Hotel Review: Marriott-Owned Hotels, United Kingdom, Part 1

I've stayed in London several times, and every time, I've stayed in a Marriott-owned property. Why? Because I'm a member of the Marriott Rewards Points program and happen to have more than a few points to burn, and if I can spent points instead of dollars to stay in a luxury hotel, why not go for it?

Renaissance Chancery Court,
London, England

I'll start my reviews with my favorite hotel in all of England, the Renaissance London Chancery Court Hotel in (obviously) London. This place is my favorite for several reasons. First, it's a block away from the Holborn Tube station and is on the Picadilly line and the Central line, which means getting pretty much anywhere is fairly simple and cheap. Plus, you can take the Tube straight to Heathrow for just a few pounds, which is pretty rocking, considering the cost of a taxi is around 100GBP.

Second, the hotel itself is pretty fabulous. It was built in 1912 and has the most gorgeous courtyard (which often has some incredible cars parked in it) and a stunning marble staircase. Room service has the most delectable options (assuming you opt out of the myriad of culinary options in London), they have an absolutely insane spa, and the service  throughout the hotel is impeccable. I've stayed here twice and I've had no complaints whatsoever. Rates start at 199GBP, but can go as high as 495GBP for a two-level suite.

London Marriott Hotel
Maida Vale

And now, my least favorite hotel in all of the UK: The London Marriott Hotel Maida Vale. I chose the Maida Vale last January because about 90% of the Marriotts in London are what's called "Category 7" in Marriott lingo, which means that spending a few nights will suck up your Rewards points pretty fast. Maida Vale is a Cat 6, which still eats up the points, but a little slower. It's well-located, close to the Maida Vale Tube station, and Maida Vale is kind of a neat, diverse neighborhood, so I figured we ought to give it a whirl.

Now, it happens that Maida Vale is where Leo was bitten an impressive 34 times by bedbugs during our very first night's stay there. So I have to confess that I'm a little bit biased against this hotel, not just because of the fact that this happened at all, but because of how they handled it. In my opinion, discovery of bedbugs are a serious problem that warrant the attention of and apology of a hotel manager, but the manager of Maida Vale apparently disagreed, though he did send his minions to relocate us to the Presidential Suite for the remainder of our stay (it sounds cooler than it actually was - sure, it was big and had a kitchen, but do you really want to cook your own dinner when you're staying in a hotel in one of the coolest cities in the world?). Even aside from the bedbug issue, I would never stay at Maida Vale again, simply because the property isn't as well-maintained and the service isn't quite as stellar as other properties in London.

London Hotel Marriott
Park Lane

Two other Marriott-owned properties in London are London Hotel Marriott Park Lane and London Hotel Marriott County Hall. Park Lane is a fairly schmancy hotel, a bit more contemporary than some of the other London Properties. I have to confess, I felt a bit...uncool...walking into Park Lane. I don't know why, exactly, just that there was something a bit snooty about Park Lane and I felt a little uncomfortable. That's saying a lot, actually, because there isn't much that can actually trigger that feeling in me.

As a side note, I think that's what I like most about Chancery Court. It's a super-schmancy hotel, but the staff are so friendly and nice to you that you never feel uncomfortable, even if you walk in wearing flip-flops. But at Park Lane, I felt uncomfortable walking in wearing my nicest clothes, and that speaks volumes. That said, the fish and chips with mushy peas from room service is absolutely delightful, and the view of Hyde Park is quite stunning, which might be enough to persuade me to set aside my discomfort to give them another shot.

London Hotel Marriot
County Hall

Now, I have to confess that I myself haven't stayed at County Hall,which is why I can't list it as a favorite, but Leo and the kids did stay there and absolutely loved it. The proximity to the London Eye and Big Ben is a pretty cool thing for anyone, plus it's located near one of our favorite fish and chips places in all of London, the Red Lion (review forthcoming).

Next week we're heading north, where I'll cover four other UK Marriott properties, in Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, Manchester, Durham, and Edinburgh.