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Radisson Mountbatten Hotel (London)
by kirlykird
I am a huge fan of the Radisson SAS & Radisson Edwardian brand. I do like to try different hotels and when visiting London overnight, by far my favourite is Radisson Mayfair. On this particular visit however, I opted to try a different chocolate from the box so to speak...
*The hotel*
The selection of this hotel ... was not difficult. As mentioned above, I have a huge liking of all things Radisson and an especially soft spot for boutique hotels. As this establishment fits into both of those criteria and located in my favourite area of my favourite city, surely we were onto a winner?
The Mountbatten is named after Lord Mountbatten, the famous favourite uncle of Prince Charles and actually includes memorabilia from Lord Mountbatten's family home.
As soon as you arrive at the four star hotel, a concierge is promptly waiting to greet you and take your bags. Check in is fast and efficient within a friendly and charming environment. The marble floors provide a dramatic contrast against the rich wood panelling and designer furniture.
The public space and decor of the Mountbatten provide an excellent first impression. The atmosphere and design of the hotel immediately put you at ease and emits an aura of serenity and retreat from the busy London streets.
*Our room*
This was everything that we had hoped it would be after reading the online description. We booked a standard room which was very well decorated and with beautiful furnishings, however, it was slightly on the small side. We later found that to have a decent sized room, a deluxe room needed to be booked.
The rooms came with everything that should be expected, Radisson robes and slippers, tea & coffee facilities, a comfortable bed and a lovely bathroom. I have quite a thing about bathrooms in hotels. I like them to look nice and be sparking and clean whilst filled with luxurious freebies. I am then happy.
All in all, our room was good, the size we could live with as after all, we're in London and don't anticipate spending too much time in the hotel.
*The restaurant & bar*
We sampled the restaurant both for breakfast and dinner. The restaurant is named 'The dial restaurant' after the location in which the hotel sits, Seven dials. There are huge glass windows in here to watch the world go by and the furniture and design is minimalist but cosy. Breakfast is table service and consists of a choice of juices, coffee, teas and a full cooked English breakfast or a continental breakfast. A nice hearty breakfast for a full day in London.
Dinner here is excellent. The ambience is romantic and cosmopolitan. There are a wide range of dishes on the menu with starters ranging from soups to salads, mains range from steaks to fish and a scrumptious selection of puddings if you have any room left! The wine list is vast and there will be something there to complement your meal.
The price is reasonable by central London standards and I would certainly recommend dinner here!
The bar area was very cosy with comfortable seating and a very cosy atmosphere. There were a great range of cocktails with skilled and friendly barmen ready to serve and please. This was one of my favourite areas of the hotel as I loved to sit with a nice Bellini and watch the world bustle through Covent Garden at night.
*The location*
The four star Mountbatten stands at the apex of Seven Dials in Covent Garden, with Soho, Trafalgar Square, Oxford Street and Leicester Square on your doorstep. This luxury hotel is close to theatre land, the Royal Opera House, and the huge number of bars and restaurants in Covent Garden.
Almost everything is in walking distance from here and if you prefer not to walk, ask the concierge to hail you a cab or head to the nearest tube station or bus stop.
A truly excellent location in the heart of the hustle and bustle of the big city.
*Would we return?*
Maybe. We did really enjoy this hotel, however, we would probably return to another hotel such as the Radisson Edwardian Mayfair or try a new one completely. The reason isn't that we didn't enjoy the hotel, it was indeed excellent, however, for the £180 that we paid for our room per night, there is better to be found elsewhere. Although the restaurant and bar were good, sadly the size of the room was a let down factor for me.
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Jarvis Piccadilly Hotel (Manchester)
by Rhinovirus
I've visited this hotel since it has been refurbished & have to say, it's great! Lovely staff, very friendly. We had some trouble with the LCD TV, signal wasnt all that great. I was expecting them to say it's simply something we'd have to put up with as I couldnt see anyone fixing it, but low & behold, they told me someone would ... be up to the room in a few minutes to help. They sorted it out & were lovely & helpful at the same time. The room itself (a double room) was absolutely fantastic for the price. The view was amazing and the bed was just right. The bathroom was a good size and most of all, Clean! Definately would recommend this hotel to others & I'm actually going back at the end of this month. Here's hoping I'll be making another positive review, I definately don't expect any different.
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Le Meridien Palace (Manchester)
by TwistedPsycho
I took my partner to the Palace Hotel for an overnight Christmas Shopping trip on November 26th, 2008. Arriving at just before noon at Oxford Road, we expected to be asked to leave our bags with the concierge but we were able to check in and head to room 159, a high ceilinged room with very tall windows viewing the corridor that the room ... was on (no city view unfortunately) a large, very soft double bed and excellent en-suite.
I have only one reservation about the room though... the plasterwork around the Victorian pillers in our room was not proven ideal, with gaps large enough to stick my little finger in. It did not cause any problems though and overall it did not detract from the comfort. In the morning, the traditional telephone call waking us up was replaced with the TV turning itself on, a welcome change although if I was still inebriated from the night before, I would question what would happen as I slept through the welcome screen!
The facilites themselves were very good. The bar was quiet and professionally run with the staff able to collect orders from the table as well as standard bar service, the restaurant was quiet but both were reasonably priced for an AA 3* hotel. At breakfast, the restaurant was well stocked and the staff appeared to want to be there working, opposed to being there for the money!
Overall, I will be making recommendations to a national charity I work for to consider The Palace as a venue for its annual conference. Aircrew use the Palace as their residence from Manchester Airport, which must surely show an economic luxury in the hotel market.
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