For our trip we had a two night stay in London. In the past London was a city in which I typically redeemed points whenever possible, though with the weak GBP, it’s once again worth considering paying for stays in some instances.
Last time I was in London I stayed at the Park Tower Knightsbridge, which is a Starwood Luxury Collection property. I was happy with my stay, so figured the best apples-to-apples comparison I could make this time around would be at the Sheraton Grand London Park Lane. The hotel was recently renovated, and was only a few blocks away.
The paid rate was 250GBP per night, or about $300. For London that’s a pretty darn good rate, especially when you consider that it includes VAT. As a point of comparison, this is an SPG Category 6 hotel, meaning a free night here would have cost 20,000 Starpoints. I value Starpoints at ~2.2 cents each, so paying cash was the better option.
Furthermore, I had managed to redeem a Platinum Suite Night Award to confirm an upgrade to a Park Suite several days in advance, so I was thrilled about that, since London can be a tough city for suite upgrades.
We took the tube from Heathrow Airport to the Sheraton, which is an easy journey, even for someone who is as bad at public transportation as I am. We just took the Piccadilly Line to Green Park, and from there it was a less than five minute walk to the hotel — easy peasy, and the whole journey took about 50 minutes.
The hotel is on Piccadilly, so it’s a beautiful walk anyway. The Sheraton Grand has a pretty snazzy interior — it’s classic without looking outdated.
Sheraton Grand London Park Lane exterior
While there’s an entrance to the hotel directly on Piccadilly, the hotel’s main entrance is off a side street. There we found ourselves in the fairly small lobby, where reception was located to the left.
Sheraton Grand London Park Lane lobby
Sheraton Grand London Park Lane reception
Directly inside the entrance is a pretty cool wall with some pictures, which has a hidden entrance to the staircase.
Sheraton Grand London Park Lane secret staircase
Our stay was off to a rough start — our room wasn’t ready by the stated check-in time, and then when our room was ready, it got broken into by three kids, who ended up stealing stuff. The situation with the kids could happen at any hotel, but the way the hotel handled it was phenomenal, so to me they turned a negative experience into a positive one. The front office manager, Roman, and general manager, Kieran, are absolute professionals, and a huge asset to the hotel.
I won’t rehash that whole situation again, so see the above links for those stories.
Okay, now back to one of the negatives of the hotel. There are only two elevators on opposite sides of the hotel, and they’re tiny. Since there’s one elevator per “bank,” it means that it can take forever for elevators to arrive. Since our room was on the first floor, we ended up just taking the staircase most of the time, as it was faster.
Sheraton Grand London Park Lane staircase
Once on the first floor, our room (#141) was down the hall and to the right.
Sheraton Grand London Park Lane hallway
Sheraton Grand London Park Lane room exterior
Sheraton Grand London floorplan
I’ve never been terribly impressed by the Sheraton brand, so had low expectations. But damn, the suite was gorgeous. The suite had a massive living room, with two couches, two chairs, and two stools.
Sheraton Grand London Park Suite living room
Sheraton Grand London Park Suite living room
There was even a full dining room with six chairs.
Sheraton Grand London Park Suite living room
Sheraton Grand London Park Suite dining room
Behind the couch and close to the bedroom is the desk, which has conveniently placed outlets.
Sheraton Grand London Park Suite desk area
Behind the desk is the minibar area, with a Nespresso machine.
Sheraton Grand London Park Suite Nespresso machine
Sheraton Grand London Park Suite minibar
The room had views of Green Park. Since we were on the first floor the views were somewhat limit, though I imagine the views a few floors up must be even better. Surprisingly there wasn’t much street noise either.
Sheraton Grand London Park Suite view
Then the bedroom was separated from the living room by a door, and featured a comfortable king size bed.
Sheraton Grand London Park Suite bedroom
Sheraton Grand London Park Suite bedroom
At the bottom of the bed was a couch, facing a wall mounted TV.
Sheraton Grand London Park Suite bedroom sitting area
Sheraton Grand London Park Suite bedroom
I thought the living room and bedroom were stunning. Again, this could have just as easily been a St. Regis or Ritz-Carlton as a Sheraton. Furthermore, this has to be one of the biggest standard suites I’ve ever had in a city hotel, given that it had a full living room, dining room, etc.
The bathroom was also a good size, though not quite as lux as the rest of the room, in my opinion. It featured double sinks, and then a shower area, which contained both the shower and the bathtub.
Sheraton Grand London Park Suite bathroom
Sheraton Grand London Park Suite shower & bathtub
Sheraton Grand London Park Suite bathtub
Sheraton Grand London Park Suite shower
Toiletries were provided by Molton Brown — very nice!
