Marriott Slough did not win, Sir!" (Slough/Windsor Marriot)

Member Name: andymcf

Product:	Slough/Windsor Marriot
Date:	14/04/04 (519 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Location, Child-friendly, Great Rooms

Disadvantages: Location, Possibly too child-friendly

As ever - apologies for the inevitable DooYoo capitalization probs. I know there's a fix, but...... read the review! I hope you enjoy!



Marriott must be absolutely mad! Slough not only sounds disgusting, it even has a poem written about it. In 1937, Sir john Betjeman wrote famously wrote:

"Come friendly bombs and fall on Slough!
It isn't fit for humans now,
There isn't grass to graze a cow.
Swarm over, Death!"

And many more lines ensue; you get the picture, I'm sure! The first paragraph sets the scene, anyway, for this new town adjacent to London's Heathrow airport. Holiday destination it ain't!

And yet Marriott call this hotel "Marriott Slough / Windsor". Why not settle for Windsor (which, with its imposing castle and idyllic location on the river Thames, is lovely)? In the AA hotel guide, you won't find this hotel listed under Slough - nor under Windsor. Nope - look under Heathrow Airport and you'll find it there, just adjacent to junction 5 of the M4 motorway - right under Heathrow's flight path - which is absolutely great if you're a 'plane spotter.

You'd happily stay here if you were flying to / from Heathrow - like many hotels in the locale, they tend to offer very good parking-inclusive deals that challenge the exorbitant airport parking prices. You might also consider the hotel if you were visiting one of the local Theme Parks - Legoland, Thorpe Park or, at a pinch, Chessington. If, on the other hand, you simply thought that a night out in Slough might be rather nice, then you might well find that your therapist has an equally comfortable couch, with a straight-jacket replacing the fluffy bath robe.

It was Easter and I thought that baby Josh deserved a treat. "Legoland", Windsor, looked to be just the right sort of place for his first theme park experience (and - yes - it caters very well for the y
ounger adventurer; he adored it). I pointed my web browser once again in the direction of Priceline and before I could say "Come, friendly bombs", we were booked into the Marriott Slough /Windsor for two nights at the remarkable rate of just £30 per room per night. Bargain - and from my experience, you can't go too far wrong with a Marriott. In fact, I'd say that this was about as far wrong as you could go with Marriott!

The hotel was easy to locate - just of junction 5 of the M4 motorway near Heathrow airport. What was more difficult to locate was a parking place. The hotel offers special deals whereby you pay for a night's accommodation and receive free parking for up to 15 days. Superb deal that really can't be beaten. If, however, you're just staying for a night or two, it's extremely irritating to have to circumnavigate the car park several times before you find somewhere to leave your car.

And from there, it will doubtless be a long-haul trip to reception. Ho Hum! We made it. It was a welcoming lobby in what is a modern, purpose-built hotel. There's a five storey tower section but this is mainly a low-level sprawling hotel. The main lobby houses reception and concierge, with "Chats" bar / cafe and the "Mediterrano" Restaurant to your left and a rabbit-warren of corridors leading to bedrooms on your right.

Check-in was friendly and quite efficient. My booking was quickly acknowledged, but my request for a King size bed was refused. Instead, we were offered a room with two double beds.

I am, to this minute, really confused about this. A room with two double beds. Hmmmmmmm! Who on earth wants these rooms? Swingers? Large married couples who no longer enjoy each other's company? I just can't imagine the scenario. Perhaps they're intended as family rooms. Whatever! That's what we got - room 0308 on the ground floor. We picked up our keycards and headed
off to find it. Eventually, we did.

The room was large and clean. Without one redundant double bed, it would actually have been very spacious indeed. Clean, cream decoration and warm green carpet, comfortable seating and decent workspace all combined to give a very refined feel to the room. Being on the Heathrow flightpath, the quadruple glazing went some way to quelling the noise of aircraft traffic. There was actually an air of peace. The picture windows overlooked the car park. At least we could shut the curtains - there were very many cars to look at, but none - to be honest - of particular interest. The wardrobe contained an ironing board and laptop safe as well as a minibar. The armoire contained a standard colour TV with information services. The bed was very comfortable. All standard Marriott stuff - very comfortable. The room was faultless in a fairly clinical kind of way.

The ensuite bathroom was spotlessly clean, with decent toiletries - no complaints, although some might find the bath a little small. The room was compact and bijou, however, and if I need to amplify the fact, I'd simply note that my arm was only just about long enough to reach from the lavatory - on one side of the room - to the toilet-roll holder that, in their infinite wisdom, the designer hand decided to place on the opposite side of the room. You get the picture, I'm sure.

The bed was extremely comfortable and we had a great night's sleep. Josh, too, enjoyed his cot. We all awoke on the first morning to find that the newspaper we'd ordered had not been delivered. Apologies and explanations were offered, and one was delivered on the second morning of our stay. These things happen. Regularly, in my experience!

It would, of course, be remiss of me not to visit the hotel bar. So I did. After a long day at Legoland, Josh had decided to catch some Zeds and we decided to take him with us. He's a very well-behaved lad, most of the ti
me, and the bar was clearly very child-friendly. We felt comfortable taking him with us and enjoyed a few moderately priced drinks tasty snacks. As I said, it was child-friendly. In fact, it was far too child-friendly and we were soon extremely irritated by the fact that at 9pm, kids were noisily running in and out of the bar incessantly whilst their parents just sat by and let them ruin everybody else's experience; there was no peace. In - out - in - out - crash into someone carrying drinks... you get the picture. As we left, I couldn't help thinking that the entrance to the bar was like the grid line-up to a pram Formula-1 race. Sad, really.

In conclusion, this is clearly an airport hotel, with all the baggage that that carries with it. The accommodation is of a good, comfortable standard. The parking is over-subscribed and the bar is not a quiet haven. It's not a holiday location by any means yet it serves its purpose well. Know exactly why you're going there and you'll be perfectly happy.

Andrew

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