take short taxi journeys then it's pointless staying there.

Aim for a Mayfair location, stay at the most expensive one there (I'm assuming as it's a chain most expensive will mean better) and as it's free it can't be too dreadful.

Just incase you're not familiar with London, all the Marriots having a postal code starting with W1 are located in the MayFair area, except for the one on George street.

This may be a little OT but around the world I've seen Marriott give their hotels location names (e.g. Mayfair, etc.) that are sometimes misleading - taking the name of a nearby area with more prestige, then grafting it onto a property which is in a somewhat less-prestigious (but closeby) district. So double check if your Marriott is in the area it claims. Creative marketing can be a pain sometimes.

The Park Lane Marriott's address is 140 Park Lane - looks like it is close to Marble Arch tube station.

I've been to London at least 20 times, and I KNOW that these hotels are actually located in the Mayfair area.

The Park Lane Mariott is very much at the wrong end of Park Lane, it's practically Oxford St. hence I regard it as not being in Park Lane.

Hi,
We stayed at 3 different Marriotts in London including the County Hall. They were all very nice but, I will have to say that the County Hall is our favorite. You can hear Big Ben, see the Thames, the London Eye (actually from our window I waved to someone on a pod) and Parliment. So, what I'm trying to say is the view is SPECTACULAR.

If you have points I'm sure you will have access to the concierge lounge. The breakfasts were wonderful as well they have an evening snack that was really a light meal.

The rooms are beautiful, the location great and the staff were fantastic.

As you drive up you will go through a small archway and then there is a circular drive. It was quite impressive. County Hall is just down from the wobbly bridge and the Tate Gallery. The tube is just across the bridge near Parliment. It's a long walk but we walked to the Tower of London one night for Ceremony of the Keys.

Enjoy your trip to London.
Don't forget to visit Covent Gardens. Lots of small shops and fun.

have to second everything Marlie says. The Marriott's in Mayfair are certainly fine -- but there is nothing in Mayfair for kids. Oxford street is nearby for shopping and you could walk over to Hyde Park. But that's it.

But County Hall it is like a wonderland for kids. For a FAMILY stay there is probably no better location . . . . .

Thanks all! Turns out that the Park Lane property nas no rooms that will accommodate 4 (with points) so we opted for the Grosvenor Square property. The County Hall looks great, but seems the location might not be best for us.

I appreciate all your suggestions!