Research & Booking
Before heading out of the UK we were due to spend a couple of nights in London catching up with some friends and enjoying the city we lived in a few years back. I was looking for a central, but not too obvious location that would be close to either Victoria or Blackfriars stations after a train journey up from the South Coast, and with the ‘stay one get one free’ rate available from UK ICH properties, the London City CP fit the bill quite well – near to Blackfriars, with a discounted rate and with some good reviews around the web to judge it on.
Thanks to the 50% discount on the booking, I upped our room to a Queen with Club access. After some great and back and forth customer service by email with the CP London City reservations team I managed to score a further upgrade to a ‘King Studio’. I think Priority Club Gold status probably helped with this, but it was more their willingness to work with my queries and ensure I was satisfied that gave us the larger room, and it was much appreciated. Kudos to their reservations team.
The Stay
Hotel exterior
Comfy bed
I have written up a full review of the stay over at AusBT, and will link to that when it’s live. I’ll reprint a couple of thoughts here though –
The room was a truly relaxing environment to hang out in; the comfy sofa/rollaway bed and coffee table combo added an extra living space to the room which was much appreciated during a multi-night stay. There was no extraneous noise from inside or outside the hotel filtering in and the whole environment was conducive to a calm stay – comfy bed, large blackout curtains, and relaxing room as a whole was all very welcome.
We were in room 623
Decent size rollaway bed
For the most part the CP London City hit the mark – great service and the room upgrade made the stay for me. The Club lounge was a great little private environment for breakfast and a couple of drinks and canapés in the evening as well as quiet environment for out-of-room work and internet access. The only downsides? The rack rate is pretty steep, so keep an eye out for 2-for-1 discounts and the like; and something outside of Crowne Plaza’s control, the Blackfriars tube station is closed until 2012 for major works, meaning a walk to St. Pauls or Temple instead.
Smoked Salmon on Scrambled Eggs
Breakfast spread in the club lounge
Living area – couch (used as the rollaway) and coffee table
Other than some food poisoning issues (not due to the Crowne Plaza food) we had a good stay. It was a quiet place, with nice service, and in a good location. Thoroughly recommended.
London City Crowne Plaza Location
Community