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Europe’s largest Residence Inn by Marriott opens in London’s Kensington

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If you travel to London for extended periods, you may want to take a look at the new Residence Inn by Marriott which has just opened in Kensington. 

Situated on Warwick Road nears Earls Court, the property contains 319 suites ranging from studios to 2-bedrooms.  All rates include free breakfast and all suites include a kitchen if you want to cook for yourself.

Residence Inn by Marriott London Kensington

It is not a new build, but a conversion and refurbishment of an apartment hotel complex called Think Apartments which opened in 2007.  The building is just behind the big Tesco supermarket that you pass on the way to Heathrow from Central London.

This will be the largest Residence Inn in Europe and the third largest globally.  This is the second Residence Inn in London following the London Bridge opening last year.

Marriott Rewards redemptions are 40,000 points per night.  1-Bed Suites are bookable on points but don’t get too excited – they are advertised as being a relatively small 24-27 square metres.  Cash rates start from £180.  The hotel website is here.

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How to earn Marriott Bonvoy points and status from UK credit cards

How to earn Marriott Bonvoy points and status from UK credit cards (April 2025)

There are various ways of earning Marriott Bonvoy points from UK credit cards.  Many cards also have generous sign-up bonuses.

The official Marriott Bonvoy American Express card comes with 20,000 points for signing up, 2 points for every £1 you spend and 15 elite night credits per year.

You can apply here.

Marriott Bonvoy American Express

20,000 points for signing up and 15 elite night credits each year Read our full review

You can also earn Marriott Bonvoy points by converting American Express Membership Rewards points at the rate of 2:3.

Do you know that holders of The Platinum Card from American Express receive FREE Marriott Bonvoy Gold status for as long as they hold the card?  It also comes with Hilton Honors Gold, Radisson Rewards Premium and MeliaRewards Gold status.

We reviewed American Express Platinum in detail here and you can apply here.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on American Express Platinum is increased from 50,000 Membership Rewards points to a huge 80,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (80,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.

The Platinum Card from American Express

80,000 bonus points and great travel benefits – for a large fee Read our full review

You can also earn Marriott Bonvoy points indirectly:

and for small business owners:

The conversion rate from American Express to Marriott Bonvoy points is 2:3.

Click here to read our detailed summary of all UK credit cards which can be used to earn Marriott Bonvoy points.

Category

Marriott Bonvoy

Comments (107)

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

  • Lee says:
    22 Jul22 July 08:46

    Having just lost 25000 points I’ll skip the ihg offer. Sadly their points system was down when I realised at the last minute.

    So could not save them.

  • Anna says:
    22 Jul22 July 09:15

    OT but also Hilton – does anyone else find their pricing system sneaky? Whenever I try to make a booking I change the currency to pounds, only to find that when I go to the payment page the price is shown in US dollars and tax has been added to the initial price. This happens whether I use the US site or the UK one. For example, the Hilton New York Fashion District is advertised at GBP 353 per night for HH semi-flexible, but when I go to the payment page this is shown as US 464 plus 72 tax so $536 or 408 GBP. How are they getting away with this given EU regs on showing added taxes?!

    • Genghis says:
      22 Jul22 July 09:30

      US hotel?

      • Anna says:
        22 Jul22 July 10:02

        I thought the regs applied regardless of where the hotel was? So if you’re advertising to customers in the EU you’ve got to show the full price up front. I challenged a similar issue with hotels.com last year and the ASA upheld my complaint.

        • Lee says:
          22 Jul22 July 10:25

          Maybe but the bulk of hotels outside of the EU are all subject to taxes.

          Just comes with the territory. Nothing unusual and very expected.

        • RussellH says:
          22 Jul22 July 10:53

          Thanks for that Anna. I had a long ‘discussion’ with Staybridge Suites in B’ham about them quoting prices ex VAT. The manager inssited that the rules did not apply to them as they are officially a long-term stay establishment, VAT @ 5%, even though we (and many others over a weekend) only stayed the one night (I had a “four different IHG brands” challeneg for that particular Accelerate offer. So should the issue arise again I shall contact the ASA.

        • Genghis says:
          22 Jul22 July 10:54

          I thought it was where the point of sale was.

        • Lady London says:
          22 Jul22 July 11:50

          Interesting about that 5% VAT payable if a place is technically “long stay”.

        • BJ says:
          22 Jul22 July 12:05

          @Russell, I recall discussing that with you before. Are you saying they never backed down? I had the same issue at Staybridge Newcastle, got the money back and a further upgrade for my trouble.

        • Anna says:
          22 Jul22 July 14:30

          Russell – the ASA website states that rates without VAT can only be advertised to customers who are exempt from paying it themselves or who can claim it back. Nothing to do with whether it’s a long-stay establishment!

