Review: St. Ermin’s Hotel, London

After driving from Cambridge to LHR, dropping the car off, getting on the train to Paddington Station, and then taking a taxi, I finally arrived for one night at St Ermin’s at around 2:30 in the afternoon.

The hotel entrance is a little hidden off of the main street, but its quite elegant.  Walked through the doors and was impressed by an intimate lounge and checkin area. I was a little before checkin and my room was not ready quite yet. I could checking into a regular room or wait an hour and get into the deluxe room they upgraded me for being a Marriott Gold member. I elected to wait and they stored my bags for me. I went for a walk and found several restaurants and main tourist attractions like Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, and Westminster Abbey all within a 10 minute walk.

I got back around 4 and they already had my luggage waiting for me in my deluxe 6^th floor room. I got in the tiny elevator and went up. I am not sure what was deluxe about it, but it was a very small room as typical for London. Had a comfortable king size bed, desk with European and US power plugs, and a small wardrobe. In my room was some candy and bottled water. There was also a small minibar, hot water cup, and a coffee grinder.

The bathroom was very small as well. No place to set toiletries, but luckily I didn’t really have much. The shampoo and conditioner are large bottle on the shower wall as well.

Went downstairs as they had a welcoming reception with free wine from 5-6. Then went over to the bar for a few drinks as it was a nice relaxed setting with a local musician playing.

The next morning I was looking forward to the breakfast that I received for free for being a gold member. After waiting for 10 minutes for the three people in front of me to get seated, I finally got my table. I first saw some bacon and eggs, and some continental style items and then walked around the restaurant thinking there must be more. I am not sure what the price was but if I was paying for this I would have wanted my money back.

While the food was good and well presented, it was not a large variety. There are numerous cafes close by where you can eat breakfast for under $5.

They also had some cheap to go items in the lobby if you were in a hurry.

Overall, the location is great for seeing numerous London sites. It was also only a 5 minute walk for my business.  For the price, I was expecting a lil more though and will try to stay to one of the numerous other nearby hotels next time.