Sheraton Grand London Park Suite Molton Brown toiletries
Sheraton Grand London Park Suite Molton Brown toiletries
We also had a nice welcome amenity waiting in the room, consisting of sauvignon blanc, sparkling water, and nuts, likely thanks to my awesome Starwood Ambassador.
Sheraton Grand London welcome amenity
The in-room Wi-Fi was fast and complimentary.
Due to my Starwood Platinum status we had access to the Sheraton Club, located on the lobby level.
There’s a reception desk located outside the lounge, though you can enter the lounge with your key.
Sheraton Grand London club lounge reception
Physically the lounge is gorgeous. To the left is a dining area, with a bunch of tables.
Sheraton Grand London club lounge dining area
Sheraton Grand London club lounge dining area
Then there’s a small business center with a couple of PCs and a printer.
Sheraton Grand London club lounge business center
Then the far side of the lounge has more seating, including a TV area, some comfortable couches, etc.
Sheraton Grand London club lounge
Sheraton Grand London club lounge
Sheraton Grand London club lounge
Sheraton Grand London club lounge TV area
Back on the other side of the lounge was a fridge with soft drinks and water available all day.
Sheraton Grand London club lounge drink selection
There was also an espresso machine and tea selection available all day.
Sheraton Grand London club lounge espresso machine
The evening reception was nightly from 5:30PM until 7:30PM, though was subpar for a non-U.S. Sheraton property. There were cold cuts, olives, cheese, etc.
Sheraton Grand London club lounge evening spread
Then there was only one hot option, which wasn’t even labeled.
Sheraton Grand London club lounge evening snacks
So perhaps it’s best to come here for a drink, though don’t expect any filling or tasty snacks.
Sheraton Grand London club lounge evening drinks
Then there was afternoon tea daily from 2:30PM until 4:30PM, including cakes, warm scones, etc.
Sheraton Grand London club lounge evening snacks
Sheraton Grand London club lounge afternoon tea
There were also several types of cookies and snack mix in jars.
Sheraton Grand London club lounge afternoon tea
It looked good, though I was trying not to consume 2,000 calories of sweets in the afternoon, so just had a coffee instead.
Breakfast in the lounge was served daily from 6:30AM until 11AM (on weekends it’s from 7AM until 11:30AM), and was a pretty good spread. There was juice, cold cuts, pastries, toast, cereal, scrambled eggs, etc.
Sheraton Grand London club lounge breakfast
Sheraton Grand London club lounge breakfast
Sheraton Grand London club lounge breakfast
Sheraton Grand London club lounge breakfast
Sheraton Grand London club lounge breakfast
Sheraton Grand London club lounge breakfast
It wasn’t an extensive spread, but was filling, though I’m also not someone who loves a hot breakfast anyway.
So overall I thought the Sheraton Club was a beautiful space from which to work, and was great for getting coffee and water all day. However, the evening selection was disappointing, and perhaps is a case where the Sheraton brand standard is holding them back.
As I mentioned earlier, the hotel also has an entrance on Piccadilly, which was beautifully decorated for Christmas.
Sheraton Grand London Park Lane entrance
Sheraton Grand London Park Lane entrance
To get from that entrance to the rest of the hotel you have to walk through The Palm Court, which seemed to be popular for evening cocktails and afternoon tea. It’s a stunning space.
Sheraton Grand London Park Lane The Palm Court
Sheraton Grand London Park Lane The Palm Court
Sheraton Grand London Park Lane The Palm Court
Right near the Park Lane entrance was the hotel’s gym, located down a level. The gym was a good size and modern.
Sheraton Grand London Park Lane fitness center
Sheraton Grand London Park Lane fitness center
Sheraton Grand London Park Lane fitness center
Sheraton Grand London bottom line
Our suite at the Sheraton Grand London was fantastic. The suite was huge and gorgeously appointed, and at our rate is a value that’s tough to beat. I really value having a suite when I’m traveling with Ford internationally, given the odd hours at which I’m often working.
Based on the rooms alone, this hotel could be branded as a St. Regis, in my opinion.
The hotel’s management was excellent as well, and handled a negative situation in a very positive way. Furthermore, I found the service across the board to be friendly, not that we really had many special requests, or anything.
Lastly, the club lounge was a beautiful space physically, though the spread was a bit disappointing, especially in the evenings.
Overall I’d highly recommend the Sheraton Grand London as a Starwood Platinum member. It has a great location with huge suites and good service. I’d choose this any day over the Luxury Collection hotel just a few blocks away.
I’d return, though I have a lot of other hotels I still want to review in London.
Do you have a favorite SPG property in London? Anyone else like the Sheraton Grand as much as I do?
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