London Marriott Hotel Grosvenor Square

Just returned from a few days at the Grosvenor House Hotel in London.

This has recently been taken over by J W Marriott hotel group.

When we arrived our room wasn't ready (we were a little early) so we went straight to the executive lounge on the 7th floor where we had snacks and drinks until our room was ready.

We had a room on the 7th floor (executive floor) and it had a good view over London but not the park.

The room was immaculate - everything was in excellent order and extremely clean.

The maid service and evening turn down service were also exceptional.

We had breakfast in the executive lounge each morning and it was Ok - simple continental style.

In the executive lounge you are treated to afternoon tea, and drinks and canapes in the evening - it was nice to start the evenings with a good glass of champagne!

My only criticism would be that with an extra bed in for our daughter the room was slightly cramped - but not really a problem.

The hotel is in a great location - one night we went to Gordon Ramsay's Maze restaurant and it was literaly just accross the road!

I would definately stay here again and would not hesitate to highly reccomend it.

We were booked into a Club level room, and were pleasantly surprised by the size and decor (we had one of the newly-decorated Club rooms, with a small patio). Our parents (in their late 50s) were previous fans of this hotel, but were rather disappointed that the Club rooms were now very modern, rather than their previous "Chintzy" style. I had booked them the same room category as us, but their room was tiny in comparison - barely enough room to fit round the bed, and a very small bathroom (no bath) which could accommodate only one person.

Our problems began at 10:30pm, when the music from the function room below us woke me up. I called Reception and was told that it would be going on until at least 1am. Attempts to reduce the volume failed, and eventually we had to be moved - the music was so loud there was simply no chance of sleep. The Duty Manager said he would send room keys for an alternative room up to us. Ten minutes elapsed and no room keys materialised - I called to query this and was told that he had posted them under the door of the room we were moving to! By this time it was 11:30pm. Eventually another member of staff showed us to the new room. The room was dirty, with bedding everywhere - obviously housekeeping hadn't been in to clean the room. We were then moved to a suite on the 4th floor which was positively ancient in decor and furnishings. The bed was supremely uncomfortable and the facilities dated. Still, by this time we were simply desperate to sleep, and took what we were given.

At check-out we asked to speak to a Manager, as I certainly wasn't paying the full L350 per night charge only to be moved at virtually midnight. After a lengthy delay we simply could wait no longer, yet no Manager appeared. In the end, the hotel charged us a half-rate, which was some compensation.

I don't understand why the newly-refurbished rooms have not been adequately sound-proofed - that would certainly have avoided our problems. Also, why place your more expensive Club rooms directly above your function room? Why not allocate rooms above the function room to those attending the function? Still, even if the room had been perfect, there were still too many niggly problems, like service at the front desk being slow and housekeeping being incompetent and rude.

Allegedly this is Marriott's flagship hotel in London. I can't understand why - they are resting on their laurels and making no effort to give the customer a good experience. It's certainly not worth the prices they charge.

Go somewhere else. We went to Brown's Hotel (also in Mayfair) this weekend and the difference between the two could not have been greater. The price differential wasn't huge, but the service and experience as a whole was just so much better at Browns.