    • CV3V says:
      22 Jul22 July 10:35

      Same happens with IHG, for hotels in the US and probably other countries. I Was just searching the IC in San Francisco and the rate on search started at 160, then at the booking page was 178, but by the time taxes were added it was about 200 (rates in £), its why i came to this article, to check on the IHG points bonus for purchase!

    • John says:
      22 Jul22 July 13:25

      The taxes aren’t shown in the initial search for the Hiltons in Hungary either, so it doesn’t seem to be EU vs non-EU. If you feel strongly about it then do complain to ASA.

      You can click on the room type and it will show you the full price. You shouldn’t rely on the Hilton site converting the currency either, work it out yourself.

      I didn’t know that there was a separate US and UK Hilton site?

  • Lee says:
    22 Jul22 July 10:24

    Maybe but the bulk of hotels outside of the EU are all subject to taxes.

    Just comes with the territory. Nothing unusual and very expected.

    • qfx says:
      22 Jul22 July 10:37

      Thats that EU meddling again, insisting on transparent rates tsk tsk :0

    • Lady London says:
      22 Jul22 July 12:01

      Also watch out for “resort charges” that will be added. It’s amazing which US hotels consider themselves to be “resorts” now. These keep headline rates for the hotels down, and can be quite significant amounts of money compared to the room rate you’ve been quoted.Such as some in the middle of New York. Hotels spring them on you on departure – I’ve had them cancelled when they’ve done that if it wasn’t mentioned when I booked.

      • Dave says:
        22 Jul22 July 13:23

        Do you have to pay resort fees on reward or free night bookings?

      • Anna says:
        22 Jul22 July 13:54

        These also have to be displayed on pricing pages within the EU!

    • Anna says:
      22 Jul22 July 13:53

      Lee – EU law states that taxes and fees have to be shown in the headline price, it’s nothing to do with whether the hotels have taxes or not.

  • TripRep says:
    22 Jul22 July 10:46

    Tempted with the IHG offer, got 100% bonus.

    Presumably buying points extends the life of your IHG account (mine expires in the Autumn)

    • BJ says:
      22 Jul22 July 12:10

      Yes, purchasing points extends your account. If you don’t need the points though a cheap music download redemption serves the same purpose.

    • Rob says:
      22 Jul22 July 14:20

      Yes.

  • RussellH says:
    22 Jul22 July 10:59

    I am offered 100%, but at 0.675¢ it still does not look like value for money.

    And, I note an anomaly – 20 000 points cost $135, while 22 000 cost only $125.50, so only 0.575¢ per point. Still expensive, though.

    • BJ says:
      22 Jul22 July 12:15

      If you are booking IC at most times or other brands on peak dates it can make sense. Still, I generally agree with you as most IHG hotels are expensive on points relative to cash rates most places most of the time.

  • Leo says:
    22 Jul22 July 11:15

    Have flown 747 PE to Cuba before – it was fine. Flew 747 PE to CUN last autumn also fine. I like upper on a 747 though. Lots of space. A lot of people say they prefer PE upstairs on VS 747, I didn’t see the difference tbh.

  • Tilly says:
    22 Jul22 July 11:15

    Does anyone know (maybe those who’ve been on them before) if the McLaren factory tour is a full day? Can’t get an idea of timings from the site. Is there a dress code for it? And do they cater for special dietary requirements? Thinking of blowing 100k points and taking my dad but he hates getting suited and booted and we both have allergies. We’d both love to go though.

    • Tilly says:
      22 Jul22 July 11:45

      Sod it. Just gonna do it anyway. Lifelong Mclaren fans so will just go with the flow.

    • Nick says:
      22 Jul22 July 18:50

      Tilly, the one that we attended a few years ago was an afternoon tour and then dinner early evening. They certainly do look after you and, IMHO, it’s well worth it to hear about the history, see the high tech operation and cars, althougn we only had to pay 75K then. 🙂

      • Nick says:
        22 Jul22 July 18:55

        PS Smart casual is absolutely fine. I would imagine that they will cater for any dietary requirements if you let the Hilton Access guys know beforehand.

  • KBuffett says:
    22 Jul22 July 11:52

    OT – I have a Hilton’s Barclaycard free night on my account issued in Feb (no physical voucher). I recall that it’s only valid for 6 months so might just use it quickly at the Conrad in London. Do I need to request the physical certificate and can anyone please confirm the expiry etc or any tips etc?
    TIA

    • BJ says:
      22 Jul22 July 12:22

      You don’t need a physical certificate. In my experience some agents insist the stay must be booked and consumed within 6 moths while others let you book the stay up to a year in advance as long as you call before the certificate expires. I have done the latter and faced no problems at the hotel.

    • TripRep says:
      22 Jul22 July 12:32

      To use mine in the past I have just phoned HH customer services.

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

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