My Review of Park Tower Knightsbridge, a Luxury Collection Hotel
We’ve finally been able to travel freely (-ish) again in England since last week. Whilst I’ve been fairly busy moving to my new flat, I’m adamant that the year end is coming and I must stay a few extra nights to hit Marriott Titanium!
My first stop is the Park Tower hotel at Knightsbridge, obviously due to it being on the Amex-£400-offer list, and thanks to my friend who gifted the offer to me. As with the Westbury Hotel at Mayfair, it also belongs to the Luxury Collection brand of Marriott.
The hotel is only one-minute walk from the Knightsbridge tube station, surrounded by Harrods, Harvey Nichols as well as other luxurious accommodations 🙂 The shape of the hotel however, hmm let’s say I don’t see the beauty in it at all!
Just re-opened its door one week ago, the hotel is a bit understaffed at the moment and some of them have to act multiple roles. The reception was empty and the guest relations manager ended up helping me with the check-in. She was very nice.
I was upgraded to a Panoramic Room on the 15th floor (17 in total). As you can see from the floor plan, every room on this floor is more or less panoramic I guess 🙂
I don’t think there’s much difference between the room and a standard one, apart from its aspect and being on a higher floor. There isn’t any nice touch I could sense, which is a shame as I thought PTK was a better hotel than the Westbury Mayfair.
The view is very nice admittedly.
I received a chocolate three-pack as a welcome gift.
I had problems with the wi-fi: it just never connects on my laptop although everything works fine on my mobile. I ended up using the wi-fi from Mandarin Oriental instead – they are just opposite the street and I’m glad they have very strong wi-fi signal 🙂
Breakfast is served in a banquet room on the first floor temporarily. Today is the first day the service returns since the first lockdown, so I’m the very first guest of their breakfast buffet since March 🙂 To be honest I’d prefer in-room dining if it was free.
As a Platinum member the breakfast the complimentary. Unfortunately the porridge and coffee are not tasty, however I really like the pancakes.
The fitness centre is open but by appointment only. There isn’t a swimming pool as far as I know.
Overall I’m not very impressed by the stay. The room is okay but nothing really stands out, which is something I’m looking for when paying £250 for a night. Hopefully I’ll get to try the other Marriott’s in the area and report back 🙂
IHG 3-for-2 UK & Europe Sale
IHG has launched a new Night On Us sale in UK & Europe – well, “launch” isn’t the correct word, as similar deals have been coming round in the last six months or so.
- Book by 31 December
- Stay by 31 March, 2021
- A minimum stay of three nights is required
- Enjoy 34% off the Best Flexible Rate
- Non-refundable first-night deposit is required
- Changeable up to 48 hours before arrival
And here are some rates I found in London (per night):
- InterContinental London Park Lane £175
- InterContinental London The O2 £93
- Crowne Plaza Kings Cross £56
- Crowne Plaza London Kensington £76
- Hotel Indigo Paddington £69
- Holiday Inn Regents Park £60
- Holiday Inn Express Hammersmith £29
Some of the rates are quite good. However, beware that there’s a non-refundable deposit for the booking, so make sure your trip is going ahead before reserving anything.
Instant Platinum status for Red by Dufry
(This promotion has expired but there’s an alternative)
Red by Dufry is a membership programme for duty-free shoppers. They are running a promotion at the moment which elevates you to the top-tier immediately.
To participate, simply download their app and create an account if you don’t have one (you can also sign up online here). Once you’re logged in, click My Profile and you’ll see a place to enter promo code – use REDPLATSMART0821.
You may need to log out and then back in to see your status updated. I’m not sure how long the Platinum status is valid for.
One of the best Platinum benefits was $10 for a Dragonpass single entry, which unfortunately has been discontinued and all members have to pay a flat $27 now.
However, you can still enjoy 10% off at Dufry shops – this includes World Duty Free shops at Heathrow and many other airports globally.
Double Accor points for Europe stays
Accor has launched a good rewards offer for hotel stays if you intend to travel in the next month.
You can sign up to the offer here.
- Book by 8 January
- Stay by 10 January
- Your stay(s) will earn double reward points
Note that you must register before making the booking, and the stay must be in one of the following countries: Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belgium, Bosnia And Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Hungary, Israel, Italy, Ireland, Poland, Republic Of Macedonia, Romania, Russian Federation, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine and the United Kingdom.
