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The Crowne Plaza Kensington hotel has a secret beach in summer

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If you are looking for somewhere classy for a quiet drink in West London over the Summer, Crowne Plaza London Kensington (the townhouse hotel on Cromwell Road, opposite Gloucester Road tube) has brought back its Secret Beach until the end of September.

I popped in for the launch party on Monday night.  As you can see – click to enlarge:

Crowne Plaza Kensington secret beach

…. they have done a very good job transforming the huge garden behind the hotel into a sand-covered lounging and drinking area.

If you’re looking for somewhere different for a private lunch or dinner the hotel has also – as you can see just behind the beach in the picture – installed some domes for all-weather outdoor eating.  Each is fully airconditioned, has wi-fi and power sockets and has been set up with a circular dining table and chairs.

Crowne Plaza Kensington secret beach

Crowne Plaza Kensington is a very classy hotel – don’t be fooled by the townhouse exterior.


IHG One Rewards news

IHG One Rewards update – April 2025:

Get bonus points: IHG is not currently running a global promotion.

New to IHG One Rewards?  Read our overview of IHG One Rewards here and our article on points expiry rules here. Our article on ‘What are IHG One Rewards points worth?’ is here.

Buy points: If you need additional IHG One Rewards points, you can buy them here.

Want to earn more hotel points?  Click here to see our complete list of promotions from IHG and the other major hotel chains or use the ‘Hotel Offers’ link in the menu bar at the top of the page.

Comments (120)

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

  • AndyGWP says:

    FAO: Tom1 – how did your folks get on with the Lufthansa article you mentioned yesterday?

    (Interested anyways, but also FWIW I have the same flights / connections later this year)

  • Rob says:

    … but has anyone won one yet?

  • SG says:

    Hi Shoestring
    Beijing has disappeared from my list of cities!
    How long does a city actually stays on the list once the time is up?
    Could only try 2 cities from the previous list!

    • Shoestring says:

      4 cities rotate for about 5 days, I think the last 4 are now deceased

      ie we’re into the last 4, Paris just popped up if you’re interested! 🙂

      • Shoestring says:

        nul Avios for me x2!

        Rio & Nadi still to go

      • SG says:

        Managed to get 1400 for Paris,no points!
        I think Rob had already asked the question:Had anyone actually won anything?

        • SG says:

          Had-has anyone(autocorrect)

        • Shoestring says:

          not us, big fat zero out of 12 attempts

          I don’t doubt there are 80 winners a day as they say – but I guess there must be at least 20,000 people playing, if we call that 80 winners/ 20,000 (it’s not), & you play 8 times over 8 days, your daily chance of winning is 0.4%

          so *IF* HfP readers had embraced it, there should have been a few winners 🙂

  • Louie says:

    OT: is the Amex Platinum companion credit card (and the 5k MR points it came with) now dead?

  • Dickie_H says:

    O/T, but ultimately Amex Plat related: Perhaps this has already been mentioned here and I’ve missed it, but I’ve just made a £5 Priority Pass reservation for No 1 Lounge at BHX, and realise that this no longer includes Fast Track security. For me, £5 to guarantee access to the lounge was a price worth paying when Fast Track at the airport alone cost £3.75. Looks like this change has been quietly introduced across all No 1 Lounges airport locations… you can pay a £2 premium against the ‘normal’ No 1 booking fee to include Fast Track security, but this option doesn’t appear to be available for lounge pass cardholder reservations…

  • Harvey says:

    OT
    Where can you see your virgin voucher on your online account?

    • Rob says:

      As a line item in your list of recent transactions.

      • eli Gold says:

        how long does it take for virgin points to be credited for normal spending? do I have to login to the flying club website every time to see my points from my credit card? and how long till the bonus miles credit?
        sorry for the barrage of questions but I’m new to virgin and feel very clueless

        I actually applied for the virgin credit card the previous time they had a bonus offer and was refused, when the even better offer came round last month, I took Rob’s advice and wrote to them, got accepted and asked if they could consider me eligible for the better bonus offer, the fellow couldn’t give me a straight answer and I’m very baffled by the new virgin experience (coming from year of Amex)

  • Chris says:

    I have sometimes held my card ‘upside down’ when using it in shops that I know take Amex, even though they claim they don’t.

  • Harry T says:

    I’ve had this card for a few years – got it last time the 20£ offer was on. Great card. I use it less now because I like Curve for earning points abroad.

    Btw have you seen the 10£ off Amazon credit for using a Mastercard as your one click payment method? Used that yesterday, as well as using AMEX25OFF for the fourth time this year.

    • Shoestring says:

      Sounds good, I didn’t see that yet so thanks, I used it on Dominoes once for £10 off as well

      • Harry T says:

        You’re welcome. It’s super easy to use but I’m not sure if it’s targeted. It appeared as a banner on my Amazon app.

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

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