Stay Report: London Marriott Hotel Maida Vale (London - July 2019)

Stay Report: London Marriott Hotel Maida Vale

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I was going to London for the summer and we were 3 people traveling together so we wanted to all stay in one room, and apparently this is a difficult thing to find in Europe.  There were not many hotels that fit this criteria so this narrowed my search quite a bit, but in that I found the London Marriott Maida Vale and this hotel fit all my criteria - two beds, walking distance to a tube station, not too far from Oxford Street, and within walking distance to some shops and restaurants.  It was very easy to book the hotel through the Marriott site and very easy to manage the reservation either through the app or the website.  The hotel itself does not have an entryway as the hotel is built to be integrated into the landscape of the neighborhood.  The entrance to the hotel is a door on the sidewalk, so that is the only downside as some people prefer hotels to have a grand entrance.  As you enter the lobby, the first thing that is apparent is how small and compact the lobby is.  As you enter the lobby, straight ahead is the small check-in desk while in the middle was an equally small sitting/waiting area and to the right was the entrance to the hotel's restaurant.  There were two elevators for guests to access the rooms, one next to the check-in desk and one behind the seating area.  The check-in took a while and was not very customer friendly, nor did they recognize the Marriott status but after a while we received our key and went to the room. 

We had booked a room with a double bed so our room was laid out as follows.  As you opened the door, on

the left was a little ledge to hold your key and then further ahead was the entrance to the bathroom.  The bathroom itself was a decent size and contained a toilet, a full tub, a sink, and bathroom toiletries including soap, lotion, and shampoo/conditioner.  Across from the bathroom, on the right hand side, was an open closet that had hangers to hang your clothes and the closet also contained the iron and ironing board.  Further into the room there was a lot of furniture packed into an average size room, so while the room was not small the amount of furniture was definitely two much.  Along the left wall were the two beds with a nightstand in the middle; the beds were comfortable and provided a decent nights sleep but were the size of two doubles and not two queen beds.  In between the bed and the wall to the bathroom was a chair and a table, and across from the beds was a chest with drawers and a fridge on the bottom and the coffee maker, glasses, and complimentary water bottles on top.  There was an on-the-wall TV across from the beds, and between the TV and the window was a desk and chair; as I said there was a lot of furniture and while it was appreciated, it did feel a bit cramped given the average size of the room but the beds were double beds and were comfortable.

The hotel is a full hotel so there were many amenities provided for the guests.  These included wifi, parking, restaurants, access to fitness facility, and concierge.  The wifi was complimentary and it provided decent access for emails and checking the internet, but was a bit slow when loading videos.  There was a restaurant connected to the hotel as well as restaurants surrounding the hotel.  The hotel itself did not have a fitness facility so it had partnered with a local fitness gym that was housed in the same building and guests could use their facilities free of charge; this seemed like a smart way to provide access for the residents without taking up real-estate of the hotel.  The best amenity of the hotel was the location itself, as the hotel was on high street so it was within walking distance of shops, restaurants, and coffee shops.  There was also several bus stands nearby, each which provided a 15-minute bus ride to Oxford street, and there was a tube station stop about 5-7 minute walk away.

Overall, it was a mixed stay at the London Marriott Maida Vale.  While the management and customer service was poor, the rooms were nice, the beds were comfortable, there were two beds that up to 4 adults  could share, and the location of the hotel was perfect as there were many restaurants, access to transportation, and amenities within walking distance.