Accor is terrible in writing terms & conditions, and in following them. In the t&c it sounds like the offer may only be valid only once, however I won’t be surprised if it’s valid every time instead.
Back in stock – Heavily discounted Melia points vouchers
We wrote about the dirt-cheap Melia points vouchers on Amazon a couple of weeks ago, which sold out very quickly. They are back online finally, at the same very reasonable price.
The link on Amazon UK is here. You can buy 55,000 points for £161 (0.29p per point) and delivery will take place in approximately two weeks.
The link on Amazon DE is here. You can buy 55,000 points for €179 (0.29p per points) and it’s currently in stock so shipping will be faster. However there’s a four euro charge to post to a UK address.
There points behave like normal Melia points (12-month rolling expiry, convertible to miles / Avios). I’ve written a lot about the valuation of Melia points so won’t elaborate here, but I genuinely think it’s a great deal.
[Black Friday] Amazon £10 off coupon & other deals
[£10 off first App purchase]
Selected members only. By 16th December you could get £10 off your first purchase of £30 or more in the Amazon app, with code APP10UK.
[Emma Mattresses]
As I’m moving into my new home, the first thing I bought was a mattress. A friend strongly recommended Emma, which happens to be at their lowest price ever on Amazon (link here). I tried it out already and it felt pretty comfortable.
RRP: £579 / Now: £395.85 (32% off)
[Joseph Joseph]
Joseph Joseph is renowned for their design of kitchen utensils, and their official website is also running a sale at the moment. The bamboo chopping board set I bought however (link here), costs a lot less on Amazon than on their website (£56).
RRP: £70 / Now: £45.99 (34% off)
[Bowers & Wilkins]
If you need a wireless noise cancellation headset, B&W’s PX7 can be a very good deal at the moment (link here).
RRP: £349.99 / Now: £218 (38% off)
[Philips Air Fryer]
Frees your hand from cooking (link here)!
RRP: £200 / Now: £154.95 (23% off)
[Amazon Devices]
Although prices are adjusted all the time and some (or many) of the so-called Black Friday deals may not be genuine, Amazon’s own devices are usually real cheap under such promotions.
Echo Dot 4th generation plus 6-month Music Unlimited trial
RRP: £109.92 / Now: £28.99 (73% off)
Kindle White plus 3-month Kindle Unlimited trial
RRP: £69.99 / Now: £49.99 (28% off)
[Black Friday] Marriott 40%-off Sale in Europe, Middle East and Africa
Marriott has started its Black Friday sale, which is valid for stays in Europe, Middle East and Africa.
You can access the offer here.
- Book by November 30
- Stay by January 10, 2021
- 40% off best flexible rate at participating hotels
- Certain brands, including Ritz Carlton, St Regis, Luxury Collection and Design hotels are excluded
- Some hotels may only have availability for weekend stays
You could search on Marriott’s homepage as usual with code QRI to filter the results.
I was shocked when I saw the stay-by date – what the hell is in their mind to think that people would rush to travel in the next six weeks, with the pandemic still going so strong?
Here are some example rates in London:
- W London – £213
- London Marriott Hotel County Hall – £189
- JW Marriott Grosvenor House London – £219
- Residence Inn London Bridge – £83
- London Marriott Hotel Kensington – £113
To be honest they don’t look 40% off to me – the hotels might have adjusted their best flexible rates in time for the promotion.
[Black Friday] Save 50% on hotels & flights with lastminute.com
It’s flying under the radar, but lastminute.com is running a very good sale at the moment.
It’s featured under its Pink Friday themed promotion. Until 30th November, you can enjoy 50% off their hotel, flight or flight+hotel gift vouchers. Simply enter promo code PINKFRIDAY50 when you check out. You can buy as many voucher as you like, but keep in mind that they are valid for 12 months, and you can only redeem one voucher per booking.
After you’ve made the purchase, you’ll be redirected to the voucher management page. Press Activate for myself and the voucher code will be sent to your email address.
Because of the rules, the ideal situation is when the booking costs exactly £50 so you have a genuine half-price saving. It’s quite straightforward to redeem, just be sure to compare the prices with other platforms before you book:
(I have no clue why the discount is 4p excessive either!)
For flights, note that you can only redeem on return trips.
If you know that you’ll have some (un-expensive) trips in the next twelve months, it may make sense to stock up some of the lastminute vouchers now.