Hotel Review: London Marriott County Hall
- Rob & Mike
- Aug 26, 2019
- 4 min read
Updated: Feb 17, 2021
The London Marriott County Hall is located on the River Thames beside the London Eye and opposite The Palace of Westminster. The hotel is housed in County Hall the former home of the City of London which it shares with the London Aquarium, the London Eye and the London Dungeons tourist attractions. This is one of the few hotels in London with balcony rooms and the only hotel with views of The Palace of Westminster and Big Ben. We decided to stay here before our UK cruise on Oceania Cruises Marina, you can read more about that trip here. This hotel was booked direct with the Marriott which meant we would earn points on our stay through their Marriott Bonvoy program which can be transferred to Virgin Australia's Velocity program.
The Room
We were excited to see our room as we had booked one of the Balcony Suites which have views of the River Thames, London Eye, The Palace of Westminster and Big Ben. Our view from level 6 is probably the best you will get in this part of London, the room was a reasonable size with a king bed, lounge suite and spacious marble bathroom, a really cool feature is the wallpaper in the bathroom which is actually a map of London. One downside is that there is only one window so there is not a lot of natural light in the room however as we booked this room for the balcony we spent most of our time sitting outside anyway. There is also a fully stocked mini bar, Nespresso coffee machine and a flat screen tv in the room and you also get access to the M Club lounge for breakfast, evening canapés and drinks.
Customer Service
We found the customer service excellent, it's worth mentioning on arrival after receiving a glass of champagne the hotel manager told us we had been upgraded to the Westminster Suite however when we found out that it did not have a balcony we had to turn down the upgrade as the balcony was the only reason we booked this hotel, we did however appreciated the offer. The service from the staff throughout the hotel were all excellent.
Restaurants & Bars
There are two restaurants in the hotel, Gillrays Steakhouse & Bar and The Library as well as the M Club Lounge for guests in M Club rooms and suites. We ate at the steakhouse where we found the staff excellent but the food disappointing and the wine list overpriced, based on the clientele it seems to cater primarily to tourists so we would recommend eating at one of the many other nearby establishments a little further away from the tourist attractions. The bar at Gillrays is a gin bar so if like us you don't drink gin then your better option would be Noes Champagne Lobby Bar instead. We didn't get a chance to try the Library but from a quick look inside we can see why it is in such demand for afternoon high tea as the room is beautiful, definitely give the high tea a go if your in the area but make sure to book in advance. The M Club lounge was spacious and we visited for breakfast and evening canapés, the food and drink offering were good however there is only one window so theres not much of a view from the lounge. We did order room service breakfast on our last day so we could sit on our balcony and enjoy the view, the food and drinks were excellent.
Hotel Facilities
The hotel has a fitness centre and large indoor heated swimming pool both located on level 5, they are available for guest use as well as members of the public who have a membership to The Club at County Hall. There is also complimentary WiFi throughout the hotel and for those travelling on business there are meeting rooms available for use.
Summary
The London Marriott County Hall is a great option for those looking to explore the nearby area's of Westminster and local tourist attractions, it is one of the few hotels in London with balcony rooms and the only hotel with a view of The Palace of Westminster and Big Ben. If you like staying in a beautiful old buildings then this is a good option for you. The only downside we could find was due to the hotels location sharing some of Londons biggest tourist attractions there were always crowds of people to get through, this can be frustrating when your trying to get to and from the hotel several times a day however this is to be expected in this part of London. We would definitely choose the Marriott County Hall if we were staying in this part of London again.
Want More Information?
For more information about the London Marriott County Hall you can visit their website
About The Author
Rob has been passionate about cruise ship holidays and exploring the world since the first cruise he went on when he was only seven years old. Since then Rob who is a Photographer and his partner Mike of 18 years have travelled the world on over 25 cruises with over 10 different cruise lines visiting every continent across the globe as well as many remote tropical islands along the way. In addition to cruise holidays they enjoy relaxing at beach side holiday resorts and first/business class air travel as well as transcontinental rail journeys. Between them both Robert and Michael have worked out the best way to maximise frequent flyer reward points allowing them to travel first/business class at economy class prices or in some cases travelling first/business class for free.
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