Live like a King (for a day) (Royal Horseguards Thistle)

Member Name: Teteenlair

Product:	Royal Horseguards Thistle
Date:	22/06/09 (33 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Beautiful, quality hotel in a fantastic location.

Disadvantages: Price - not only the rooms but the food and drink too.

I was recently summoned to London to attend a national meeting of all the regional co-ordinators of what I do. I was nervous about going as I hadn't met any of them in person and only knew a couple of them from talking on the phone, and I knew that of the 20 or so people attending, I would be the only one going by myself. When I was sent the link to the hotel that we would be staying in however, my mood lifted somewhat! And what's more, this is one of those rare things that is actually as nice, if not better, in real life than it is portrayed on the internet.

The Royal Horseguards Hotel is a Grade I listed building situated in Whitehall Court on the bank of the Thames, directly opposite the London Eye and close to Charing Cross Station. It was built in 1884 and has maintained the original French chateau-style exterior, though the interior has been modernised (and recently refurbished, according to the website). I should point out that the hotel is now owned by the Guoman group and not the Thistle as stated.

It is very easy to find, just two minutes from Embankment tube station, which is served by the Bakerloo, Circle, District and Northern lines and it took me half an hour from King's Cross. I, however, could get lost in my own house and ended up wandering in the back way through the restaurant, so probably did not get the full effect of the impressive reception area. The girl on reception was very helpful and friendly; offering me a complimentary newspaper and early morning call, and check in was smooth.


***THE ROOM***

The Royal Horseguards has 280 bedrooms and an undisclosed number of "well-appointed suites", though as mine was a small room at the back of the hotel, I suspect whoever organised it was going for the cheapest option. This made no difference to me though, it's definitely the plushest place I've ever stayed!

It was obvious that the rooms had recently been refurbished, the carpets, curtains and bedding were all tasteful, brand new and of good quality. It was quite a business-oriented bedroom with a large desk and plenty of hotel stationery, but there was also a large flat-screen TV mounted on the wall (with international channels including French, German, Italian, Spanish and Russian, from what I could decipher, Sky Sports and 10 radio stations) and brand new copies of some magazines on the table: Marie Claire, Harpers Bazaar and (presumably for the gents) Golfing International.

I was impressed by all the technological switches and gadgets and spent a good half hour pressing buttons to see what would happen. There was an iPod docking station set into the wall which plays your music into the room and bathroom, 3 different lighting 'moods' for the room, and instead of having 'Do Not Disturb' and 'Please Clean Room' door hangers, they had a button to press to light up your request on the front of the door! There was a temperature control on the wall which I kept trying to ramp up because I'm a cold creature by nature, but this kept on reverting back to 26C.

There was of course all the usual hotel stuff like safe, ice bucket, a well-stocked but pricey mini-bar (e.g. a vodka was £6.50 and a 275ml bottle of Becks £4.10); coffee and tea making facilities including ground coffee and cafetiere and a proper teapot; two dressing gowns and slippers, a decent hairdryer and an iron and board. A lot of this stuff was crammed into the wardrobe though which didn't leave a lot of room for clothes.

The bathroom was small but absolutely lovely - again tastefully decorated and spotless. It had a heated towel rail and under-floor heating, a main mirror (which must have also been heated because the middle area did not steam up) plus a smaller lighted magnifying mirror, all the usual toiletries and real flannels. And the most exciting part of my whole stay - I was twiddling the knobs outside the bathroom door, when a TV flickered on inside the shower! Now maybe I'm showing my provincial-ness here, but I've never even heard of having a TV in the shower. Of course I used it, just because I could, but I have to say I felt a little bit uncomfortable having Bill Turnbull quite so close to my bare bot!

According to the website, prices start from £149 for a 'Deluxe' double/twin room and go up to £459 for a Double Suite.


***DINING***

Arrangements had been made for all 20 colleagues to dine together on the first evening, so I made my way nervously down to meet them in the lobby. At the bar I ordered a white wine spritzer thinking that I'd better take it easy as I didn't want to get drunk and embarrass myself in front of strangers. At £7.50 a glass though there was no danger of that and I managed to make it last! A small glass of wine came to £6.50.

As we were a large group, we were allocated a side room to eat in and this was very relaxed and nicely set out, with silver candelabras and relaxed jazz playing in the background. As the evening wore on though I did notice that the music became more and more grating with jungle beats mixed in - call me paranoid but I think they were trying to get us to vacate the room so they could clear up!

We were given a set menu with not a lot of choice. I opted for the Duck a l'Orange for starter which was beautiful, and I was assured that the alternative Tomato and Mozzarella Salad was also tasty. The main was Sirloin Steak with Mushrooms and Vegetables and I found this very enjoyable, however, they did not ask us how we'd like our steak and when it came out it was too rare for some (I have lived in France so can cope with anything!). No steak knives were available either, despite several people requesting them, and this made cutting it with any kind of decorum quite difficult. The vegetarian option of Cous Cous looked rather insubstantial I have to say. I was enjoying my dessert of White & Dark Chocolate Creme Brulee until someone remarked that it looked like shepherd's pie, and when the coffees came I was delighted with the little silver cake stands holding the chocolates.

I found the waiting staff very good, continuously replenishing our water and always on hand if we needed anything, yet we never felt like they were crowding us.

I didn't bother with breakfast the next morning as I knew coffee and pastries would be available in the conference room, but my colleagues did and it got some rave reviews!


***CONFERENCE FACILITIES***

We were in the Chelsea Suite which was set out in Boardroom style (everyone sitting around a long table), with a screen at one end. It was relaxed and suitable for the meeting we were having, although it was a little bit cramped when we were all up and moving about at lunch and break times. The hotel had provided each delegate with headed paper, a pen and glass, and there were bottles of still and sparkling water on the table.

Coffee, tea, orange juice and pastries were waiting for us when we arrived; the choice of coffees and teas was great but I found the glazed pastries a little sweet and cloying. The coffee and tea flasks were replenished discretely throughout the day without prompting and we never ran short.

The working lunch was tasty and substantial, consisting of sandwiches, wraps, quiche, skewers, fruit and sweets and lots more that I can't remember now, and the only thing I can pick fault with is that their vegetarian options were not clearly labelled.


Overall, I was very impressed with this hotel, it was a big departure from the places I normally stay and it was nice to see how the other half live!

More information can be found at: http://www.theroyalhorseguards.co.uk/

Summary: I really enjoyed my stay but was glad someone else was footing the bill!