Kensington Close Hotel- Formerly the Posthouse Kensington (Posthouse Hotels in general)

Member Name: dan 2000

Product:	Posthouse Hotels in general
Date:	06/04/03 (453 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Big, fancy(ish) lobby, Great Health Club, Contemporary in style and in Kensington

Disadvantages: Rooms aren't the cleanest

As you may know, Posthouse in 2001 were taken over by Six Continents Hotels(formerly Bass)and most have changed to Holiday Inn with a few into Crowne Plaza. Unfortunately, a few couldn't and have been sold to other groups. I went a few months after the aquisition and it was still a Posthouse(April 2002). It is now the Kensington Close Hotel which was what it was known as before it was a Posthouse in 1996. Anyway, the hotel was in the Posthouse porfolio style, you know, the contemporary style with leather chairs. This is the Holiday Inn portfolio now and I think will stay as it shows most of the room pictures in this style. Well, want to find out more...

OUTSIDE
It isjust off Kensington High Street and a 10 minutes walk down the other way will take you to Earls Court. The hotels facade is well Victoriany or 1930's ish. Inside it is ultra modern but with one oldy pub. It looks rather grand, I do personally prefer modern, but as long as the inside was modern the decor was fine.

RECEPTION AND LOBBY
When you walk in you will notice that the carpet is a dark redish purply colour to make you know this was a Posthouse Hotel. On the left was a reception desk. The lobby was modern yet stylish and made you feel as if you were in a big hotel. The Mid shaded brown wood for the desk was nice. Oh, and we checked in at 0900 am.(The coach arrived early see) and check-in isn't usually ready until 2 pm. We were checked in though as our room was ready. Of course sometimes the rooms may not be ready and you may have to wait. The receptionists are friendly too. On the opposite side is a handy shop serving all items like a newsagents. On walking to the shop from the main entrance, you will pass a Concierge Desk. You will also pass a leaflet desk.

RESTAURANTS AND BARS
This hotel has 3 of them, yes three. There was the Greens of Kensington and Biancone now changed to The Carvery and The Grill Room. If you walk right of these and past the Po
s
thouse lounge then you will come across to Marloes Tavern which, despite Posthouses Contemporary look was an old-fasioned Pub. We had a drink there and it was nice. Sorry but we never went to the others. Also, if you are on a BB package or DBB package then Breakfast in the restaurant was included and you can choose from Continental or Full Cooked. We had Breakfast in the Room which is not included in the price even if you go DBB or BB. I will talk about Room Service later on.

ROOM SERVICE
This was good. You had a menu. We had a Posthouse menu although you will have a different one due to change of company. You can have Room Service Breakfast which you complete a card and choose what type you want and how many, then you put what time you want it delivered. Although it was around £14 for Continental it was well worth it if you wanted to wake up and luxuriate. Instead of rushing early to get a shower, dress ect. you could just wake and collect from the friendly waters. Watch telly too, sit in a nice chair or watever. This is the norm in big hotels nowadays. Obviously not in Travel Inns but in Holiday Inns, Moat Houses, Thistle, Mariott, Hilton and probably the Kensington Close aswell as other big individuals. Well, this hotel I think is part of someone called Cola Holdings.

THE LOUNGE
Before you got to the Marloes Tavern, you went past the lounge. Fitted with contemporary Posthouse new portfolio feel, with warm reds and oranges. I have learned that designs in the new style, although beings same design and patterns have diffeent colours. You can have blue and cream or green and black and more. The lounge was great and had a lounge or what they called "house" menu. It was all leather(or most). It was a great setting for a great light meal or when there is a drink crying to be drank wanting to meet your tongue. Oh, how I do love exploring a hotel.

SPIRIT HEALTH CLUB
This was Posthouses own brand or well now Holiday I
nns. G
o to www.spirit-fit.com for info. It has changed to breathe health club at this hotel but I e-mailed the hotel a few days ago and they said that the hotel has the same decor so the look info and facility wise in this review is probably accurate. It is located just before Marloes Tavern and is down some stairs. You can access it from one end of the room corridors for even easier access.You will find a door. On one side is vending machines, a passage to the gym and chairs and tables along with female changing rooms. On the opposite side is a reception desk and a blue floor to ceiling unit with a television.

The decor is fresh with blues, aquas, whites and light wood colours for the wood. If you need to use the changing rooms then you need a pound coin which, whenever you unlock the locker, the pound returns back in your possession! So you are not actually paying for the locker, just hiring it. If you haven't got a pound coin then they are happy to give you one. If you walk on from reception you will find the male changing rooms, the female are on the opposite side from reception. The changing rooms are modern and feature lockers, hairdryers, toilets, sinks, toiletries, shower cubicles and even saunas. Yes Saunas! This means that one sauna was for males only and others for females only. Please!! read the safety advice too, on reading it, there is useful info.

