Lego Brick hotel - The Slough/Windsor Marriot (Slough/Windsor Marriot)

Member Name: clumsy1974

Product:	Slough/Windsor Marriot
Date:	29/05/01 (2085 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Well priced , Well presented, good facilities

Disadvantages: Busy, Refurbishment under way

Marriott Reward cards are useful if you are a business traveller. You can gain free rooms, upgrades or breaks if you just accrue a mere 20000 points ($1 = 10 points). This is quite hard to manage as an everyday bloke like me, not actually being like Alan Partridge living in a Marriott Hotel. You will, however, receive great deals through the post as a bonus for your loyal custom.

We were sent a special offer leaflet for the spring this year. The plum deal at the moment meant we were able to get a two-night stay in any Marriott or Courtyard hotel for just £90. We chose the Slough/Windsor hotel for the bank holiday weekend. I have to admit that we had hoped to be able to go to Cardiff - which has a very nice Marroit in the city center. Alas the FA league playoff finals meant that there was no room at the inn, so we plumped for somewhere a bit closer to home (Oxford).

I know what your thinking - Slough - Its hardly the jewel of Berkshire (sorry Slough residents - I'll read any review that may persuade me other wise). It does have advantages though. The hotel is only ten minutes from the scenic town of Windsor and, as we found out when we arrived, Legoland. It is perfect for the airport (Heathrow) and the M4 corridor if you're looking for a business stop over in Silicon Valley UK. It boasts a huge number of local companies - such as Honda and Computer Asscoiates. you will find that its location, just off the Slough/Windsor juction of the M4, along the A4 is ideal for London or most areas of Berkshire.

From the outside it is a bit boring looking and is surrounded by a huge maze like car park. Once we had actually found the front desk we were pleasantly surprised.

The hotel is quite stylish and bright, with a fairly modern air to the reception area. The staff are great, as I've noticed with all Marriott hotels. Check in is fairly painless, although we did have to wait 30 minutes for our room to be prepared. The hotel has
380 rooms and 7 suits. If you book, go for the King Size room. The bed is huge, but you also get the bigger room to accommodate it.

All the rooms are en-suite, and most have a desk with ISDN data connection (If you look in the wardrobe you'll find a little bag with a data lead and software for your PC or MAC - a nice touch I think). You'll get TV with Sky Sports, movies, pay-per-view and all the normal channels. You also get a well stocked mini bar - but be warned; move it and you pay for it as the fridge has eyes! (Well special sensors and gizmos that add whatever you touch to your bill). Mini bar prices are the same as the main hotel bar (£2.70 for a bottle of Stella, £1.10 for a can of Pepsi). f you drink it dry, or should I say if you can afford to drink from it at all, the maid will restock it the next morning.

The Hotel has a fantastic pool, with Sauna and Steam room, a gym, tennis courts, bar and restaurant and many other features we paid no attention too at all - check out the Marriott web site for details. So that sums up the hotel, but there are a few minus points to warn you about.

As I mentioned, it is THE hotel for Legoland. This means that it gets extremely busy over the weekends during spring and summer. If you are looking for a kids free atmosphere look for another hotel. If you don’t mind kids, or have ankle biters of your own then this is the place for you.

Another minus point - They are refitting all the rooms. This will be ongoing until October 2001, which I guess means that after then it will become a good plus. The work is being well managed and shouldn’t affect you in any way.

On the whole this is a great base for a bit of sight seeing, and is probably one of the nicest hotels I've stayed in for a while.

For more info:
www.mariott.com

Summary: