London is one of our favorite cities, and we've
been there between twenty and thirty times by now. It never takes a lot of
convincing to fly there.
Researching Odaiba in Tokyo led to the discovery of Kua'Aina, a Hawaiian
burger restaurant. They have two branches in Hawaii
, one in Tokyo and one in London . The menu was so tempting we decided
we had to go to London
, our nearest location.
Of course we could have simply made a day
trip, but since we love London
we thought it would be better to spend a weekend there.
Our budget - there are preparations for a
longer travel in August - allowed us to buy a flight, but there wasn't much
left for a hotel. We had two choices:
1. We could take a very cheap hotel, which
didn't fulfill our wishes and needs.
Or
2. We could use points at the different
loyalty hotel programs we had left.
Investigating this, we decided to go for
the Intercontinental Park Lane
. We had wanted to stay there for at least ten years, but somehow had never
managed it. We used 50.000 Points for a night in a Superior Room, which is
newly renovated.
We arrived with Aer Lingus at London
Heathrow and took the Tube. The nearest Tube stop for the Intercontinental Park Lane is Hyde Park
Corner on the Piccadilly Line, which connects the airport to the city. There is
no need to change lines, so it's ideal.
We bought two single tickets to at 5.50 GBP
per person (ca. 6.50 Euro / ca. 8.55 USD).
This time around the Piccadilly Line was
upgraded, so there was no service between Boston Manor and Hammersmith, but
there was a free bus connection between the stations. We enjoyed the ride and
saw it as a bit of an adventure. The wait for the bus was longer than the
transportation itself (ca. 15 minutes). We realized Hammersmith is an
interesting area.
We arrived after 3 PM at our hotel. The
door man asked if he could help us. We said we had a reservation, so he opened
the door promptly for us and wished us a pleasant stay.
We were directed by one of the bell boys to
a free receptionist. Check in was very quick and painless. We had been
unexpectedly upgraded to a renovated Deluxe Room on the 6th floor, overlooking
the Wellington Monument and in the distance Big Ben,
the Houses of Parliament and Westminster Abbey.
We had expected courtyard views, so we were
delighted.
The room was medium sized. It was classic
with modern touches. The colors were mostly brown, blue, cream, ivory and beige.
There was a small hallway with one door
leading off to the bathroom.
The room was equipped with a king sized
bed, a wardrobe with safe and hair dryer, two night stands, a coffee table, a
plush club chair and a writing desk.
The flat screen TV and Bose wave radio was integrated
into a stylish storage unit that included bookshelves with books about London .
The artwork was interesting. It was part
mirror, part print, part model of a local landmark.
When we entered the room the radio was
already on, tuned to a Classic channel. We like Classic music, so it was a
pleasant surprise.
The TV channel selection was good with a
wide choice of international channels such as CNN or BBC world, business
channels and the largest selection of Middle Eastern channels I've seen so far.
In Room Dining is
available 24 hours a day and also has a section with Arabic cuisine.
There is also a mini bar, Nespresso Coffee machine and a kettle.
The bathroom was small, but had enough
space for our toiletries. There was a bathtub/shower combination with a large
round rain shower head, toilet and sink. The amenities were from Agraria.
The shower pressure was very good - there
seems to be never a problem, when staying at an Intercontinental Hotel Group
hotel - and the bath tub extremely comfortable.
While we were still exploring the amenities
of the room, we received a welcome gift, consisting of fresh strawberries from Kent , a large
bottle of still water and Dean's chocolate shortbread. There was also a card,
greeting us as Ambassadors - this is the name of the loyalty program for
Intercontinental Hotels - and please don't confuse Ambassador with
Intercontinental Hotel Group's Priority Club. Ambassadorship carries a yearly
fee of 200 USD. There are some benefits included like a free night certificate,
automatic Gold status at Priority Club, room upgrades, welcome gift, late check
out up to 4 PM, promotions, where members receive higher points than usual
(Normally 2000 points at an Intercontinental Hotel for Priority Club members,
no matter how long the stay is or how much the guest spends.) and other things.
We aren't Ambassadors, but the amenities
were definitely for us, since the gentleman from room service greeted me by
name.
We felt spoiled by now -
considering we had used points.
The shortbread was the best we ever had and
the strawberries were sweet and bursting with flavor.
During our stay we used the complimentary
shoe shine service, ordered a wake up call and requested more soaps and shower
gel.
All was delivered
promptly, punctual and with a smile.
Turn down service was provided and didn't
include any chocolate or water, but the weather forecast and hints where you
can visit different film locations in London
, i.e. Bridget Jones Diary, Notting Hill, Harry Potter and so on.
The bed was very
comfortable too and guaranteed a good nights rest.
The Intercontinental feels very glamorous.
When entering the reception is immediately in front of you, when turning right,
there is Theo Randall's, turning left leads to the concierge corner, the lifts,
the Arch Bar, Wellington Lounge and the Cook Book Cafe.
The spa and fitness
center are located on the first floor.
We had breakfast the next morning at the
Cookbook Cafe. While the food quality was outstanding, the restaurant was too
busy and enjoying breakfast was difficult.
The furniture quality and the design of the Cookbook Cafe seem to
be also lower than at any other part of the hotel.
We choose the a la carte option with 2
cappuccinos, 2 orange juices, a bakery basket with yummy pastries, scallion and
corn pancakes with scrambled egg and rocket salad and pancakes with berry
compote, maple syrup and cream.
It was really delicious.
The bill came in at 40.50 GBP including VAT and service charge,
ca. 48 Euro or ca. 63 USD.
Next time, though, we
are going to use the in room dining option.
Check out was swift and the bill correct.
We loved how detailed the hotel was, for
example the strawberries were served in a designer glass bowl.
The shoe shine service
delivered even before the stated time, early in the morning. Since there was a
"Do not disturb" sign hanging on the door knob, the shoes were left
in a whicker basket, carefully wrapped in paper and a bow.
The shoes were returned shiny and good smelling.
All staff was friendly and efficient, some
had even time for a little chat. We felt very welcomed and well treated.
It is only a natural
choice to stay there again in the future.
©2013
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