Potential at Park Plaza County Hall

I was slightly worried about my stay at the new Park Plaza County Hall - given the previous reviews on here. Overall following my 1 night on a Saturday night I must admit I was very pleased with my choice of hotel. I had booked at a bargain rate of just over £80 per night including breakfast.

On arrival well before check-in time a very friendly receptionist welcomed us to the hotel and confirmed we would be able to get a room straight away. She upgraded the room from superior to studio which has a separate living area. Everything in the room was in perfect working order. The mini fridge area for storing your own drinks/snacks was a nice feature. From the room on the ninth floor you had a side view of Westminster and Big Ben. Some may be put off by the building site right next to hotel - this is the constuction of another Park Plaza Hotel (Westminster Bridge) but I did not find any noise disruption at all. All staff encountered in the hotel were very friendly and helpful. Despite the breakfast room being very busy on the Sunday morning - the staff did a very good job of keeping queues down and getting everyone served. No one seemed to check if you were entitled to full English breakfast or not just help yourself. To be honest there wasn't a great choice of cold stuff.

I would definately recommend this hotel - the location on the South Bank is superb. So close to so many wonderful sites. I've stayed in 5star hotels in London and got a worse room & lower standard of service than I found at the Park Plaza County Hall.

On the negative side - just a couple of teething problems remain. A few leaks from the roof in public area outside restaurant - staff didn't seem to be too concerned about it. Worse thing I found at the hotel was the congestion at the lifts - it took ages to get a lift up and sometimes a 10 min wait to get a lift down. The lifts had a mind of their own and sometimes didn't stop.

With time I think this hotel could offer a great stay - only problem is the rates will go up too!

Poor value

A 1 night stay, £170 inc VAT, room only - a chunk of money

Positives:

General spacious and nicely laid out, has feel-good factor

Riverviews from the Penthouse are stunning

Quiet (esp. considering its location)

Negatives

No bed-side lamps - a £30 B&B can manage that

Breakfast is £17!

Not properly cleaned since it was recently opened especially windows

Room rate is VERY expensive considering the overall experience, much better available at the adjacent Premier Travel Inn (where I shall stay next time)

I had a free upgrade to the Penthouse floor, however colleagues paying the same rate for a standard room were un-impressed.

Great Anniversary Stay

My hubby and I stayed at the PP County Hall for two nights to celebrate our first wedding anniversary in February. Our first night in the hotel was actually the first night the hotel was open to the public, so we were a bit nervous about experiencing teething problems. Although we did notice a few minor things, however, our stay was a great one and we'd definitely return.

We'd told the hotel in advance that it was a special trip, and we were greeted by the duty manager on our arrival with a voucher each for a welcome drink in the bar. The manager said he hoped we enjoyed our stay, particularly as it was a special occassion and as we would be the first people to spend a night in the room!

We were also put in a great corner room with fab views of the London Eye and Houses of Parliament. Although (like so many other London hotel rooms) the room wasn't huge, it was stylish and light (thanks to the huge windows), the bed was large and comfy and the bathroom was fine for our needs. We had a few problems switching channels on the TV, but hadn't gone to London to stay in and watch TV so it didn't cause too many problems.

The buffet breakfast was plentiful with a good selection. Our only complaint was that we weren't given toast on either morning of our stay and on the second day had to ask a waitress for tea and coffee.

All of the staff we encountered were friendly, helpful and welcoming, and we'd have no hesitation in returning.

Teething problems....

Stayed here for 2 nights

Got upgraded to a room with a view - the '01' on the higher floors have superb views of the river.

The rooms are very cute but tiny for 2 people..bathroom great but again tiny and getting in and out of the shower can be difficult!

First morning the breakfast buffet wasnt ready - 640am - no bread and the hot food was missing

Room not cleaned when I returned at 5pm - this was rectified and the housekeeping staff sweet - even if they didnt hoover the room...

Room service telephoned at 115am to check an order (from another room as we hadnt ordered.....)

The room has a very basic heat controller - no way of accurately regulating the temperature and the system cannot be turned off - surprising as the finish to room and public areas is superb..

Front desk staff were charming!

So Disappointing!

I booked the Park Plaza County Hall for myself and four other girls for a Girlie weekend. We were really excited because it was a new hotel and that the location would be ideal for getting around the main attractions.

The hotel itself is lovely - modern in design and very tastefully done. We booked an Executive studio (with double bed and a sofa bed) and a twin room. The rooms were nicely kitted out although not very large. We had access to the Executive Lounge and that was excellent and well worth the extra money on the room rate - free drinks and canapes from 6pm to 8pm!!

We had two main reasons for complaint. Firstly, I slept on a sofa bed - or should I say I tossed and turned all night as there was no way of getting comfortable - I would have been better off sleeping on the carpet as that had more give in it! It was like lying on a solid block ! My advice would be NOT to use the sofa beds - not even for children.

