Kimptons…..

[Amy C]

I might be staying in some soon and was wondering are they really ‘all that?’. Will only be staying in standard rooms and the London one looks like it has teeny ones. Kimpton aficionados do you have a favourite one in this country? What marks them out as special compared to other similar properties, or are they not? I’ve got the impression from my time on this page that they are extremely well regarded.

[NorthernLass]

I love the combination of comfort and quirkiness, I am a sucker for curious objects dotted around the place and lovely old buildings. I’ve always had great service – the Edinburgh one upgraded us to 2 fabulous balcony rooms on our first stay then on our next stay checked and put us in the same rooms. At the Fitzroy we got a double upgrade to a junior suite on my birthday (trick with this was to book a room 2 cat down via Emyr so got his upgrade plus my Spire one). Always get LOADS of free wine, cocktails and beer so they can be really good value if you like a tipple.

[Peggerz]

The Edinburgh Kimpton Charlotte Square is a nice hotel, great staff and nice spa/pool. It is also surrounded by many restaurants and bars, but tucked away enough to be quiet and have a secluded feel. It is very central.
I stayed at Kimpton Blythswood Glasgow last year when there were Covid restrictions. I really liked it. Nice setting, room was spacious, public spaces really good as was the spa. I’m going back here shortly.

[Amy C]

Ah but are you getting all that wine etc because you’re going via Emyr and you have Spire? Which is your favourite? I take it you’ve not stayed in the Clocktower because you live near there?

• This reply was modified 54 years, 3 months ago by .

[Amy C]

Peggerz wrote:

The Edinburgh Kimpton Charlotte Square is a nice hotel, great staff and nice spa/pool. It is also surrounded by many restaurants and bars, but tucked away enough to be quiet and have a secluded feel. It is very central.
I stayed at Kimpton Blythswood Glasgow last year when there were Covid restrictions. I really liked it. Nice setting, room was spacious, public spaces really good as was the spa. I’m going back here shortly.

Thanks, did not realise there was a Glasgow one. There’s also an Amsterdam one I have just seen. Might pay that a visit too.

[NorthernLass]

I have stayed at the Clocktower twice – I loved it but other people on here have not been that impressed. The rooms are huge though, and the restaurant is fantastic. Lack of a pool lets it down though, given how much it rains in Manchester and you often need indoor activities!

The wine etc is actually nothing to with Emyr! Kimpton social hour is a nice thing and originally aimed at the US market which is more abstemious, I think (my friend said “Free wine for an hour?” and nearly fell off her chair 😂). You get cocktail vouchers as Spire (Charlotte Square gave us 4 as we’d booked 2 rooms), then when we were at the Fitzroy where they were giving out scratch cards which all seemed to win another free drink so all in all they’ve been very merry stays! Clocktower gives out £10 bar credits depending on how good a mood they are in at check in, seemingly.

*The Glasgow one does look lovely but my OH thinks it’s still 1995 and pulls a face when I suggest it!

• This reply was modified 54 years, 3 months ago by .

[NorthernLass]

But @AmyC, tell us why you are to be blessed with so many Kimpton stays?!

Re status – you get a free drink which goes up in value with your status. The lowest I’ve been is Platinum and that gets you a glass of wine or a beer, Spire is spirits or a cocktail. The Voco Solihull stood out with this because they let us have a double measure each of any spirit they had at the bar – we opted for a very nice aged rum!

• This reply was modified 54 years, 3 months ago by .

[jek]

Although the original post asked about Kimptons in this country… We just stayed in the Paris Kimpton and were somewhat disappointed. No welcome drink, stained sofa, stained duvet cover, damaged furniture and walls, and best / worse of all, too many items to buy on display in the room.

The “social” hour was one glass of wine in the bar.

We moved to the indigo next door for the last night which we enjoyed more.

[meta]

There is also a ‘secret password’ that’s published on social media and if you say it at check in you get a freebie – ranging from breakfast to upgrades. At Kimpton Vividora – Barcelona they have spin the wheel game. I got 10 euros on F&B. But overall, the stay wasn’t as a good as the hype. Tiny rooms (I got upgraded to superior room with balcony over standard), everything falling apart and it was only built two years ago. Pool is not even a plunge pool, but rather ankle pool. The only redeeming feature was the amazing breakfast. Style over substance really.

[Amy C]

NorthernLass wrote:

But @AmyC, tell us why you are to be blessed with so many Kimpton stays?!

Re status – you get a free drink which goes up in value with your status. The lowest I’ve been is Platinum and that gets you a glass of wine or a beer, Spire is spirits or a cocktail. The Voco Solihull stood out with this because they let us have a double measure each of any spirit they had at the bar – we opted for a very nice aged rum!

You might remember my ‘side’ job? 😉

I hadn’t realised there were quite this many Kimptons, hope I get to stay in a few of them. I may need to recruit partners in crime to dine with on the Northern ones and will probably be seen on here begging at some point. 😬

[chrism20]

The Glasgow one is nice and the restaurant has changed recently with a lot of emphasis on seafood and fish.

I loved the public areas of the Clocktower, however I wasn’t as impressed with the room which was the middle of a three-way interconnecting set up so I had the luxury of listening to two lots of tellys, phone calls and domestics. The bed was also two singles shoved together so all in all I wasn’t impressed but others have had significantly better rooms as Anna mentions above.

They missed a trick with the Fitzroy and with a bit more attention they could have had a third IC in London although they appeared desperate to get the Kimpton name into London IMO.