Renaissance Chancery Court London

The CCH is a grand building. Vigilant, helpful and friendly doormen provide a sense of security out front. Check-in was easy. Nice big, clean, comfortable room. Decent TV choices; including a financial channel.

Everything was great until I tried to use the 15-pound per day internet. At first there was no connection which turned out to be a disconnected wires from wall (both internet and phone). After plugging things in I was still unable to connect to the internet. Called for assistance and was told there was a slight problem which they could fix on their end in about 5 minutes. I purchased one day of internet. Got connected, checked a few things on the web then went out on the town. I came back after midnight to find no connection again and figured my "day" had expired. Went to bed unsure if I'd buy a second day. Day 2 (late in the day) I decided to use the internet again. When I called the hotel to buy my second day I was told there was still an hour or more left on my time from the previous day. The person helping me said she saw my connection had been down. This got fixed and I asked to purchase another day of service. The connection lasted only a short while before I had to call back. This on again off again thing went on for a while. I called back at least twice more due to breeched connectivity. Finally they said they would reboot something to make it better. Eventually the internet connection worked fine. I was given a lot of apologies, but still charged with the 2 full days even though my access was limited and it was frustrating getting it set up.

Another weird thing happened which was really incongruent with the hotel's image. I asked the concierge for a restaurant recommendation specifying I was interested in a good dinner while I was in London. I even said the cost was not important to me. The concierge recommended a small Italian place, one I could walk to from the hotel. He said "You won't be disappointed". It seemed a little strange to be going to an Italian place but I went based on the enthusiastic recommendation. When I got there it seemed there was nothing special about the place with people wearing t-shirts and flip-flops. Maybe some kind of a gem? Nope, it turned out to be just an ordinary place with average to below-average food and super slow service. A disappointment.

I should have just eaten at the hotel. The following day I had lunch at Peals Restaurant which turned out to be the best meal I had in London. Pricey but very good food, nice wine and outstanding service.

The internet problems and the bizarre restaurant recommendation from the concierge negatively affected my stay at this hotel. Too bad. I'll probably try another place next time.

Walking distance to the shows in West End, close to Holborn tube station. The hotel is beautifully appointed, very elegant. The desk staff and concierge were helpful. The room had an incredibly comfortable bed, plenty of light, quiet, and a US plug for my laptop. Shower head height was too low for my 6' tall husband. I used AMEX Membership rewards points to book the room, but it would have been well worth the price.