Secondly the breakfast experience was a shambles!! The hotel could not accomodate us in the main breakfast/restaurant area as they were too busy, so we were taken to another floor where they had laid out tables in what I think were the conference rooms! The food was cold and inedible, they ran out of orange juice, fruit and scrambled eggs which I feel would be the basics for a Sunday morning breakfast in a "4*" hotel! We had to ask for toast 3 times before being served some which was only cooked on one side and was completely cold! They could not even get the cup of tea right! The other problem was that the staff spoke very little English if any at all - at one stage I asked for an orange juice and was brought a napkin!!

I have stayed in Park Plazas in this country and abroad and have always been very impressed with the standard and service. I understand that this is a new hotel but the Park Plaza is an established group who should know what they are doing! I did speak to the operations manager who at first was not too interested in our complaints but after some negotiation he deducted 50% off our bill!

I think they have 'teething' problems

I stayed here on 4 February, soon after the hotel opened and was prepared for a few teething problems, I just wasn't prepared for the amount!

On check in I was told I had been upgraded so was disappointed to find the room very small, I realised the upgrade was for the view - a great view of the London Eye. The bathroom was extremely small which is fine but the bath was so deep with a narrow gap to get in and out to shower, which made it more like an obstacle course. The room had clearly not been checked properly as the wooden panels were all loose with exposed wires and pipes clearly accessible. There were no sachets for tea and coffee (although there was a kettle). I was supposed to have a microwave in the room, there was a shelf and a plug point but no microvave. I was told there should have been.

The only mirror in the room was inside the wardrobe, to open this I had to moreorless stand on the bedside table. To dry my hair (no hairdryer in the room but I had my own) I had to almost sit on the bedside table to use the plugs and the mirror.

The very worst part was the heating or rather lack of it. There was a very old fashioned silver knob which you turned left for cold and right for warmth. Both ways produced a stream of cold air and no way to switch it off. As the room itself was so small it created a wind tunnel effect. I complained several times and I suggested that I may have to cancel my reservation for the following week if they could not resolve this problem to which I was told 'you have to do what you have to do'! As I had found access to the electrics behind a wooden panel I decided my only option was to switch off the air con at the electrical box, which I did. Bliss, the cold air stopped, it was not warm in the room but at least there wasn't freezing cold air pouring in. I was actually told there was a maintenance engineer on his way up, but he never arrived!

There were a number of other issues but too many to go into. On check out I was innocently asked if everything was OK and I said it wasn't but didn't want to go into it as I would write a letter. I just needed to check out which should have been simple but no-one could find out how to print an invoice with a VAT number on. Eventually they found out the number from the Accounts office and wrote it on.

I will go back, in the hope that these were 'early days' problems but I will leave it a few weeks.

Excellent Hotel

Have just spent 2 nights at the Park Plaza County Hall, and it was excellent. Its newly opened so everything looked great, the room, was large (we got an upgrade), with Kitchenette, seperate living room and it had a great view (Although rooms at the front of the hotel would look over a building site, of another Park Plaza).

Breakfast included was also very good, supposedly continental, but I took a huge full English from the buffett and no one said a word :) All the staff were very friendly and helpful and location is great.

Lovely hotel, shame about the waterworks!!!

Three of us stayed here on a business trip for 1 night and we were all very impressed with the hotel. Having recently undergone a refurbishment and only 5 days into it, we were expecting great things and we were not disappointment. The rooms are spacious and stylish, with Internet in the room, minibar, iron, hairdryer and even a microwave!!

The only disappointments were no towels or toilet paper for one individual, but easily rectified by calling reception. Although you would expect this in room that is only 5 days into its refurbishment.

We were also very disappointed with the service that we received when one individual's hot water in the bathroom was not working. They were told that maintenance would rectify the situation, but after waiting 30 minutes, nobody arrived, so a cold shower it was! We explained at reception on check-out and were told 'sorry about that, we'll get it sorted' which doesn't help the individual who had to have a cold shower. No discount was offered, so we had to push to get the drink we'd had in the bar for free. Not a great experience. We weren't looking for a free nights stay, but would have expected the girl on reception to show some concern, as when you stay in a hotel on business, you like to have a warm shower before work!!! I'm not sure whether we will be recommending this hotel for future use and baring in mind our company is a multi-national company, there could have been a lot of business coming there way.....oh well!!!

Booking confirmed - hotel not open!

We made a confirmed booking in September using the Park Plaza website for 6 nights over New Year. We turned up in the early evening only to find an unfinished hotel and a security guard who informed us that the hotel is now scheduled to open in February.

At no time did Park Plaza Hotels contact us to inform us of this delay in the opening. I will NEVER consider staying in one of their hotels again. Fortunately we have friends in London who were able to accommodate unplanned guests. The chances of finding another hotel in central London for New Year would have been about zero.