After leaving Paris (read Trip Report: Holiday Inn Gare de l’Est, Paris and Trip Report: Hyatt Regency Paris Étoile), we headed to London as our next stop on our big winter trip.  We spent 3 nights at the London Marriott Hotel Maida Vale, a Category 7 hotel which I booked using 105,000 Marriott Rewards points (I transferred 35,000 points from my Starwood Preferred Guest account).

Location: The hotel is located in Northwest London, a short walk from the Kilburn Park Underground and Kilburn High Road Overground stations and about a 20-30 minute trip to central London via bus or train. It’s not far from Regents Park, the London Zoo, and Paddington Station.

Checkin/Checkout: Checkin was a breeze – when I arrived at the front desk I showed them my passport and they handed me my keys. On our departure day, there was initially some confusion about when we needed to check out – while I was out doing laundry my partner called the front desk, who told him that we needed to be out of the room by noon, but when I called from my cell phone and reminded them that I have Gold Elite status, they changed our departure time to 4pm. When we did finally checkout, the process was quick and easy.

Room: We had a comfortably sized room on the fifth floor, overlooking a small frozen courtyard and the other wing of the hotel. The aesthetic was fresh and modern – a nice change from our previous hotel – and the room featured plenty of outlets, including UK, EU, and universal sockets, as well as USB ports (though ours didn’t work). The bathroom was reasonably spacious, with good water pressure and lovely mandarin-scented toiletries. We also had a refrigerator and (naturally) a tea kettle.

Internet: The wifi was fast, free, and easy to use.

Food: My Marriott Gold Elite status gave us access to the Executive Lounge on the 7th floor. Breakfast in the lounge consisted of eggs, baked beans, bacon and sausage, fruit and yogurt, cereal, and a selection of bread and pastries. They also offered a substantial evening buffet of chicken wings, brussels sprouts, potatoes, chips with salsa and guacamole, vegetables and hummus, cheese with bread and crackers, salad, and wine.

The hotel also advertised an “afternoon tea” service, which turned out to be rather disappointing – crackers and biscuits, and a bit of cake.

There’s also an Italian restaurant/bar attached to the lobby, a Starbucks next door, a Tesco grocery/convenience store about a block away from the hotel, and a Marks & Spencer a few blocks up the street – plus a good number of restaurants and cafes in the surrounding area.

Service: The front desk and concierge were polite and efficient; the lounge staff seemed a bit aloof and could have been more attentive to basics like refilling the cutlery containers. We opted to forego housekeeping service for a reward of 500 Marriott points per night. The hotel participates in chat requests through the Marriott mobile app, which was a bit hit or miss – it was easy for me to make the request to skip housekeeping, but when I requested extra toiletries and pillows they delivered the wrong items and amounts, and there was no agent available via chat when I tried to ask about our checkout time.

Verdict: London is an expensive city whether booking with cash or points, especially during the holidays, so this hotel was a good compromise of location vs. price. The hearty food options in the lounge for breakfast and dinner were a great value. I would definitely consider staying there again on a future trip to London.

Have you stayed at this hotel recently? What was your experience? If you have any questions, please leave a comment below. Cheers everyone!