Verylvke

Today we are talking about Montcalm East, the only London Autograph hotel with a swimming pool. This is just the second time I’m staying at an Autograph hotel, (after University Arms), and I wasn’t even sure what benefits to expect at this brand.

The hotel was once called M by Montcalm, but joined the Marriott family under a new name in 2021. It’s in the Shoreditch neighbourhood, and only a short walk from the Old Street station.

I checked in on Friday, and reception was super busy for a hotel in east London. Unlike what I had imagined, most of the guests appear to be here for leisure rather than business.

I’m staying in a Feeling Superior room on the 11th floor. Most room types are not very different except for bed size (King or Queen). The top two floors (16th and 17th) are called Sky Floors.

The room is very modern with “high-tech” everywhere. You use the bedside panel to control everything in the room including the electrical blinds. Bathroom floor is heated.

I’m not sure about its necessity though, for example it’s very hard for me to figure out which button turns on the light when I wake up in the morning. The yin-yang slippers are fun.

There are many tall buildings in the neighbourhood so unfortunately there’s not much of a view. Stay on a higher floor if you could, as the noise level is significantly lower (the hotel faces a busy street).

Spa centre is on the -1 floor.

Swimming pool is not huge, but equipped with neck and back massage on one end.

The jacuzzi is very well heated.

Shame but the sauna is out of order.

Experience room:

The facilities are not better than the Westin, but design-wise it’s way fancier.

Breakfast is complimentary for Platinum members and above. In addition you can choose 1,000 points or $10 credit as the welcome gift.

The breakfast buffet has a decent spread, but is nothing to write home about.

The hotel used to have an executive lounge, but cancelled it after becoming an Autograph. It’s also famous for the Photo Lab experience, although I didn’t give it a try.

My stay is quite enjoyable: the room is newer than many actual new hotels in London, and the spa is very nice. The area is also good for food and night life, so it could be a great option for a weekend in London.

Interestingly there’s a lack of top-end luxury hotel presence in London, given what an important role the city is playing internationally. When it comes to Marriott, there’s no St Regis or Ritz Carlton, although the former is going to be erected soon thanks to the conversion of the Westbury hotel.

On the other hand, the first Westin hotel in the UK opened its door November last year. However I wasn’t very temped, as I have seen how hideous it looks from the outside…

The other side of the hotel, which is at the river bank, has a less disturbing appearance. The hotel is about five minutes’ walk from the Mansion House station.

The main entrance leads to the ground floor and concierge. The flowers display is probably the prettiest decoration of the hotel.

Reception is on the fourth floor, and then you’ll need to walk down the hallway to take another lift for guest rooms, and the lift has two sets of buttons which have different functions. This is one of the many confusing designs this hotel has.

There’s actually a hidden but much more convenient north entrance which accesses the fourth floor directly.

The hotel advertises many different room types on their website, i.e. Signature / Classic / Privilege / Luxury. But in fact they are all identical in terms of size and facilities, and the only difference is how high or low the room is.

I wasn’t given any upgrade and assigned a Signature room on the sixth floor. You can definitely tell the newness of the room, but nothing stands out at all.

Despite of its location, there are no river view rooms in the hotel.

The main reason I wanted to give the hotel a go is its spa, as I heard it’s very good. The spa centre is at the second floor.

Sauna and steam room:

There’s a no natural light, and the sauna is electric which doesn’t feel hot enough. I was overall underwhelmed.

Westin Club is on the fourth floor, open Sunday through Thursday.

It has no view either.

Breakfast buffet：

Happy hour is from 5pm to 7pm. Two hot dishes are available including fried chicken wings, which is sufficient for me.

A few types of bottled beer are offered, but wine-wise they only provide one kind of red wine.

As a new (five-star) hotel, the Westin unfortunately doesn’t tick many boxes at all, and I’m not sure why the two friends who’d stayed here recommended it to me.

They have also reduced themselves recently to the misconduct of charging 5% service fee. Remember that it’s an optional free (which is why they get away from not including it in the total rate), so you can always ask them to remove it from your bill.