Westbury Mayfair - London, United Kingdom     

I have stayed at the Westbury a number of times for business. I find the attraction of the hotel is its location-thats really it. Located on the corner of Bond St and Conduit St, its in the hear of Mayfair and thus convenient to both business and shopping in that area. It is also a 10 minute taxi from Paddington Station, so the Heathrow Express is reasonably convenient. Berkley Square, Regent Street, Oxford Street, Piccadilly, and St James are all within easy walking distance. The tube is also convenient, so trips out to Canary Wharf on the Jubilee Line are fast, and both cheaper and quicker than taxi. It's also close to Hyde Park for morning exercise. I find that I can accomplish quite a lot, both business and personal, just due to the convenient location. The hotel upgraded its lobby about two years ago, so the lobby as been improved. Before that it was pretty dingy. The Polo Bar is a nice meeting place, the drinks are fine, but expensive. I have experienced a number of different rooms. My favorite are the deluxe king rooms that look out over Bond Street. These rooms are sunny in the morning. These rooms also include a couch rather than chair and are a little more roomy than the standard room. The worst rooms are the standard rooms located in the center of the hotel. There is one restaurant, located just off the main lobby. The breakfast is outrageously expensive, over 20 pounds, like most hotels in central London these days. This seems to be a new profit center for hotels in London. I recommend walking around the corner to the small cafe across from the LV store for a full English breakfast with coffee for 5 pounds instead of the hotel restaurant. There are also places to get pastries and coffee nearby at Berkley Square at a fraction of the cost of the hotel. When not out for a business dinner, I always get take out from one of the restaurants in the area, rather than order room service. The hotel also aggressively markets its pay for video service, which is a pain. In order to view regular TV, a confusing choice of video options must be navigated to avoid mistakenly agreeing to the “video package” at another 20 pounds. It would be much better if the TV just worked as a TV. The hotel did upgrade to big flat panel TVs in the past year, which is a big improvement over the old plastic models that were formerly in place. The bathrooms are quite small but clean. Molten Brown amenities are provided, which is nice. There are also two terry robes, and the towels are hung on a towel warmer. The mini bar is another problem - the goods are automatically charged, which prevents keeping your own drinks in the fridge. I have in the past just removed and replaced the hotel items, then disputed the charge upon check out (successfully). The staff are always courteous and attentive. The concierge staff take care of all my requests promptly and the doormen always volunteer to hail a taxi for me, even going out into the rain to hail one down. Over the past two years the Westbury has also raised prices quite a bit. I always thought it was expensive at 200 pounds/night, but now weekdays can be over 300. Perhaps the slowdown in the financial markets (and the insolvency of many of the firms located nearby) will prompt a re-think of room rates. The Westbury is fine as a business hotel, and is great for shopping in Mayfair, Regent Street and Oxford Street. It’s expensive, but convenient. I would re-think my choice of hotels if I were on personal and not business expense.

I had heard a lot of horrible things about this hotel before my stay. I found out by myself that it was true! I will never recommend it to anyone and will never stay there again