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After spending a few days in Paris at the Renaissance Paris Republique Hotel (review here), we were off to London on a Eurostar train (review here) and staying next at the Great Scotland Yard Hotel – The Unbound Collection by Hyatt. I had been eyeing this hotel for a while as reviews sounded good and the design is really cool. We usually stay in Mayfair, but we were taking my mom for her first trip to London and wanted to be closer to the major sights near Westminster.
Anthony’s Take: I booked our rooms through American Express’ Hotel Collection. This gave us $100 hotel credit per room as well as some benefits that I would normally get as a Globalist (like free breakfast and late checkout). The staff was great (aside from the servers and host at breakfast who were confused the entire time we were there), the accommodations were lovely, and the hotel has a fun vibe. We loved that they were incorporating tennis into things like decor and afternoon tea. This was a treat after we attended Wimbledon and were in a tennis mood.
Booking
I booked two Premium Room, 1 King Bed rooms on the American Express Hotel Collection rate. It was $460.99 plus taxes and fees per night. This was cheaper than what I saw on Hyatt.com. The hotel falls under Category 6 with award rates for standard rooms ranging from 20,000 to 40,000 World of Hyatt® points per night.
Transportation to/from the Hotel
We took an UberXL from St. Pancras International Train Station to the hotel. This cost $47 and took 21 minutes for 2.2-mile trip. When we left the hotel, we went to London Heathrow Airport (LHR). We took an Uber Exec XXL at a cost of $192.
Location
The hotel is located in Westminster and is within walking distance of Big Ben, Buckingham Palace, the London Eye and much more. I liked being so close to the attractions that my mom wanted to see.
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The lobby is fun and funky. I loved the decor and seating throughout.
Check-In
Check-in fills a small area to the right when entering the lobby. We arrived at the hotel around 3:30 PM and our rooms were ready. I had used a Suite Upgrade Award to upgrade to a Koestler Suite. This was further upgraded to the Sherlock Suite. The agent told me about breakfast and asked if I wanted a late checkout. I took her up on a 4:00 PM departure. Our suite and a room for my mother were right next to each other, which made getting together easy. The agent handed me two sheets of paper to explain the benefits of booking with American Express and those offered for being a Globalist. Our keys were printed and we were off a moment later.
Globalist letter that also included a voucher for a drink. I did not notice this until after we left and it was not mentioned at check in.
The Hotel Collection from American Express benefits
I liked the flowers at reception (and the tennis theme).
Water was available at reception.
The elevators are across the lobby and next to The Parlour where we had tea.
The elevator lobby and hallways on my floor were clean and in good repair.
The suite and the room were in a small alcove together.
I loved the blue doors.
Sherlock Suite (218)
There are 151 guestrooms and suites at The Great Scotland Yard Hotel – The Unbound Collection by Hyatt.
The suite opened with a small foyer. There was luggage storage and a closet there.
The closet was designed to look like books.
Inside there were robes and some drawers for storage.
The other side had room for bags along with an iron and an ironing board.
The safe was also there.
The living room was straight ahead. It held a sofa, chair, ottoman, fireplace, TV, and a table and chairs.
The fireplace was a nice element even if it was hot outside.
The table held some cookies as a welcome amenity.
Another welcome amenity of fruit, soda, and more cookies came shortly after we arrived.
The minbar was near the table.
It held a tea kettle, coffeemaker, coffee, condiments, tea, cups, glasses, and more. A refrigerator below held drinks for sale.
A drawer held some snacks.
I thought the light switches were pretty cool.
The bedroom was off of the living room. It offered a king-sized bed, nightstands, a TV, table, and clothing valet.
The TV was across from the bed and mounted over a console table.
A clothing valet was in the corner.
The room did not offer much of a view.
The bathroom was off of the bedroom. It was spacious and held a vanity with double sinks, a Toto toilet with all of the bells and whistles, a shower room, and a bathtub.
A bar of Jo Loves soap and body lotion along with some other amenities were on the counter.
The shower was a good size. Water pressure and temperature were both good.
More toiletries were in the shower.
The bathtub did not get used.
More toiletries were on its edge.
The Toto toilet was so fancy. I love these and want one for home. It was housed in its own room.
Breakfast
The Yard is where you’ll find breakfast each morning. The dining room was full on the first day and we were seated in the gorgeous 40 Elephants bar.
The bar space is so beautiful and I actually preferred eating in here.
I liked that the restaurant had set up an additional coffee station.
There were also some croissants and pain au chocolat set out there.
The buffet is set up in the main dining room. It was limited, but high quality.
Fruit salad, yogurt, and chia seed pudding
Baked goods
Bread
Smoked salmon and accompaniments
Salad, meat, and cheese
Cereal, dried fruit, and nuts
In addition to the buffet, there was an a la carte menu included. It offered hot dishes.
Afternoon Tea
We had the tennis-themed afternoon tea in The Parlour and used the $100 included with each room to cover it.
The Parlour offers several tea services.
We had a lovely table and the room was pretty empty.
Tea consisted of many varieties. I had a fruit tea.
First came some savory items.
Then we were served a palette cleanser along with a show.
Sweets and scones came next.
How cute are these tennis pastries?
Public Areas & Amenities
The hotel offers several restaurants and a bar as well as a fitness center (pictured above) and some meeting facilities.
The fitness center was not large, but offered enough equipment and weights.
I was happy to see a Peloton Bike.
Towels and water were on offer.
Overall Impression:
This is a great hotel and one that I would definitely stay at again. The suite, staff, and Globalist treatment are all top notch.
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Advertiser & Editorial Disclosure: The Bulkhead Seat earns an affiliate commission for anyone approved through the links above This compensation may impact how and where links appear on this site. We work to provide the best publicly available offers to our readers. We frequently update them, but this site does not include all available offers. Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed, or approved by any of these entities.
1 comment
What a great review. I’ve read a number of other ones over the past decade or so but none with your detail.
The cash price is lower than I’d thought and could be even lower if you could also use the Amex FHR Platinum $300 credit.
The blue (they look more gray in the photo) doors are fascinating.
I’m surprised they didn’t include some (pleasant) mysteries for guests to discover in The Sherlock Suite.
Afternoon tea looks splendid.