The Hyatt Regency London Blackfriars hotel is (finally) open

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• The Original Nick. says:

  3 Jun3 June 07:06

  The T&C’s for the Radisson Offer conflict. It’s very odd. There are two different pages. One of them states stays have to be made by the 30th November, not September.

  • Rob says:

    3 Jun3 June 08:36

    Everything we were sent says September.

• NorthernLass says:

  3 Jun3 June 08:58

  Good news about a high-end (hopefully) IHG property in southern Spain, especially with the imminent departure of Mr & Mrs Smith. It sounds as though it will be inland, however, like the Aysla, so might struggle to compete with the likes of Puente Romano and Marbella Club hotels. I’d definitely consider it for our annual spring visit as we’re a bit past beach club age and love exploring the mountains and hinterland!

  • NorthernLass says:

    3 Jun3 June 09:05

    Just done a bit more digging on this and it looks as though it’s going to be a refurb of the currently closed Hotel Los Monteros which is unfortunately right next to the N340 but only about 10 mins walk from the beach.

    • NorthernLass says:

      3 Jun3 June 09:08

      Doh – not had my coffee yet and just spotted that I could have worked that out from the article 🤦‍♀️

  • Mark says:

    3 Jun3 June 11:42

    We are currently staying at the Ikos just down the coast from Marbella. It’s not points related but the stay so far has been outstanding. It’s all inclusive which isn’t everyone’s bag but the champagne on tap and fillet steak in the a la carte restaurants is not to be sniffed at!

    • Gordon says:

      3 Jun3 June 12:31

      Ikos also have a few properties in Greece, I am looking at trying one next year, I am not sure which one it is but one property includes a complementary use of a mini for the day?

      • Gordon says:

        3 Jun3 June 12:36

        Ikos Dassia Has the complementary mini hire!

        • lumma says:

          3 Jun3 June 17:37

          Does it come with a driver, due to the free flowing champagne?

        • Gordon says:

          3 Jun3 June 17:57

          That’s an optional extra!

        • Gordon says:

          3 Jun3 June 18:16

          I am actually in secrets cap Cana resort and spa at the Moment and they have fillet,T Bone and Ribeye steaks in the a la carte restaurants along with lobster options and free flowing champagne it’s further but I’m not driving anywhere!
          And it’s a complementary 9 night stay because of issues with hurricane Fiona last September, Now that’s not to be sniffed at!!!!

• Stu_N says:

  3 Jun3 June 11:05

  Re Hyatt, I always wonder who is paying these rates. My work has a cap of around £325 for London which I think is pretty decent, and was increased last summer. Even then it’s a struggle to find anything acceptable within 15-20 mins walk of Bank for that.

  • Hotelier says:

    3 Jun3 June 11:29

    Companies will have corporate rates agreements – doubt companies will be paying £400 a night for their employees.

    My hotel retails for £900++ and corporate rates sit between £250-£350/night

    • Rob says:

      3 Jun3 June 12:05

      It’s very rare you see much difference. A quick Google search will bring up loads of Hyatt corporate rate codes but if you test them out (I don’t recommend booking because you should be asked for ID at the front desk) the discount is rarely huge. Main benefit is usually flexibility – you’re paying the Advanced Purchase rate but can cancel.

      It is possible that some hotels signed long term corporate deals 3-4 years ago locking in a rate which now looks crazy given what the public will pay for cash but those will start to fall away.

      • Hotelier says:

        6 Jun6 June 19:03

        Went back to this as was curious about people’s thoughts. I can guarantee you contracts are being renewed yearly and as we speak for next year. Big firms will fight for any 10% increase on those £250-£350 rates… many (most?) luxury hotels will have these rates, of course production of those accounts is very big… there might be restrictions on super peak dates ( minimum 7 night length of stay) but rate still the same.

    • Andrew. says:

      3 Jun3 June 13:02

      This is why you should always do your best to retain access to sites like PAW when you change firm. It allowed me to continue to access negotiated corporate rates for the firm I left 12 years ago.

      It has its quirks – eg the Corporate B&B rate is technically only one breakfast per room – but I’ve yet to stay in a hotel that has an accounting system that has identified the difference between number of breakfasts authorised and number of guests booked into a room.

    • Rizz says:

      3 Jun3 June 20:50

      Same here, regularly booking top hotels in London at £300-350 rates (through a corporate TA who has access to them, these are not some codes you can google and input at checkout).

  • Rob says:

    3 Jun3 June 12:11

    Everyone except your company is paying these rates, it seems. London is forecast to have 76-78% hotel occupancy this year, and that includes the dank dark days of November and January when most are very quiet. Average London hotel rate is currently £212 but that covers everything from ibis Budget to Claridges and across the full year. £325 only gets you something marginally above average (4-star at best) and in peak season it’s going to be 3-star.

    Our old friend Holiday Inn Express Wandsworth (overlooking Wandsworth Council’s dump, backing onto an active construction site, surrounded by busy roads on all sides and with a petrol station out front) is £281 on Monday.

    Pleased to say my 45k IHG redemption at InterCon Park Lane for July is looking increasingly good value with cash rates now at £870.

    • NorthernLass says:

      3 Jun3 June 12:42

      We are at the IC PL on Wimbledon final weekend at the 40k intern rate! I’ll be happy if they can find us a broom cupboard, lol.

  • Richie says:

    3 Jun3 June 18:40

    BTW There’s an upgraded Travelodge with 15 mins of bank.

• Tariq says:

  3 Jun3 June 11:15

  At those kind of prices, it’s going to face tough competition from the Westin, which sounds like it has much better facilities.

  • tony says:

    3 Jun3 June 17:03

    That’s my thinking, too. When the CP opened it was a rare beast but lots of better hotels in the area now. Going to need a proper refurb to warrant charging > 500 a night.

    Need to stay down next week and it’s a challenge but given price momentum at the moment I think London hoteliers realise they’ve been a bit too ambitious.

• Hilda M says:

  3 Jun3 June 12:51

  I’ve a one night booking (a Friday this month) booked at the HR Blackfriars under the offer 15% off & breakfast – worked out at £306 – will be interesting to see if I get an upgrade (am Globalist)

  I don’t have fond memories of the old CP as it was the only hotel I was ever walked from (at 1.30am and as a RA!) Received profuse apologies the following Monday from Guest Relations and offer of a guaranteed suite on my next visit: I didn’t go back.

• Lady London says:

  3 Jun3 June 22:52

  I know you’ll know it Hilda but the one thing I have learned the hard way is that for hire cars and hotels always get there as early as possible from around the middle of the day.

  It’s always the late arrivals that get landed with the fallout from any problems that have built up during the day. Including one memorable time when I discovered that the only hire car left in Geneva at 11.30pm, a battered Toyota parked in the darkest furthest away corner of the concrete car park, had what looked to be bullet holes through the headlight glass.

  • TGLoyalty says:

    4 Jun4 June 14:52

    I agree. I always try to check in early as the chances of getting the poor room/walked is so much higher the later it gets.

    Only time I’ve ever got to a hotel late c1am was the CP Gerard’s Cross booked last min because of how plans during the day transpired. the front desk was super helpful admitting they were oversold but determined I’d get a room as top tier IHG and a returning guest.

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