Marriott Properties in London ?

[Calgon1]

Will be sailing out of London (Southampton). Arriving through Heathrow three days early and want to play tourist in London while we overcome jet-lag. Prefer to stay at Marriott properties, as that's who I have the most rewards points with.

Current thinking (or lack thereof) is that using the Underground would be the best way to get around. So, a hotel within reasonable walking distance of a station would be preferred.

Suggestions?

[Twickenham]

If you don't mind paying top points, the Grosvenor House is a lovely property, maybe 10 minutes walk to the tube but with a bus stop right in front. If you're either Gold or Platinum, note that the concierge lounge is closed for renovation until I think end of June.

 

If you plan on taking the train to Southampton, you might consider staying at County Hall, convenient for Waterloo. And of course, there's the Renaissance St. Pancras, with direct tube access to LHR, and pretty much anywhere else in London.

[John Bull]

County Hall would be my choice of location.

Apart from being on a ho-ho route and next to the London Eye and boat trips, its only a 5 - 7 min walk from 3 tube stations, same from Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, The Mall, Churchill War Rooms, & other places.

Also very handy to Waterloo station for trains to Southampton & Dover (where are you cruising from?)

 

Three properties near Marble Arch

- Marble Arch

- Park Lane

- Grosvenor Square.

Of these Park Lane would be marginally more convenient.

All handy for the tube & ho-ho's. Close to Marble Arch, Hyde Park, Speakers Corner (translates to Nutters' Corner, but quite interesting ;)), Oxford Street stores.

 

Other central London Marriott properties are handy to a tube but with little of interest in the immediate area.

 

I can only comment on the locations, I've never stayed at any of 'em.

 

On Marriot's map (taken from google) you'll see all the tube stations marked by a red circle with a blue bar.

 

Yes the tube is great for getting around but no fun with luggage.

Here's a map of the lines (don't bother to print off, they're available everywhere) but .............. it's diagrammatic. Don't use it for above-ground locations cos it can be very misleading.

Use a regular street map to find the nearest tube stations to your location & destination, then use the tube map to figure your easiest route between those stations. The literature & websites of places of interest usually quote the nearest tube station.

http://www.tfl.gov.uk/cdn/static/cms/documents/standard-tube-map.pdf

 

JB :)

(mind the gap!)

Edited May 31, 2014 by John Bull

[MeHeartCruising]

I prefer the County Hall property. Very nice hotel. Great location. Some things easily walkable. Others reachable via the nearby Tube.

Edited May 31, 2014 by MeHeartCruising

[Dorh]

Will be sailing out of London (Southampton). Arriving through Heathrow three days early and want to play tourist in London while we overcome jet-lag. Prefer to stay at Marriott properties, as that's who I have the most rewards points with.

Current thinking (or lack thereof) is that using the Underground would be the best way to get around. So, a hotel within reasonable walking distance of a station would be preferred.

Suggestions?

We are on a Royal Caribbean cruise in Oct. We just booked St Ermin's Hotel, Autograph Collection which is a Marriott property. We are staying 2 nights before the cruise; I was able to use points for 1 night. I was told by friend that has been there that this is a nice property and great location. Our last trip to London we stayed at County Hall. We were very pleased with the Hotel and is location. Happy travels!

[speedyjane]

I have also booked St. Ermin's for three nights; two nights with points and one with cash. It looks like it is in walking distance to several major sights, and the St. James' station is very close. I have never stayed there though. It's a Marriott property, so it should be fine. We'll be out and about spending little time in the room.

[SixOneTwo]

We stayed with points at this property a few years ago. SUPER close to the tube, also the London Eye is right there, as well as an aquarium and a HoHo bus stop.

 

Beautiful accommodations and we had a wonderful park view with the Thames in the background. There was a Star Wars thing going on when we were there and one morning we literally ran into Darth Vader in the hallway. He obliged our request for photos.

 

Meals there are pricey, so look somewhere else for breakfast.

