Review: Park Hyatt London River Thames – Suite
London has long awaited the development of a Park Hyatt property and now, with the London River Thames, it has one well worth the wait.
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Location
This brand new build on the South bank of the River Thames is well located near attractions like Battersea Power Station (home to a Christmas-themed park around the holidays), the London Eye, the MI5 Headquarters, and is next door to the brand new American Embassy. By car, the hotel was about a 60-minute ride from Heathrow into Central London, but for moving around the city, Vauxhall station is a five-minute walk with access to the Victoria line calling at Euston station (for domestic UK trains), and Oxford Street station for easy shopping.
Address: 7 Nine Elms Ln, Nine Elms, London SW8 5PH
Phone: +44 20 350 31234
Property
This Park Hyatt hotel stands up to the brand, tradition, design, and quality travelers have come to expect. Beautiful finishes, opulent, tall ceilings, and the Nine Elms Bar that greets guests somehow convey iconic London charm, blended with modernity. On the main floor the hotel features the Nine Elms Kitchen (serving breakfast, lunch, and dinner), and a Cantonese restaurant, Yú Gé with dim sum and its Signature Peking Duck.
Frankie kept us busy in the lobby but the staff were great, welcoming, and playful.
Of note, reservations for this property must reflect all human beings checking in due to occupancy regulations. I left Frankie off our headcount because he’s under two years old and typically this is inconsequential. This was my mistake and after our inbound flight and a bit of jet lag, it was an unwelcome surprise.
However, we had booked a Hyatt Privé rate with an included upgrade and this gave management some flexibility to place us in a favorable room category to solve the mess I had made. I booked a second room using points to meet the headcount requirements, but hotel management ensured we were placed in a Park Hyatt River View Deluxe Suite adjacent to our second room in an area that was closed off to the rest of the hallway. I cannot reiterate how helpful, gracious, and generous staff was in sorting this matter out.
Spa/Fitness Center
The hotel features a spa and fitness center, both of which were reminiscent of the Park Hyatt New York. A large reception with consultation tables offered guests to the spa a place to relax before selecting their treatment.
In the gym, a number of cardio machines were available (we went late to take photos to avoid disturbing other guests, but there was still one at the free weights we did our best to shoot around.)
Benefits
Our Hyatt Privé rate offers a little more than World of Hyatt Globalist (£80 on-site food and beverage benefit) in addition to the upgrade, early check-in, late check-out, and included breakfast for two in the hotel restaurant. As I have already covered the upgrade, I’ll add that we were able to check-in early and check-out late to suit our needs.
Breakfast
We were in residence for two nights, and thus, two breakfasts. On the first morning we were given menus without pricing included which makes sense as it is included in our rate. However, the children are not included (unlike Globalists) and so the prices were relevant so that we knew how much of our on-site credit we were using.
The second morning we were given the menu with prices included for a five-star hotel in Central London, it seemed reasonably fair to us. Over the two days we ordered omelets, pancakes, honey butter toast (not quite french toast but somewhat similar), an Acai bowl, a grilled croissant, and the Park Hyatt signature Eggs Benedict.
Seating is a combination of quiet booths along the far wall in addition to tables around the rest of the venue with an open kitchen model.
The continental breakfast included smoked salmon, charcuterie, fresh fruit, a selection of pastries, yogurt and cheeses.
The food was exceptionally prepared with one minor deficiency: the acai bowl needed to thaw some as that seemed to be prepared in advance.
Park Suite River View Deluxe
We had the Park Suite River View Deluxe in room 1008, and an accompanying twin bed room in 1007.
Living Room
Walking into the suite, a wardrobe is to the left and a guest bathroom featuring a Japanese bidet toilet to the right. A large TV was mostly ignored in favor of the gorgeous floor-to-ceiling windows and the parquet flooring. As you can see below, the mix of classic London style meets modern amenities like the chandelier.
A welcome amenity (Hyatt Privé benefit) awaited us consisting of some fresh Mandarin oranges, two iced Madeleine cookies, a bottle of wine, and a welcome letter from the hotel leisure sales manager.
A hutch with a mini-fridge was opposite a dining room table with seats for two.
Our kids made themselves at home and I remember how fortunate they are to play together in this incredible suite, and how fortunate I am to have these two joyous children to share the world with.
The suite had a guest bathroom with Japanese bidet toilet which I really appreciate because many properties, even at this level, wouldn’t bother to include the upgraded toilet. The second bathroom is helpful when guests visit to allow them a restroom without walking through our personal space.
Bedroom
The bedroom featured a king size bed, TV, and chaise lounge at the foot all put to shame by those beautiful windows. Convenient plugs were at the bedside along with lighting controls for the room.
Bathroom
The bathroom suite was as impressive as the rest of the room. A large walk-in closet was opposite a dual vanity. At the back of the bathroom was a clawfoot tub, followed by a shower, and a private, closed-door water closet for the principal residents.
In this otherwise flawless suite, we did find that the bathtub faucet leaked considerably though this is easily fixed and won’t reduce our likelihood to return. The hotel uses Molton Brown toiletries and while I understand they may revise this in the future, I found the products to be premium and enjoyable.
Park Twin River View
Regrettably, still photos of our second room, the Park Twin River View were missing other than the one below taken in the early evening.
However, my daughter saved the day as she had done her own video walk-through which captured the entire suite. Please see the video below.
Value
Our Hyatt Privé room for the lead-in category was £470/night or about $600 USD. I do not expect rates to remain at those levels and an increase is justified. We found rates that averaged about £460-550 for many off-peak nights but during the holiday period, rates increase. As the hotel begins to fill with regularity, I suspect that rates will climb. World of Hyatt point redemptions start at 30,000 per night. Live And Let’s Fly values WOH points at about 2¢/point so this was in-line with what we would hope to achieve from a redemption. If prices drop, consider spending cash, if they rise about the equivalent of $600, use your points to pay for your stay.
There’s no question we will be back. The service, staff, design, finishes, amenities, and spacious accommodations exceeded our expectations – you won’t be disappointed.