Thanks to American Express I could have a free £400 stay at Marriott hotels. My original plan was to enjoy some sun at Ritz Carlton Abama, which unfortunately ended up being cancelled due to England’s lockdown rules. So I booked a Luxury Collection hotel – the Westbury Mayfair in London for a staycation instead.

Amongst the UK hotels on the offer’s participant list, The Westbury is probably the lowest-rated one, but also the cheapest – it can be had for £200 a night, which means you could stay two nights for free.

The hotel is fairly centrally located, and right at the centroid of four tube stations – on the other hand it means it’s not very close to any of them, and you should expect a 10 minutes’ walk to the stations.

I was given a Luxury Room on the top floor – it’s said to be one of the best in this category.

For a non-suite it’s a very spacious room. And with the small living area many hotels will probably call it a Junior Suite.

The key design is intriguing. They look like traditional keys but are digitally encoded. There’s no key hole on the door, but you insert your key into a panel on the wall to open the door.

Due to Covid most in-room facilities are removed. You could request them to be sent to the room though.

The bathroom looks very nice with those marble walls.

The best part, of course, is the balcony. It’s large enough to accommodate a group of 5 to 8 people, and it’s not a common privilege to have such a big balcony overlooking Mayfair!

Breakfast is served in the Polo Bar but you could also have it sent to the room for free. Apart from the usual Continental / Full English sets there are also cooked-to-order options such as Eggs Benedict and waffles, however I’m not sure if they are included in Platinum’s free allowance.

Food qualify is ok, and service could definitely be improved. My avocado was missing on the first morning, then orange juice and scrambled eggs on the second…

Note that 5% optional service charge will be added to your final room bill, which is the first time I see it in Europe. I find the stay very acceptable, especially considering my low expectations after seeing its mediocre TripAdvisor / Booking ratings. I’m hoping that hotels are allowed to re-open from early December, so that I could still try the other luxury Marriott hotels in London with the Amex offers…

Oxford and Cambridge are not only university towns, but also very important tourist destinations. Unfortunately there are few branded hotels in both towns, and it’s tricky to find a bargain for hotel stays on peak dates.

This has improved with the expansion of Marriott. At Oxford, the new Courtyard hotel is an excellent deal at 12,500 points, and I enjoyed my stay in a Tower View room a few months ago.

For Cambridge however, the University Arms hotel, which is a member of Autograph Collection, is an option in a totally league, yet equally a great bargain at 25,000 points a night.

Located within proximity to the town centre, University Arms is a great base to explore Cambridge. It’s a 15 to 20-minute walk to the train station.

The hotel has three gates, opening to the Regent street. It’s easy to miss though as the gates are hidden inside and only one of them bears the hotel’s name, and Google Maps led me to the wrong side of the building!

The £80m refurbishment in 2018 obviously wasn’t wasted. Every detail of the hotel has the feel of class and elegance to it, and one thing I noticed is the many paintings on every wall in every room.

I was upgraded to a Superior Room with Park View. The room is bigger than what a Superior Room normally is, and looks very new.

Although the small “living room” is a bit awkward in terms of where it is. And the desk could have been larger.

The thing I like most about the room is the balcony, overlooking the Parker’s Piece:

The bathroom has also got a beautiful touch. Note that only some rooms come with the bathtub and / or balcony, so make sure you book the correct room type or request on the app if it matters.

I’m still confused with Marriott’s Platinum welcome amenity. Officially at Autograph hotels only 1,000 points or $10 F&B credit is provided, however since there’s no club lounge at this hotel, you could also choose between breakfast and 750 points in addition.

Breakfast is served in the Parker’s Tavern restaurant.

You could choose one side, one main and drinks from the menu. Weirdly I’ve read on Flyertalk that only filtered coffee is complimentary and you must pay for cappuccino etc.

I’ve only had porridges and pastry on the two days, and wasn’t very impressed by the quality.

The hotel is definitely worth a stay if you ever visit Cambridge and I don’t doubt it being one of the best in town. Thanks to Marriott, I’ve got the opportunities to try out more and more hotels at affordable cost!