London Marriott Hotel Regents Park, London

...included an overnight stay in London at the beginning of our holiday. We wanted something near the city center that would be handy to transportation and, thanks to my husband's willingness to contribute his Marriott points to our cause, we wanted a Marriott hotel. More specifically, we wanted a room suitable for four adult travelers. The nearest match to our requirements and the availability of a room through the Marriott Rewards program was a room ...
...tickets to the Tower of London (thereby saving us a tedious wait in a very long queue). We were treated with dignity and courtesy. One member of the concierge staff even identified us for what we were: an elderly mother traveling with two daughters and a granddaughter. His concern for the needs of my mother and his apparent delight in our joint adventure were touching and reassuring.

Dining facilities were simply appointed but very ... more

When my mother, sister, daughter, and I were planning our trip to England for March 2002, we included an overnight stay in London at the beginning of our holiday. We wanted something near the city center that would be handy to transportation and, thanks to my husband's willingness to contribute his Marriott points to our cause, we wanted a Marriott hotel. More specifically, we wanted a room suitable for four adult travelers. The nearest match to our requirements and the availability of a room through the Marriott Rewards program was a room at the Marriott Regents Park.

In most respects, the Marriott Regents Park is a typical representative of its kind. With 303 rooms in a 7-story building, the hotel includes an onsite restaurant and cocktail lounge, small gift shop, concierge and laundry services, barber and hair stylist, secretarial services and internet connections--mostly for-fee services. In addition, it offers guests the usual free use of indoor pool, sauna, and health and exercise equipment.

For 30,000 points and a Category 6 redemption certificate, we expected a small suite or a large room. Instead, we were lodged in a "quality room" that contained two double beds. With its two beds, the room was small and grudgingly adequate--but it certainly wasn't a suite. My hunch is that it had originally been intended to hold two single beds. The room included all the usual accommodations for the business traveler: two phone lines, voice mail, desk, iron and hair dryer, television with cable access, daily newspapers, and complimentary coffee and tea station. Indeed, it would have been comfortable and even roomy for a single business traveler or suitable for a couple. But for four people (four women, no less), it was cramped--especially so after we opened our luggage.

Based on our conversations with Marriott during the reservation / redemption process, we thought the room we were assigned would normally run about £230 per night. When I discovered that the billing rate for our room during the season we traveled was only £79, I felt that my husband's highly valued Marriott points had not bought the promised level of comfort. For 30,000 Marriott points per night, we expected far more.

Irritants associated with claiming our room using Marriott points included what seemed an unnecessarily lengthy check-in process and an expensive confusion over whether breakfast was included under our Rewards redemption. (See previous opinion on the Marriott Rewards program.)

Irritants associated with the room itself, aside from its relatively small size, focused on the minibar. I have encountered honor bars in other hotels, and I understand that the convenience of such a bar carries a price. Still, I have never before encountered a bar quite like this one. It was a well-stocked mini-fridge that was equipped with sensors--as we were warned, highly sensitive sensors. This minibar operated on a touch-and-take basis. As explained to us during check-in, anything we touched, we bought--and we did so at an extraordinary price. As adults, we were easily able to resist the temptations of Coke, chocolate bars, and Pringles "crisps" located right in our room. The price attached ensured that. But if we had been traveling with children, the cost of that minibar equipped with its "highly sensitive" sensors could easily have been exorbitant. Moreover, the well-stocked minibar prohibited us from placing treats of our own in a fridge that otherwise seemed so handy.

On the brighter side, the room was clean and the staff at the Marriott Regents Park was delightful. Just like at home, we sometimes had difficulty understanding the English-as-an-acquired-language spoken by a high percentage of the staff. On the whole, our encounters with hotel personnel were always pleasant, and everyone worked to find a path of common understanding despite any attendant language deficiencies.

The concierge staff helped us with directions to the nearest Underground station, held our luggage after check-out while we toured the city, arranged for our cab to Kings Cross Station, and sold us tickets to the Tower of London (thereby saving us a tedious wait in a very long queue). We were treated with dignity and courtesy. One member of the concierge staff even identified us for what we were: an elderly mother traveling with two daughters and a granddaughter. His concern for the needs of my mother and his apparent delight in our joint adventure were touching and reassuring.

Dining facilities were simply appointed but very pleasant. Prices were high, but it was London, after all. Quality was very good, and service was generally good. We took coffee in the lounge in the evening and breakfast the next morning. Lounge service was a bit slow, but the waitress was courteous. The coffee itself was strong and delicious. Breakfast in the dining room was also delicious, and breakfast service was prompt and friendly.

As for location, the main reason we had chosen the Marriott Regents Park, it served our needs well. The immediate neighborhood included Regents Park, the London Zoo, Kensington Park, and Kensington Palace. The nearest Underground station was about three blocks away, which easily connected us to any destination we might choose in central London. Cabs were plentiful, with a handful typically parked at the hotel entrance.

In the final analysis, I might choose the Marriott Regents Park again, but I would carry with me many lessons learned. Given reasonable alternatives, I would patronize the hotel only in the off season and I would not use Marriott Rewards points as payment for lodging. If I return, it will be because the staff was so courteous and helpful. Given those reasonable alternatives, however, I would likely go elsewhere--perhaps to a small hotel that is not part of a global chain or even to a bed and breakfast. Our stay at the Marriott Regents Park was not horrible, but especially in terms of the room itself, it did not live up to the expectations built by the Marriott Rewards program.

Marriott Regents Park
128 King Henry's Road
London NW3 3ST
United Kingdom
Phone: 011-44-2077-227711 (from the U.S.)

© DAnneC/BawBaw, 2002 (Updated 2003)

 

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