The Berkeley

Ich habe im Juni 2 Tage im Berkeleys verbracht. Ich sollte eigentlich 4 Nachte lang bleiben, habe aber meinen Aufenthalt verkurzt, weil dieses Hotel absolut nichts zu bieten hat. Sehr ruppige und unfreundliche Angestellte! Wenn Sie ihnen kein Trinkgeld geben, werden Sie von ihnen respektlos behandelt! Der Zustand des Zimmers war furchtbar, die Mobel waren sehr alt und man konnte sich nicht hinsetzen, da man das Gefuhl hatte, sie wurden dann kaputt gehen.

Das Allerschlimmste war, als ich gesehen habe, wie 2 widerliche Insekten (die wie Kakerlaken aussahen) an meinem Bett vorbei krabbelten. Was fur ein Albtraum!! Irgendjemand sollte ihm mal ein paar Sterne wegnehmen!

Sehr enttauschend.

I stayed at The Berkeley in a junior suite for a week from New Year's Eve until early January. To be frank--I probably wouldn't have done it if the USD/GBP exchange rate weren't so attractive right now. But since it was an option that had entered my price range, I was glad to give it a try.

The hotel is modern and apparently popular--from the looks of the other guests, there were visitors from America, England, France, Italy, and further abroad. Families and couples were very much in evidence.

I had managed to get a smoking room, which was a real thrill for me--I've gotten so used to having to tramp downstairs three or four times in an evening to smoke when I stay at hotels, so this really was a nice treat. At the same time, Housekeeping did such an excellent job that I could hardly tell it was a smoking room at all after they had been through.

There was lots of closet space--hangers for both men's and women's clothes, drawers, shelves, and everything else. I used their shoeshine service every night and the laundry service twice, and was very impressed by the quality of both. However, I wish that they, like The Ritz in London, would put long shoe horns and clothes brushes in their closets--I take small versions of these things with me when I travel, but given the quality of most of the suits the other guests and I were wearing, I would have expected clothes brushes to be standard.

I never used the concierge properly other than to get directions and book a car from the airport, but I did occasionally speak with them to arrange my wake-up calls--and let me tell you about that! One morning, I asked for an 0700 wake up call with an 0715 reminder. Strangely for me, the first wake up call was all it took, and when they rang again at 0715, I was in the shower. I got out of the shower, dried off, and at 0722 there was a knock on my door from security, wanted to make sure I had woken up! Since I've missed more than one flight in the past through oversleeping, I was really impressed by that--they follow through on whatever you may need.

I took advantage of all of the dining options available, but I'm afraid I can't be as enthusiastic about them (though all were good). I had tea in the Caramel Room (entirely unimpressive--go somewhere else for tea), as well as breakfast every day (that was nice--my package included an English breakfast in the price, and they laid out a good spread, and did an excellent job of poached eggs). I also had dinner one night in the Boxwood Cafe (good selection of food, attentive and pleasant service) and in Marcus Wareing (formerly Petrus), where I felt rushed the entire night, and I wasn't inspired by the dishes on the tasting menu. Still, the restaurant is very highly rated, so perhaps they just had an off night. Finally, I had drinks one night at the Blue Bar. I was worried from reviews elsewhere that the place would be packed and I wouldn't get it, but I found a seat quite easily and enjoyed two very well-mixed drinks--hotel bars are often mediocre, but the Blue Bar really did an excellent job of mixing spirits, and makes a mean champagne cocktail. Unfortunately, they closed quite early, which was disappointing.

All in all, the service was quite attentive, the room wonderful, the location good, and this may just become my regular London hotel--let's hope the exchange rate stays where it is!