Hotel of the Week: St Ermin’s Hotel, London

TravelMole’s associate editor Linsey McNeill was lucky enough to spend her wedding night at the four-star deluxe St Ermin’s Hotel, but was it the perfect end to a perfect day?

St Ermin’s, one of London’s most historic hotels, is situated within a short stroll of some of the city’s main tourist attractions including Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament, Westminster Abbey and Buckingham Palace, yet it’s so discreetly tucked away at the end of its own tree-lined driveway that you may never stumble across it.

And tucked up in one of its divine suites on the sixth floor, you’d never know you’re so close to crowds at Victoria train station and Parliament Square.

Your first impression when you walk into the Grade II listed, 331-bedroom property where Winston Churchill held high level meetings during WWII, is of an independent, highly individual hotel thanks to the ornate curving staircase, wrap-around balcony, the chandeliers and gorgeous fabrics which help to create a classy, non-corporate feel.

An extensive £30 million refurbishment two years ago managed to carefully restore existing features while extending the hotel and adding a fresh, modern twist.  My deluxe king suite had a canopied king-size bed covered in beautiful fabrics, a splendidly spacious marble bathroom with a free-standing bath and an excellent digitally-controlled rainmaker shower, and a cosy living room.

During such a short stay there wasn’t enough time to twiddle all the knobs and play with all the gadgets, but I thought the MP3 Bose docking station, in addition to the flat-screen TVs, was a nice touch and my new hubby was thankful for the Nespresso machine.

Unable to sleep after the excitement of the wedding, I was also grateful to the free wi-fi as I lay in the magnificent bath looking at all my friends’ photos of the day on Facebook. I also loved the White Company products in the bathroom and the fluffy robes, but best of all I was pleased to find the room was blissfully quiet.

The room service, as you’d expect from a hotel of this standing, was exceptional. I called housekeeping for a toothbrush (you always forget something, don’t you?) and someone was knocking at the door with a spare one almost as soon as I’d put the phone down. Lunch was delivered equally swiftly to our suite.

Sadly, not all the service was of such a high standard.  The manager had kindly agreed to my cheeky request to check in early in the morning so friends and I could use the room to get ready for my wedding, but when I called to confirm the previous evening the receptionist was unhelpful, and when I arrived I was initally told the room wasn’t ready (even though it was, which was confirmed a few minutes later), and we weren’t offered any help with our bags.

Possibly this was due to the fact that the hotel was very busy on that particular weekend in August. Certainly the throng of mainly American tourists in the lobby would suggest that St Ermin’s, which has recently become the third in the UK to join Marriott International’s upscale Autograph Collection, has become very popular with visitors from across the Pond.

However, that wouldn’t explain why the doorman flatly refused to hail us a traditional London black cab to take us to the wedding venue, insisting instead that we had to get in a bland people carrier that had pulled into the hotel driveway. Now I ask you, what bride wants to arrive at her wedding in something that looks like a van? We were left to hail our own cab in the pouring rain.

Next morning, at breakfast, which is served in the plush surroundings of the Caxton Grill, we had to wait in line to be seated and it seemed to take ages, although it was probably only five minutes. But what were thinking, trekking down to the restaurant in the first place? On the first (and only) morning of our honeymoon we really ought to have ordered breakfast in that beautiful canopied bed and reveled in our little piece of heaven for just a little bit longer.

www.sterminshotel.co.uk