Out from the changing rooms was the swimming pool and more. There was fresh colours. Next to the male changing facilities was a steam room for all genders. Then there was the luxurious spa bath. Oh, the spa baths(or jacussi's as they are sometimes known) are bliss! Warm water which bubbles which warms you and relaxes you. After about 10 or 20 minutes it goes off and you need to press a button at the side of the jaccusi to start it, there is no harm done! It is easy as 123. Alternatively was the big swimming pool which was a great place if you wanted to do proper swimming, sma
ll swimming
, or splashing out with family or friends. Around on one side was the loungers which were blue. Oh, the peace of the health Club.

Don't forget that they provide safety info on all facilities and they give you clean free towels which you put in a built in laundry bin in the Changing Room(s). They also have beuty treatments, massage and a gym.

BUISNESS
If you are on buisness then they had the Academy which is Holiday Inns own buisness brand. In the Kensington Close, as it has nothing to do with Holiday Inn has changed to the Alchamy or something like that. They have break-out areas, lounges even there own reception. I know this because of the internet of Holiday Inn UK. I didn't go in there though.

CORRIDORS
You could choose the lift or stairs in between the restaurants and reception. The corridors were bright, airy and modern in decor. They were quite clean but not absolutely spectacular.

BEDROOMS
An important one. Bedrooms should be nice. The ones at this hotel were OK but dissapointing as other Posthouses had great rooms. As we walked in, although in the contemporary new Posthouse look were cosy but not WOW! They were extremely small. We had a standard room but The Superior Rooms are supposed to be bigger so a definate must if you come to this hotel would be a Superior Rooms.

On one side of the room was a beech colour wardrobe with doors. The layouts differ I think, thats why I said ,"on one side". On the opposite was a luggage holder which was good. Above this was a modern photo. You know the ones with no picture but ones with just colour all mixed. Next to this was a mirror. The mirror was full length and if you slid it across, then it acted as a door to the en-suite bathroom. The bathroom was a long shape. On one side was the toilet and they gave complimentary toilet pper. The opposite side housed the sink with soap and mirror. In between the toilet and sink was the towel
rail. They gave you complimentary towels. Opposite the rail was the
bath and shower. It had a white shower curtain with one small stain. They also provided you with shampoo and shower gel. The lights were operated outside the bathroom and had halogen downlighters. The decor was co-ordinated in a pattern which went like white tile, pale green tile, white tile, pale green tile and so on. At the top was red and gold tiles. The mirror was circular.

In the main part of the room was the bed. They were quite comfortable and had a Bedspread and blankets on(I prefer duvets so much). Behind the bed was a coloured inset which can differ. Our inset was a terracotta. There is a lamp above each bed and on a double bed I think above each side. All bed lamps are controlled seprately. Next to the bed and wardrobe was the dressing table with table lamp. They had drawer space with hotel menus. There was a round mirror above the desk. The lamp could be controlled by the table. If you are wondering where was the TV then, because the desk being next to the bed, there was a unit with 3 spaces. The top space had the TV with all terrestrial channels a couple ot sky and info services. In the space under that is the Mini-bar although in this hotel you needed to ask housekeepeing to open it because it was locked unless you asked. We never bothered. Under that is the Tea and Coffee facilities with kettle, teabags and sachets. For ease of operations, it slides out of the unit so you aren't banging your hand on the top of the pannel. Next to the unit was a hole with a radiator in it which you could take out. The decor of the room was contemporary yet warm. There was also a hairdryer by the desk and a trouser press. The carpet was a bit bitty and the nets on the window were a wee bit dirty. Nothing dramatic but the hotels rooms could have been cleaner. Of course it is in London and it is busy but that is not much of an excuse. The cleaner was a bit rude too. There was a light i
n one corner and a downlighter near the door which both come on at the sam
e time. The rooms were nice but the clesaning wasn't brilliant. The Superior rooms from reading the old Posthouse Brochures have flexible lighting duvets with throw(in Holiday Inns now but maybe with bedspread), bathrobes and neutrogena toiletries and more. There were also suites.

OVERALL
Overally I would reccomend this hotel. Remember, Most Posthouses have changed to Holiday Inn or Crowne Plaza and a few have been sold like this one. It is on wrights lane. The hotel at present has the same style as before so don't think that because it has been sold that it don't have all the Posthouse feel. Holiday Inns have adopted the Posthouse look and I think may keep them. I was very dissapointed with the rooms though, they were small and had worn carpets, dusty net curtains and marks on the showercurtain. Fortunately, it wasn't big dirt but could have been better.

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