Best of London Tour - Washington Mayfair Hotel

Here is a trip report from Jane:
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/trip-report-best-of-london-february-19-25-2023

Hotel: The tour stayed at the Washington Mayfair, a nice business class hotel. The public areas are many and spacious, and the décor modern. The staff was very helpful, the breakfast room staff being especially attentive.

Our room was on the third floor up (our 4th floor,) and was very nice. It wasn’t as big as our room at the pre-tour Celtic, but was fine. There was a queen sized bed, 2 small nightstands, an occasional table by the window, a small desk, two chairs, and a bench. There was also a tiny fridge tucked into a corner; we didn’t even see it for a day or two. There was a large-enough closet with hangers and some cubby-type shelves.

The window was large and double paned, and could be opened, but only a couple of inches. We opened it at night for ventilation, but usually closed it again about 5 or 6 in the morning, when it did get cold.

The bathroom was large enough, with a tub and shower combo. There were several lotions, shampoos, and body gels offered, and plenty of towels and wash cloths.

We did have two complaints: the room was dark! Even with all the available lights on, it was difficult to read. It would have been impossible to read at the desk, except during the brightest part of the day. I moved my bedside lamp to the table near the window, and was able to read and write that way. The only other problem as the door from the hallway to the room slammed very loudly, sounding like a gunshot. We soon learned to grab it as it closed, to not frighten the neighbors.

Breakfast was a generous buffet, offering juices, cold cereals, yogurt, fresh fruit, hot sausages and bacon, scrambled eggs, beans, grilled tomatoes, a small selection of cold cuts, and several kinds of bread and rolls. Hot tea and coffee were served by the attentive staff. Oh, a minor bone to pick: specialty coffees such as espresso and cappuccino were available, but with an extra charge of £5.60. For some reason, I found that excessive, so we had regular tea and coffee.

The location of the hotel was good. It’s just a block north of Picadilly road, an easy walk to Hyde Park, Park Lane, a useful tube stop, and several bus stops. There are a number of eateries within a couple of blocks as well, ranging from Pret a Manger to very high end restaurants. I’ll mention our favorites as I go on.

Thank you for sharing this, Mary!

My wife and I were on the 6/4-6/10/23 Best of London tour and the Washington Mayfair was our tour hotel. I thought it was a great place to stay for a week. The staff were very professional and friendly and always greeted us when we arrived or left. We had an issue with the thermostat in our originally assigned room; when we brought it to the attention of the front desk, we were immediately assigned a new (and bigger) room. The breakfast buffet was quite a feast and, as has been mentioned, the staff were very attentive. We didn't eat any other meals at the hotel, so I can't speak to that. What really sold us on the hotel was its location, location, location: Underground station, buses, parks, palace, coffee shops, restaurants, all within a few minutes walk.

I'd also add that, as a tour hotel and base of operations, it's probably in a different category than a "stand alone" hotel. Apart from sleeping, breakfast, and meeting the tour group in the lobby each morning, we really didn't spend that much time in the hotel. As such, it's like the other RS tour hotels we've stayed in, whether it's Ireland, England, France, or Italy.

Thanks, Reederman!

Those reviews on TA do look awful. However, have you checked the tour reviews here to see if anyone has mentioned anything about the last hotel? I stayed at the Radisson Mayflower on the 14 Day England tour and the area is really nice for getting around. The Underground station is about a10 minute walk and there were good bus connections, too.

I like researching everything in advance too, and would be looking up tour hotels as soon as I know them. RS has their preferred or contracted hotels for the season. But even within a tour season, hotels might change for individual tours, depending on local events or even other tour companies beating them out for the dates. Post we know what, and with labor shortages, hotels might be dropped by RS tours if no longer open or no longer meet their standards/criteria for their tours (fill out your tour reviews!)
(I've researched hotels for other tours/cruise extensions only to find hotels have changed at the "last minute" on final documents receipt.) Bottom line: don't worry about it too early, you'll be prepared what to expect if this is your hotel, but a different hotel is also possible by the time you get final documents. Happy Travels!

Hi Laurie Beth - I checked the latest reviews for this tour on the RS tour page, and some reviewers have had positive feedback about the Washington Mayfair. I've also found some better reviews on Booking.com. So that's encouraging. Thanks for the tip!

Thanks for sharing your perspective, SQ. Sound advice. Makes me feel better!

I was in the hotel on tour 6/17-6/24 2023. There were quite a few things wrong in my room. It was shabby. spots on bedding, carpet. grab bar in bathroom pulling out of wall. While some enjoy quantity over quality, the breakfast was not to my liking. I do not care for powdered scrambled eggs or undercooked baked eggs. The hot towel bar would not go off in the bathroom and maintenance tried. they could not move me to another room as the hotel was full. however.....the staff is very nice. the location is great. If you are coming in a few days early as we did, for 500$ a night i would stay somewhere else and move in with the tour. I agree with some of the trip advisor reviews.

