Radisson SAS Portman Hotel, London

This weekend just gone me and the missus thought we'd go off on a short break in London. We chose the SAS Portman Hotel since its location was fab and the price fell within our budget of £300 for 2 nights. We had heard only good things about this one so we booked at Lastminute and paid £240 for a Superior room with breakka. Or breakfast, in English. If we had booked through the hotel's own website it would be nearer £300.

Where is ...
...Street, opposite Marble Arch tube station. It has easy access by tube, since Marble Arch, Bond Street and Oxford Circus are within walking distance, and many buses stop nearby. Even night buses! I don't need to tell you how good Oxford Street is for shopping.... but I will. All the major chains are there, plus its home to some of the biggest department stores in the country. Selfridges, Debenhams and House of Fraser all have their flagship stores ... more

This weekend just gone me and the missus thought we'd go off on a short break in London. We chose the SAS Portman Hotel since its location was fab and the price fell within our budget of £300 for 2 nights. We had heard only good things about this one so we booked at Lastminute and paid £240 for a Superior room with breakka. Or breakfast, in English. If we had booked through the hotel's own website it would be nearer £300.

Where is it, then?
The hotel is located just off Oxford Street, opposite Marble Arch tube station. It has easy access by tube, since Marble Arch, Bond Street and Oxford Circus are within walking distance, and many buses stop nearby. Even night buses! I don't need to tell you how good Oxford Street is for shopping.... but I will. All the major chains are there, plus its home to some of the biggest department stores in the country. Selfridges, Debenhams and House of Fraser all have their flagship stores on this street, so you can certainly shop till you drop! Since the hotel is located just off this street, it isn’t subjected to the same hustle and bustle. In fact, its location in Portman Square is a small zone of tranquillity in the midst of London's madness. Also on the square are a couple of other luxury hotels, namely the Hyatt and another I forget, and a couple of swish bars arid restaurants. All in all, an excellent location.

First Impressions
Like I mentioned earlier, the Hyatt is just nearby, and you have to walk past to get to the Portman. The Hyatt is very grand in comparison to the Portman, and you initially feel under whelmed. This is understated in the biggest sense of the word. Having said that, the canopy over the entrance does feature some funky purple lighting and the bushes are nicely sculpted. Pretty, but not magnificent. Stepping through the ridiculous revolving doors (why do these exist?) and inside you are greeted by the reception, a lounge area and the bar/restaurant. It’s lavishly decorated, with a roaring fire in one corner, a coffee bar and sofas galore. The reception itself is small, but the staff were speedy and very pleased to help.

Checking in
Upon entry, the porter directed us to an empty desk and a very nice (but difficult to understand) man informed us that the rooms weren’t ready yet (fair enough - we were here early) but would we like to select the room type and floor?
.........That’s right. In addition to choosing whether your room is superior, standard etc, YOU CAN CHOOSE THE DECOR!!!! That is quite possibly the most amazing thing about this hotel. You can select British, Oriental or Scandinavian decor - whatever suits your mood. This is something I'm fairly sure no other hotel offers, and is such a nice touch.
After selecting the Scandinavian room on the 11th floor, the porter took our bags into storage whilst we had lunch. We came back an hour later and after filling in a quick form the lady took a swipe of my credit card for a guarantee. Its pretty standard practice, but did scare me the first time I stayed in a hotel. We were then shoen the lifts…. which only go up to the 10th floor!! Nice. Still, 1 floor is not much of a walk and it was the poor old porter who had our bags.

So, what’s the room like?
Now, I'm a big hotel-y person, but haven't had much experience of hotels in London. The few I have stayed in have had very small rooms, and whilst this room was bigger than the standard I have experienced in London, its not as big as most of the rooms I have experienced in other areas of the country. Heck, even the Travelodge I stay in regularly has bigger rooms. The room is billed as 25 square meters incidentally.

