Metropolitan London

A very nice place to stay in the Park Lane area of London. We didn't get a chance to eat at Nobu but would do so next time. The service in the bar was good, the breakfast excellent and the rooms quite small but all facilities were there. I especially like the walk-in shower.

We spent the first 3 days of our honeymoon at the Met. We opted for the great City Lights Package.

Stepping off a plane after a 13 hour flight from Singapore, nothing beats being picked up in a Merc SRead more Class (part of the package).

The reception was efficient and there was ample staff around to help with our luggage and show us to our room. The room itself (a King City) was large and spacious. The bed was very comfortable tho my wife found it a tad too soft. The washroom was probably slightly small relatively speaking but still good enough. Amenities were great.

The conceirge was friendly and very helpful. The Met Bar (on the night we visited) was pretty chill and had good music. Breakfast (included) was a huge meal.

Sounds great, so why not for all? I read quite a few of the other reviews here before coming so I was quite apprehensive about whether it would be worth the loads of money I was paying.

It has a veneer of poise that some may find to be stuffy or snobbish but in reality, practically without exception, all the staff were very helpful and polite once you started speaking to them. So if you are used to the atmosphere at a branded goods store where things are not effusively warm (and you would probably not want them to be), you would be right at home here.

On the other hand, if you find such places intimidating and stuffy, then you would probably not like the Met which is perfectly understandable.

So those who are used to more modern, classy environments, I would recommend the Met highly!
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My feelings on my stay at The Metropolitan are mixed. On the plus side: location, amenities, excellent room servicing/turn down service. Being a hotel resident also gets you and your guests access to theRead more Met Bar (otherwise you need to be a member) and the excellent Japanese restaurant Nobu is also in the building. On the downside: it is VERY expensive to stay here, and the staff is not consistently trained in the kind of customer service you would expect at hotel of this price point. Details below..

LOCATION: The hotel is right beside the south-east tip of Hyde Park (and as such is just a few minutes walking distance from the tube station Hyde Park Corner). The area is very safe and provides for a great deal of major sights, shopping and restaurants within walking distnace.

LOBBY AND ROOM: I had a King size room with a partial park view. The room was very spacious, comfortable and had an elegant modern design sensibility. The bathroom was small by American standards, but was luxuriously appointed with an amazing shower and towel heaters. The sink was a bit weird though in that the stainless steel bowl + the faucet's very sharp spray = a lot of "up-spray". Lights, temp, fan and "do not disturb" status is controlled via a push button control panel near the door (very cool). The beds are amazingly comforable, with one sumputous down (or down-like, it was proberly non-allergic) comforter provided instead of the usual fussy sheet sets (a suede over-comforter is removed with turn down service).

OTHER GOOD STUFF: Turn down service was exceptional. My first night, I got a note from the front desk manager thanking me for my stay with a little complimentary fruit plate. Every night, a bottle of water + glass were at the bedside, with my slippers and a little mat placed on the side of the bed I slept on, and the bathroom was cleaned and supplies refreshed. In the morning, they will have the paper of your choice (as avail) delivered to your door.

BAD STUFF: There are a lot of hotels in London, none of them cheap, but few as expensive as The Metropolitan. I only ended up staying here because there was no availability in similarly appointed hotels in the area. Sometimes the service you get it is fantastic (see above), and other times you're scratching your head in disgruntled wonderment. When you check-in, one of the front desk folks takes you to your room and explains the room's amenities. This is very nice, but simple questions diverting them from their script sometimes confuse them (e.g., my gal mentioned that converters were avail for their plugs--when asked where they were, she mumbled something about not being sure--they're with the non-refrigerated minibar stuff by the way for a nominal charge). While residents are supposed to be able to order drinks in the lobby 24 hours, getting service can be problematic. At around 10 pm, my guest and I waited for over 15 minutes with no response (even though the front desk could clearly see we sat down) before having to get up and ask for service...and then another more curt request after 5 minutes resulted in them sending a restaurant waiter instead of a Met Bar waitress at first--and just stiff indifference instead of any apology for the wait. The Met Bar itself is cool with great mixed drinks, but at a steep price....10.50 pound each (but if you go, try the fresh fruit puree martinis: in particular, passion fruit martini).

Without the service gaffes, I would have rated this hotel in the 4.5 star range.
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Was a bit worried about staying here when we saw some of the reviews. Got a last minute cheap deal so went for it and it was a lot better than many reviewers led me to believe. Obviously the normal priceRead more is expensive but anywhere in that area of London is. Were worried we might get the worst room but it was gorgeous,on the 9th floor and with a fantastic view over Hyde park.
We found the staff very friendly and helpful. We tried to get into Nobu but it was full but the concierge booked us into a beautiful Italian a short walk away.
We came back to the Met Bar but did find this disappointing, a little pretentious - they don't serve any brand name drinks as they seem to be trying to look exclusive but really the music was old and cheesey with a few very 'unhip' people dancing around and I really couldn't believe that any 'stars' would want to rush there!! The cocktails were very good and very expensive - we had 2 drinks each and when they added service charge it came to neary 50 quid!!
Overall we had a great experience but if we had paid the full price we may have felt a little ripped off .

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Excellent comfort, amenities, and service. Similar to the W brand in presentation and execution. Location between Mayfair and Hyde Park is very convenient. I stayed here for just short of a week.

My roomRead more was an ok size, which anywhere else would be not great, but in London was quite satisfactory. The bed and bedding were excellent quality. Bed was firm and duvet was quite plush. The room faced away from the street and was extremely quiet. I slept very well.

Internet access and business facilities were very good. A couple of times I had special requests with respect to getting printouts, faxes, packages, etc. All requests were handled very efficiently with little fuss.

The bathroom was shower only, but well appointed and stylish, which I like. Towels and toiletries were excellent. Morning breakfast was very good, though expensive (the norm in London).

There was a nice bar and restaurant, but I didn't try them out. A colleague staying in the same hotel said that the bar was quite the happening place.

The air conditioner leaked initially. However, the service people fixed it quickly such that the problem did not recur during my stay.

I might say that the hotel takes itself a little too seriously. On the scale of practical and fashionable, it is located at the extreme urban hip end of the spectrum to the point of being a bit pretentious. That said, it's an outstanding hotel. And hey, a lot of people love urban hip, or else the W wouldn't do as well as it does.

I would definitely recommend this hotel to people that like the W-type experience and feel.

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