W London- Leicester Square

They have a disco club, lounge, and restaurant.
The crowd seems diverse enough, but the bouncers in the lobby can be extra selective as the sun goes down.
It seems as though tourists and locals come out to the W, even on a Tuesday and Wednesday night.
It’s a few steps away from London’s Theater District and Chinatown.
Just a 3 – 4 minute walk to Regent Street, Liberty, Piccadilly Circus, and the National Gallery.
And a 5 – 7 minute walk to Soho, Oxford Street, Carnaby Street.
Overall, good location if you are looking to do touristy things.
But if not, stay away.
And even if you are doing touristy things, please try to find a better hotel.
It goes downhill from here.
I stayed at the W London for one week for holiday and could not grasp why their SHOWER STALLS WOULD LEAK.
AFTER SHOWERING, THERE WOULD BE A FLOOD OF WATER INVADING THE REST OF THE HOTEL ROOM.
We asked them to switch our rooms three times, AND ALL THREE TIMES, we were switched over to a room with the exact same layout, with the exact same shitty view, with the exact same water issue.
They comp’ed us a week worth of continental breakfast, which was NOT worth a penny of my money.
We asked if we could receive free a la carte breakfast instead, but their cheap a$$es did not give it to us.

I absolutely loved this hotel, they were so accommodating and friendly. My only disappointment was that I could not keep the decorative pillow. The décor was pretty awesome all around and I really liked the room (the cheapest option, was still over $ 500/​night). The shower was to die for, I didn’t leave it for hours. The lights from the outside create a cool mood light. It is in a loud area and has a club/​bar so don’t expect peace and quiet.

During our Europe trip we decided to use W as our London hotel for a few days. We were initially worried about some of the reviews especially regarding the noise and what not but decided to give it a go since we had good experience with W in other cities before and like to go with SPG when possible.
The best thing about this hotel seem to be the location. It is so conveniently located in London that you can walk to many major landmarks like the palace, museum and parliament to start with. It’s also right beside Chinatown so lots of options for cheap fast eats too.
Since we were placed on the 6^th floor we weren’t really affected by the noise from the lounge many others complained about but I can see how it can become annoying. During the nights they even played music on the speakers by elevators pretty loudly. Thankfully our room was distant from the elevator too. Since we didn’t get to stop by the lounge at night we couldn’t see how busy it got but they did check for room keys at the main doors throughout the night.
Like a true W the design of the rooms are very modern. I think this location was especially modern and I think design won over functionality in a lot of cases, making the stay aesthetically nice but physically less comforting. But I did truly enjoy their lighting system and sound system which supports recent Apple plugs by default and Bluetooth for non-​apple devices.
Since the bathroom amenities are from bliss I smelled nice throughout my stay, smooth skin to boot. If you opt for restaurant breakfast you will be sent down to the Spice Market down stairs where they have a nice breakfast buffet setup. Free for SPG plat members if you choose to opt in but I think the price in general was pretty good even if you had to pay there when you consider the average price of meals in London. Lots of hearthy options like eggs, sausage, baked mushrooms and tomatoes and such.
I think a stay here is a worthy experience though I would question staying here for extended periods at once. The night view of the hotel itself is also pretty nice from the outside, a trade off of having blocked view from the hotel rooms themselves since the hotel has an outer shell of windows for decoration. Oh and M&M store right down stairs if you like those!

Probably one of the most underwhelming hotel bars I’ve been to.
There’s essentially no view, the windows have big shutters over them and the bars only on the first floor.
Staff are actually pretty inattentive and it can take an age to get another drink or even the bill.
There’s a fair amount of space and some cool design features but you can probably find nicer bars where the drinks are cheaper…

Great central location but beware of shoddy housekeeping!
Good news: Close to theaters, shopping and China town with loads of late night dining options.
Bad news: we inadvertently spilled and soiled our bedsheets. We were surprised that the soiled sheets were not replaced and were simply covered over with the bed cover. They rearranged all the throw pillows though! Make us wonder whether the linens and towels are generally not laundered but perhaps simply «smoothed over» to look «done”/“refreshed»…

This review is for the concierge, Istvan, who was able to find me sold out tickets to Arsenal v Liverpool. I really thought I wasn’t going to get them, but he arranged everything.
Made my holiday! It’s been a longtime dream to get my hands on great seats for a match like this. Many thanks.

As with all W hotels, this one is modern, fun, and relatively new. The rooms are small but the many mirrors in the room gives the illusion of a larger room. Bed is comfortable. It is also in a convenient location. A very easy walking distance to the Picadilly underground station. Not too far from the Victoria station… in case you need to use the Gatwick Express or leave from the Victoria Coach station for tours. Right next to Chinatown. Also close to many nice restaurants, theaters, and shops in the Leicester Square.
The layout of the standard hotel room was strange. The bathroom and shower are separated rooms with large mirror panels serving as doors to these small square rooms. The light operates by sensor as you enter these rooms, but the timer goes off really fast. Many times, I’ll have to wave my hand in the air just to get the light to turn on again in the bathroom. The first time I used the shower, the drain was clogged leading to a large pool of water that seeped out of the shower door. The shower water pressure was weak… not the most comfortable shower. There was no area to change before or after going to shower except for that open area where the sink is in the middle of the room… so you’d better be very comfortable with the person you’re sharing the room with.
The service was good for the most. part. We had a problem at check in. Even though we arrived at 3:15, we were told that our rooms were not available yet. Per their instructions, we waited in the adjacent W lounge… until 5pm before we got our room. We checked with them several times and even enlisted the help of the cocktail waitress to facilitate getting our room. She was able to secure 4 drink tickets for us to use at the bar later in the visit. It would have been nice if they offered that to us early so we could at least have a drink while we were waiting.
The doorman was very helpful… particularly one guy named Duarte. He spend the time to answer any questions you may have, gave great suggestions of restaurant choices around the area, was courteous and helpful all the time.
In summary, this is a hotel fit for a young couple who wants fun and convenience. It is not a hotel for luxury and relaxation.

