StarwoodGuy: Around the World With Starwood Hotels in 30 Days

The hotel car from Le Meridien to the Budapest airport was extremely efficient. In another Mercedes E-Class. As always I love talking to the drivers since they often have the most interesting stories. He wanted to talk about my previous homes back in Canada and Australia and about the US still being the land of opportunity. When we arrived at the terminal the BA counter was not open yet, but they opened two hours before the flight was scheduled to depart, sadly though we were delayed by an hour. From the exterior the terminal is wonderful, the inside in terrible before security, then agin wonderful beyond security. Very bizarre. So as many people post online if you have a short flight do not pay extra for Business/Club Europe on BA in Europe. The service and the staff were excellent, but the seats are pretty awful. A propeller plane in Canada has more space. There is less room in Biz then on an economy flight in North America, who knows what happened behind the curtain, apparently it is almost the same but with 2 inches less. Basically BA has changed their planes to the ultra thin seat which have little padding and are hellishly uncomfortable, but it is the same seat for coach and economy and they move the curtain as needed to make economy and business cabins. As many European carriers have done for the last few years the middle seat in Biz is blocked but many are finally changing this, sadly though not BA. So you have a guaranteed seat empty in the middle in Club Europe but very little room in your seat or legroom. Unfortunately the AC did not work so we were sweltering again, then they made an announcement about this but still as the Brits would say it was bloody hot. My luck held out and no one was in 4D, so in Coach terms it was like having the entire row free, and since for all intents and purposes I was in a coach seat, I had the whole row free. I do not know what BA is thinking with this product. On points for free not a big deal but if I had paid a few hundred dollars extra for this and there were people sitting right behind me at a fraction of the price in the exact same seat with plenty of empty seats I would have been pissed.

But that being said the staff was amazing. Years ago I came to expect the best from British Airways and after Emirates’ fabulous service I was not sure, but from an onboard service stance, absolutely suburb. With our delay and the storm in London they had us board early in the hopes that we could get a weather entry slot into Heathrow. The AC failed again, but in Club Europe at least the towels and drinks were flowing. They came to me in person since I was flying First the next day and wanted to makes sure I was not missing anything. I told them I had one work meeting scheduled but it was a dinner so we could still be alright. They were very apologetic but it was not a big deal. Again, I cannot say enough about this flight crew, outstanding.

I took the Heathrow Express train from Heathrow to London’s Paddington station, then jumped in an Uber to the Park Lane Hotel. The hotel is in the middle of an upgrade and it was almost full, so I only managed a standard room on points, no upgrade, no exciting view. Sadly for my trip it was a sad end from a hotel point of view, but I left the room right away and went on a large walk around the city, the Thames, and stopped in to Harrods. When I got back to the hotel I had a drink in the bar (free as a Platinum benefit) and then I had ordered the cheese plate. The next morning I ordered a 5 am wake up call, I made coffee in the room, did ironing for my flight, and then did a half marathon in distance-my first ever run that far- around London. It was a lovely day, and it was election day. News reporters stopped me and asked me who I was voting for, I told them I was Canadian but long live the Queen and that constitutional monarchies are the best, before carrying on along the Thames to the Globe Theatre and Tower Bridge. As always London is a loud busy, city, but unbelievably amazing. Back at the hotel I did some weights for thirty minutes in the best gym I had since Asia (20 kg weights back!), skipped breakfast and then showered and took another Uber back to Paddington Station where I jumped in the Heathrow Express First cabin, and before I knew it I was at the BA First check in counter.

The Park Lane is in a great location, good gym, and on my previous stay I had loved the famous afternoon tea. The bar was great, but I must say I would wait until the renovations are complete until booking this hotel. I passed and looked in at Le Meridien next door and it looked good as well, so from a location point next to Buckingham Palace and adjacent to Piccadilly Square, either hotel is great from a location standpoint, but hopefully the renovations will give the dated rooms at the Park Lane a refresh to its former glory.