As a man once said, "Size isn't everything"
Its not. What makes this room worth the money in my book is the standard of fixtures and fittings. It’s very highly specified. The Scandinavian decor is lovely, lots of beech wood combined with modern art and very expensive looking light fittings. The furniture was slightly eclectic but again just lovely, and the bed a generous queen size. (Incidentally, there is a GIANT mirror facing the bed...)
The actual bathroom was large, with 2(!) showerheads and a tub. The toilet even had a phone next to it. I didn’t use it though. Something not quite right about that.... The provided toiletries were again of a high standard. Whilst not quite the Molten Brown goodies I would have liked to have seen, they were certainly better than the stuff in my bag, and generous sizes too. The sink and surround were marble, and the floor had underfloor heating. No cold feet for me.
The TV featured a good selection of channels, including random European ones like RTL, Pay movies and Internet Access - with a keyboard for Email! Genius. The only downside to this was the cost, which was a ridiculous £8.95 for a days' movie rental.
The room also featured a well-stocked Mini Bar, which was again very pricey. Coke was £2.50 and whisky a whopping £5.50.
The best bit about the room, though, had to be the view. Being on the 11th floor we were able to look over Oxford Street, which looked magnificent. And of course we could plan the next days shopping!

I want food in my room.
That’s just lazy. Room service is available, but it’s very, very pricey. What is nice though is the presence of 2 menus - one standard and one.... Lebanese! Now we certainly didn't expect that. Curious, we paid £30 for a couple of Kofta Kebabs. Blimey. They were...Ok but they did come with a bag of sweets. Room service is charged at slightly higher prices, plus £3 tray charge and gratuity.

Sod it, I'll have a drink
The hotel has a very la-de-dah bar, lots of wood panelling and a guy playing the piano. Very nice. There is table service and they bring you appropriate snacks with your drinks. Peanuts, for example, with beer. The drinks selection is pretty good, and the barman fairly skilled. He was able to knock up my Mojito with minimal hassle. The fact that they assume you want to run a tab, though, is dangerous. Which leads us to......

Ahhh. My head! I want a fry up.
We had breakfast included in the price of our room, which is a good thing, since it costs a whopping £20 if you choose to buy it separately. It is, however, a very well spent £20. Whilst it’s a buffet, it’s an enormous selection. Everything from salmon to sausages, fruit to fried egg and cereal to cheese is available. Tea and coffee are kept topped up by the delightful hostess, and there is juice galore. It’s more than enough to fill you up for the day.

And the other 2 square meals?
We didn't eat in the restaurant for lunch or dinner, since it’s too expensive. The menu was your classic "pawsh" fair, and priced at around £10 for a starter, £20 for main and £7.50 for dessert. The selection, in contrast to breakka, wasn't great either. Still, you have KFC, Pizza Hut and a myriad of small restaurants nearby, including the excellent Jega - an upscale Indian.

Anything Else?
The hotel also has a gym attached; access is free if you’re a Business Class guest. There are also many conference rooms - not really interesting so I'll leave it at that. It’s worth noting that disabled access is a little limited, but not too bad. There are ramps and wide doors, but the lifts are small (but lavish) and again don't go up all the way to the top.

Chucking out time.
We asked for a late check out, the hotel was happy to oblige and let us leave at 2 with no extra charge. Check out was hassle free, paying for my extras did incur a small heart attack though! You are presented with a full and frank bill, which whilst a little hard to understand is fairly clear. I couldn’t argue. Yes I succumbed to the bloody whisky! The ability to charge just about anything to your room is dangerous. Best to pay-as-you-go here. The bill was charged to the card I had swiped at the start of our stay. Again, the hotel was happy to store our bags whilst we mooched about until it was time for our train.

What about the little 'uns?
Its again worth noting that I don't think that this hotel is really suitable for families - not much to keep the kids happy but mum and dad'll love it.

Price?
As stated, we paid £240 through lastminute for 2 nights in a Superior room with breakka. Standard rooms are about £50 less, and Business rooms (with bigger desk and gym access) are about £50 more). The hotel offers some interesting packages, including a Honeymoon package in the Penthouse Suite... for a whopping £650! Still, maybe in a few years hey babe??

Speak with your heart, not your head.
I loved this hotel. Yes it was pricey, but the staff were helpful, the place was gorgeous and the room stunning, if a little small. I would happily recommend it to anyone who wants a short break in London. The location is brilliant and being so close to public transport and the delights of oxford street a real boon. As they say, "2 thumbs up!"
 

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