Yes, seriously, that is the view from my room. And I am not going to tell you how much it cost, but I am going to tell you how you too can enjoy the best hotel room view in London (pretty much), for the same cost as going to a London Travelodge….

First off, a little more about the hotel. The Park Plaza is located slap bang in the middle of the roundabout at the bottom of Westminster Bridge. I do remember there being rather an ugly drum shaped building there at some point, but this Radisson-run hotel is really quite a statement. And it is big!

If you are booking here, don’t make the mistake of booking the Park Plaza County Hall, which is literally next door, and looks like it has all the charm of a open prison.

The entrance is easy to find, right next to the Marriott County Hall (one of my favourite London hotels) and right under the photo I posted above. There are escalators that whisk you up to the first floor, where you will find not only the Reception, but the bar and restaurant. As I will come on to, the bar is probably not as well located (or staffed) as it might be.

Check-in was easy and pleasant. And we now come to the crux of this article. I recently obtained the top “VIP” tier in the Radisson loyalty programme. Apparently Radisson scared off a lot of their premium customers a few years ago by massively devaluing their loyalty points. Anyone who hoards Avios and the like so that they can get a better flight or holiday knows how irritating that would be. So in an attempt to win some business back, they put in place an excellent status match, which allowed me to parlay my Hilton Gold status into Radisson VIP (thanks to the best frequent flyer porn site on the web, Head for Points, for the tip. Article is here, if the match still works).

The VIP tier gives a number of interesting perks. On this trip the most valuable benefits were a free breakfast, access to the executive lounge, 15% off food and drink, 20% Discount Booster, and the crowning glory, an upgrade to the best available room (not suite). However, make sure you get the best room. We were offered an ordinary Studio, but to get the view of Big Ben, I had to ask, so it wasn’t *quite* the full upgrade. All of this from booking a basic double room without breakfast. In effect, it was a 50% discount.

Sounds mad? Maybe not, as we have been wedded to a number of other London hotels for a number of years (including the lovely Marriott mentioned above, and Sea Containers House up the road, as well as the dubious charms of the Civil Service Club), and this persuaded us to spend money with Radisson, and review it mostly favourably.

Anyhow, the upgraded room was pretty amazing albeit mainly for the view. It is large, but the bathroom is slap bang in the middle, creating a small sitting area on one side, and a smallish bedroom on the other with what was (for a modern hotel) a fairly narrow double bed. The bath has a shelf over one end, so definitely not a room for a romantic evening in…

There is a fridge, sink and microwave (as well as tea and coffee making facilities), so it is well stocked, but as the room is literally next door to the Executive Lounge, it’s probably a little superfluous (although all rooms should have a fridge, ostensibly for people who have medicine they carry with them, but mainly for lazy cheapskates to bring in sparkling wine).

The Executive Lounge really is quite something. And it in exactly the position the bar should be, as it is huge, and not much of the space is used. The inside rooms overlook this atrium, which may be why they don’t use it, but that never seems to stop American hotels.

Photos can’t quite do it justice, TBH.

We had some coffee during the day, and popped in for a pre-theatre drink. The selection was good, with some nice nibbles (not St Pancras Chambers Club standard, but not bad), but the service is a little off. Every time you move around the lounge, someone pounces on you to ask which room you are in. The lounge is key card access only, and I suppose there is a problem with people tailgating, but there has to be a better way of keeping track of people: Maybe just be a little more pleasant when asking them.

Service is an issue at this hotel. Some of the staff were helpful and friendly, but a fair few clearly think they are are prison warders, and not working in hospitality. This came into sharp focus when we stopped in the bar on our way to bed after dinner.

I realised when we checked in that I had been to this Radisson bar in the past, and had enjoyed the ambience, so I was quite looking forward to it. Big mistake.

Where shall I start? First off, it was massively over-illuminated, which I now realise reminded me of films where the prison yard is flooded with light as they look for escapees (you can see a theme emerging emerging). Then, as we sat down and picked up the menu, a member of staff came round, tried to snatch the menu back, and said that they weren’t doing table service any more, and we had to order at the bar. At 10.20. Almost as bad as Rye!

Ordering at the bar was no mean feat, as bar staff seemed to evaporate as guests approached. But I did get my orders in (finally), and asked to put the charge on my room. Being entitled to a 15% discount, it seemed sensible to make sure I got it. My reward for this, was a finger pointing at reception and a barked “No Credit”. Seemingly, whoever had checked me in hadn’t added my credit card to the account (weird, as they used it to take my payment automatically when I left).

I explained that I was entitled to a 15% discount, which the lady disputed, even with my VIP status. Then one of her colleagues explained that I was indeed entitled to it, and she stabbed a number of buttons on the till, then handing me the credit card machine, but no itemised bill. After I sat down, and stole a menu back, I realised that I had paid full whack (or she added in service for herself: Bloody cheek)

Trivial in the great scheme of things, but you go to a hotel to relax, not be treated like garbage.

Breakfast is served downstairs in the bar and restaurant areas, or in the Lounge. Mrs N persuaded me that the Lounge breakfast would be inferior, so we went to the zoo downstairs. It was efficient, I give them that, but a very noisy, cafe-like experience. The food, on the whole, was good quality for a hotel breakfast (but the filter coffee was awful)

For research purposes, I insisted we hit the Lounge to see the comparison. After all, if Radisson will have me back after this review, I’m intending to cane my VIP status some more (so top marks to the Radisson Loyalty team on the status match idea!).

“Oasis” is not too strong a word to compare the difference. And the breakfast was identical! You have been warned.

For some reason, the online checkout didn’t work, so, as requested, I proceeded to reception. Which was heaving, and the Radisson Rewards line was not being manned. I gave up, as it made little difference to me, as I was charged automatically at 12 noon, but had the system worked, it would have freed the room up earlier (and allowed another VIP member an early check-in)

Overall, a great experience for the money. I won’t be going back to the bar (the 15% discount that lured me in has turned out, in part, to be its undoing), which is a shame from Radisson’s PoV. Instead, the Archduke further up Upper Ground is a super after-dinner spot, often with some live jazz.

Top Tip: Check in early. It is another VIP perk, and also means you have a better chance at a better room. You may have to wait for it to become ready, but at least you have bagged it!

Conclusion

Overall Rating: 4.5/5

• Comfort: 4/5
• Room: 4.5/5
• View: 5/5
• Service: 2.5/5
• Food and Drink: 4/5
• Value: 5/5
• Will be go back: 5/5

Park Plaza Westminster Bridge: https://www.radissonhotels.com/en-us/hotels/park-plaza-westminster-bridge-london