[Harbour20]

We are in London for five nights staying at St. Ermis with points in August before cruising the Baltic. I chose it because of the closeness to the St. James tube station and within a ten minute walk to most of the places in the Westminster area. Also chose it for its intimate appearance and their reviews. It is different than most Marriott properties.

 

Good luck on your choice, you really can not go wrong.

[travellovers2]

We were in London in 2012 and almost stayed at the County Hall Marriott. After reading the reviews we chose not to because people were saying that the hotel was worn out, etc. We stayed at the Premier Inn right behind it and it was ok. The County Hall is in a good location to go to the London Eye and the HoHo bus stops right in front. We didnt like the area at night, too many kids with nothing to do. The area has an arcade and that attracts a lot of teenagers. But overall for our 1.5 days stay it was okay. Best way to get around is the hoho bus, but traffic can be an issue. We're going back to London next May for the British Isles cruise and plan to try the St Ermin's.

 

Marriott needs to get more and better hotels in Europe. We are Platinum members and are tired of the hotel choices. We may consider another line of hotels hoping the choices might get better.

[CruisinChris]

I stayed at the Grosvenor House (a JW Marriott) prior to a QM2 cruise in 2011 on points and was VERY pleased with my stay - and as a very frequent traveler I am quite picky. The room, especially by European standards was very large with lovely window looking out over the park. The bathroom was also very large and nicely done in white marble. They offer a very nice tea service in the afternoon. I opted for their special "Rose Tea" and still have amazing memories of it. Just exquisite. The HOHO bus can be gotten just down the street, this location is very convenient for shopping (Harrods and others) and is close to museums and Buckingham Palace, which can be toured in the summer. I can't recommend highly enough.

[obriendan]

We spent five nights at the Marriott London Kensington in October, 2013. It was a fine hotel with a large Sansbury accross the street for in room supplies. Close to the Earl's Court station, about five minutes walking. We got it on Priceline by bidding 4* in the Kensington-Earl's Court area for $100 + $13 (taxes and fees) per night. A great bargain since the rack rate was $333 per night!

 

Dan

[JKC3]

We spent 3 nights at the Renaissance St Pancras last summer before our cruise. We used our Marriott points to book it. We had a 'standard' room with two beds - and it was quite comfortable.

 

We decided not to schlep on the trains/tube with our luggage, so we hired a car service and that was wonderful and worth the money for the comfort and convenience (especially on a rainy night!).

 

St Pancras is an old building that has been renovated. The train station is right next door (trains to Paris, etc). Little shops and food places are there - easy to grab a bite before heading out for sightseeing. Kings Cross tube station is next door to that - so the rest of London was easy to get to. We were also able to catch the HOHO bus from the hotel as well. (trivia - this property was used as the train station in the Harry Potter movies :))

 

Booked a small bus from London to Stonehenge to Southampton with a few others from our roll call. All in all it was quite an easy trip.

 

Would definitely stay here again if we were to spend time in London!

 

Have a fun trip!

[easybay]

We stayed at the Grosvenor House and at the Marriott Marble Arch. We didn't find much close by the Grosvenor House as far as amenities. The few pubs were packed to capacity and there wasn't a grocery store or small market to pick up anything. A nice hotel in an upscale area, although I thought the rooms were small.

 

As far as amenities - the Marble Arch property is better - there are coffee shops and small grocery stores near by BUT, we found the area to be "sketchy". The tube station is a few blocks walk, and I did not feel comfortable at night walking the street. Women were aggressively begging, and men lined the streets at night smoking hookah at the restaurants with outdoor tables staring at us. The hotel itself is really nice - but I wouldn't stay there again due to the location.

 

Hopefully, third time will be a charm! We are opting for St. Ermin's on our trip this summer.

[Shelbell340]

We are staying at the Marriott County Hall right near the London eye & across from Big Ben. Good reviews on Tripadvisor & our cruising friends have stayed there before. The big red Hop on hop off bus stops right there for our pre-cruise sightseeing.

 

 

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[Calgon1]

Thanks all! Appreciate the recommendations. Haven't firmed it up yet. But, at least, now I have some good ideas . . :D