Thanks for your candid review, celiamcmartin. I will be traveling to other parts of England before and after the tour, so I've booked other pre/post tour hotels. I think I'll just have to remind myself how much I love the itinerary for this tour and hope for the best. Thanks again.

I went on this tour end of May 2023, and I thought it was a nice hotel. Everything was clean that I perceived. The room was good sized. It was quiet. The bathroom was a good size also, with a heated towel rack and a heated floor.
The room has basic amenities and a magnifying mirror in the bathroom. The rooms have heavy curtains so you don't get woken up early by the sun. I slept well each night.

The concierge and front desk were also available to help and answer questions, and they have enough attendants that you aren't waiting for service.

Breakfast was fine. Everything looked good, though more heavy on carbs than I am used to. A greek yogurt would have been nice.

The cons list is trivial, imo. There were probably too many light switches. The shower / bath water knobs were a little confusing and putting the water pressure on high made the shower curtain whip around a bit. It was hard to plug in my clunky international power adapter at the bed side outlets. And I could not reliably figure out how to make the coffee pot in the room work. I assume that is on me though.

Sufficient closet space, but the closet opens up right next to the bed, which was a little cramped.

Someone else mentioned having a fridge. I don't remember seeing one in my room, but maybe I overlooked it.

Thanks jgroves06. I'm most concerned about cleanliness; I can deal with old furnishings and fixtures as long as my room is clean. What's that saying... Expect the best, plan for the worst, and prepare to be surprised. Hopefully the Washington Mayfair will surprise me in a good way! Thanks again.

We were on the london tour in 2019, not recently but it was fine for us during our tour.

Jane did a good write up

Thanks Kim! I enjoyed reading Jane's tour report. I'm so glad Mary posted the link. :)

We stayed at the Washington Mayfair hotel after our Best of England RS tour this May.
Many hotels were fully booked and the prices were sky high, probably due to the coronation. We got a very good price per night at the Washington Mayfair hotel because we stayed for 4 nights. I think it was a very good value. It is located in a very nice neighborhood. We walked a lot while we were in London, and the location was close to sites we visited, yet seemed quiet and safe enough to walk around at night.
I thought it was a good sign that the a Best of London 7 day tour was also booked there. We actually had dinner with a couple we met at an excellent Italian restaurant nearby who were booked on the Best of London tour, and compared notes about the various prior Rick Steves tours we’d been on.
We felt the pros far outweighed the cons of staying there. The location was great, being conveniently located near the Green Park tube stop, and there were excellent restaurants a couple blocks away. The staff, especially the concierge, we’re very helpful. We were told that the hotel was undergoing a major renovation, starting with the higher floors. We were on the fourth floor and the furniture in our room was mismatched and a little worn, but there was a fridge and a tea kettle and the shower had plenty of hot water. I liked the included breakfast, which we like to save time in the mornings. We ate dinner in the restaurant one evening and it was surprisingly good. We would stay there again on a future visit to London, but it might be out of our price range after the hotel has been completely remodeled.

Hi redwoofer! Thanks so much for sharing this info. It's encouraging to know that the hotel is getting a makeover. Hopefully RSE tour guests will be given the renovated rooms as they are completed. I'll keep my fingers crossed!

and....I have contacted them twice about the refund of the "incidental charges". no response. it was stated the credit would come through in 2-3 weeks and to contact my credit card company if you dont see it. It has been 6 weeks and credit card co has no pending refund. this happened to me in 2016 London tour at the same hotel. I had to call them repeatedly to get the refund. both times I stayed 2 extra night prior to tour start. Never again

Oh my. 6 weeks?! That is distressing. I hope things get sorted out for you soon, celiamcmartin!

TravelNurse
I just noticed your post and it may be too late to help but we were also on the 6/4/23 - 6/10/23 B.o.L. Tour. We would reiterate what mary, reederman, jgroves, and redwoofer posted; positive comments with a few trivial cons. The room we had was good sized and quite clean and though it faced the front street it was still quiet. All the staff we met were very nice. We did not have dinner meals there but the breakfasts were good and plentiful. I'm not sure what area of the hotel celiamcmartin stayed in but we did not encounter anything like what was described. We booked a pre night stay there on June 3rd in a classic double room, which we remained in for the week, at a discounted rate of £233.00. We would have no reservations about staying there again.

Thanks for the info, Don! I am still confirmed on the BOL tour for next April. I've decided to stop looking at TripAdvisor reviews for the Washington Mayfair, and instead put my faith in the feedback I've received from fellow RS travelers. The itinerary for BOL is what drew me to this tour in the first place. I've never been to a couple of places this tour visits - such as Windsor Castle and the Churchill War Rooms. - and the reviews of the tour on the RS site are uniformly positive. I'm really looking forward to this trip!

We had cancelled the Best of England twice because of Covid and when we booked it for the third time, to go in 2023, we noticed we could do it back to back with the BoL. We are so glad we did. We had not been to the UK before and at the end of the BoE tour, to see how much of London we would have missed if we had not also done the BoL Tour, made the expense and extra time spent away from home worth it. The BoL is a very busy tour but I can't imagine you will not enjoy it