It’s been a long wait, but I’ve finally managed a stay at the Langley, which is generally deemed as the best Marriott hotel in this country!

Opened in the summer of 2019, The Langley is a fairly new addition to the Luxury Collection family. It was previously the private residence of Duke of Marlborough the Third, and now has the same owner of the The Wellesley, which is also a Luxury Collection hotel in London. For many it may be a once-in-a-lifetime experience – how many royal hunting houses are there an ordinary person like me could stay at?

I booked the stay before the hotel moved up to Category 7 in March. It cost 40,000 points as it was an off-peak redemption, and I just used my free night certificate from staying 75 nights last year.

A friend of mine wrote a blog post for me (here, but in Chinese) in 2019, which is a very good one and contains many amazing photos. My post today won’t be as detailed, more of a sketch of my personal experience.

Located between London and Slough, the hotel is only about 20 minutes’ drive from Heathrow Airport. Upon entering the Langley park you’ll notice a signage of the hotel, although the majority of the park is actually public.

The Main House itself is well, stunning!

As Titanium elite, I’m upgraded to a Junior Suite in the Main House. It needs to be stressed that every room and suite in the hotel is unique, so one junior suite can be very different to the other. My Junior Suite is right next to the Duke of Marlborough suite, and unfortunately an average kind.

Don’t get me wrong, as the room itself is totally OK, and I’m especially impressed by its high ceiling. Being a rather new hotel it’s also equipped with modern technology, for which you can adjust the room’s lighting mode by pressing buttons. A bit too modern sometimes though, as I can’t for my life figure out how the TV system works!

Bathroom products are from Hermes. There’s no bathtub.

What my friend had last time was the Bateson Harvey Suite, which by the look of it is even more superior to standard one-bedroom suites. It is under renovation at the moment though so not open to guests.

Separate from the Main House, a second part of the hotel is the Brew House. it’s slightly younger than the Main House and was used for brewery obviously, and there’s still some historic remains in it.

Most of the Classic Rooms are located in the Brew House, although it’s also got a few Junior Suites. Most people prefer the Main House since it’s where all the facilities are, although the Brew House can be significant quieter if you are a light sleeper.

There are an outdoor swimming pool, a tennis court and a lake behind the houses.

Don’t forget to book the spa! It’s got a large swimming pool:

Jacuzzi with steaming and sauna rooms on either side:

And some stone beds:

The spa facilities are definitely newer than the Kimpton in Glasgow, however I actually prefer the latter.

The hotel is about 40-minutes’ walk from the Langley town centre, therefore most hotel guests choose to dine in. I paid a visit to the Churchill bar, and ordered lobster croquettes, a pizza and a glass of beer.

The total comes to £38 including service charge, which isn’t too bad given it’s a luxurious hotel.

For breakfast you can order from either the Continental Set or Full Set. The free option offered to Platinum members and above is Continental only.

The price difference on the menu is £5, which is what I suppose you pay for the upgrade.

The hotel is definitely great, and I’m convinced it’s one of the best Marriott hotels in the UK. However there’s still quite a few flaws I’ve noticed during the stay, e.g. soundproofing issues, non-blackout curtain and the ungenerous breakfast offering. That said, if you’ve got some Marriott points to spend and fancy a weekend getaway near London, the Langley could be an excellent option.

After spending two nights at the Kimpton, I ran out of money and had to move to the Marriott hotel instead. The front desk staff couldn’t stop rolling his eyes when I told him so, and I can’t blame him after finding out how distasteful the Marriott actually is!

The hotel itself isn’t too far from the city centre, which is about 15 minutes’ walk. However the neighbourhood is dire, as the only view you can expect is the equally ugly Hilton hotel next door and a few high roads. There’s no shop or restaurant within easy reach.

The hotel is very tired and I didn’t bother to take many photos. Here’s how my Executive Room looks like:

Its only difference to a standard room, as suggested by some frequent guests on Flyertalk, is this fancy cactus plant:

Even by (the low) UK standard the hotel is way past its glory and in terrible need of refurbishment. It’s said that its management team has started promising a refurb ten years ago, but obviously nothing has happened at all since then.

Breakfast service is resumed in the Cast Iron restaurant starting on my second day.

Scottish breakfast buffet is served by the staff. I like haggis but hate black pudding.

The club lounge is closed and I got a few drink vouchers as a compensation.

This was the first weekend after lockdown was eased in Scotland. Whereas the Kimpton was selling for almost £300 and later sold out, the Marriott cost me only about £80 a night and the hotel is pretty empty throughout my stay. Can’t say I’m surprised and I’m sure that I’m not going to return, however it’s unfortunate that not many hotels from Marriott are present at Glasgow.