This was the first W hotel that I have stayed in in the UK. And it was up to par compared to those in the States.
From start to finish everything was just as it should be.
Firstly, the location is top drawer, you’re not going to get anymore central than right on Leicester Square. It is great for Theatre Land and also connections for business.
When I stayed here I was pretty much holed up in my room as had a chunk of work to get through and it was perfectly sized so that I didn’t feel penned in.
Beautiful massive comfy bed, floor to ceiling windows, bar/​dining area with plenty of space around it. The décor was impeccable throughout.
I relied a lot on room service and it was of an excellent standard, even when I asked for something slightly off the menu it was delivered, with a smile and the chef had even managed to make it more appetising than I had asked /​expected it to be.
You can think that these places that the staff are sometimes more precious than the patrons, but they were all lovely. One night I ordered pizza as I was craving a certain brand and if I was honest, nothing else would do, and they were fine with that. I wasn’t going to order off the menu this night and I couldn’t be bothered going out, so that was that, the food came to me :)
I nipped down in just my PJs under my coat as I wanted a cheeky cigarette before I went to bed and there were no looks, just a door held open for me.
Although I now live in London, and really don’t have a need for hotels in town anymore, if I have any friends or colleagues that are coming over and want a very good hotel centrally located, then I don’t hesitate to recommend this W.

Sadly, I have to write a negative review — please note this review is for the Sunday brunch rather than staying the night. One of my best pals organised her birthday here last Sunday and we arrived around 1.30pm, a group of about 15 of us.
The brunch is a stylised affair — you will be given slippers, and allowed to go into the screening room to watch movies and generally be hungover. There’s a psychedelic DJ playing tunes and acting mad in the background. It’s a cool vibe and a nice décor.
Food is a brunch tasting menu — consisting of granola, little bites (scotch eggs, etc), then a main of either eggs florentine or roast beef.
We had food wrongly delivered, people left without mains for 30 minutes, no cutlery, no water unless we asked 4 times, and it wasn’t even busy. Like, at all. My eggs florentine was basically a hard boiled egg and the bread was stale. The service was poor, understanding of English was limited and there was a real lack of care. Everytime we asked for something — it seemed like a big deal.
The worst part of our afternoon was when we asked them to bring the cake for the birthday girl — the manager asked us who’s birthday it was, and then pronto, they delivered the cake, already sliced up, without the candle! So the birthday girl never got to see the cake that was made for her, with hand piped «happy birthday charlotte» on it. Worse than that — we saw another group (also having a birthday) being delivered a slice of OUR cake that we made! That made all of our blood boil, it’s not acceptable.
Two stars, not one, only because the management took 50% off the bill — and eventually saying as I was getting in the lift «I’m really sorry, if you ever want to come back ask for me.» It just didn’t feel very sincere and after 4 hours of bad service, it was a little too late. The birthday girl didn’t enjoy it and whilst we could have been in a dumpster and still had a good time amongst friends, this place did not deliver.

My wife and I stayed here for three nights. Five stars for location on Leicester Square, two minutes’ walk from Piccadilly Circus, three minutes walk to The National Portrait Gallery (one of my faves) and The National Gallery (and, of course, Trafalgar Square).
We had a nice quiet room on the fifth floor. Rather modernistically furnished. Plenty of storage space. There was an iPhone dock beside the bed and a plug inside the safety box so that one could charge one’s phone or tablet while out doing town. I’ve not seen that facility before!
Great breakfast at The Spice Market in the hotel.
Very happy and charming staff who did everything to make our stay enjoyable. I will certainly be back.

First, let’s talk location. If you want to be in the middle of everything – this is the place. We were in easy walking distance to Regent street, China Town, Piccadilly Circus and everything else. It’s a great place to people watch too. Lots of action.
The room was outstanding. We had the Wow suite. If you can pull it off, it’s worth it. Otherwise the other rooms I’m sure are very nice.
But as much as I liked the location, the sites, the sounds and the room, I have to tip my hat to the staff. First class on every level. Very patient. Very helpful. Very friendly to this first time London traveller and his family.
I told them I’ll be back. I’ll definitely keep my word.

Why do I always forget that W’s range between hip to straight up dance party? This one is by far the danciest one I’ve stayed in. Not a bad thing! Just be sure that’s your thing. On the plus side, it’s actually fun dancing music, like 50 Cent and LL Cool J and Robin Thicke. I haven’t heard any house music yet which is fantastic.
Rooms are… efficient. Polka dots and quilts are the theme here. If the walls aren’t mirrored, they are padded, just in case all that dancing has you wobbly or you need to check your lipstick.
Doormen are wonderful and helpful. They’re also tall and handsome.
On to logistics — A bit of a nightmare trying to get a car to the hotel, especially late on a Saturday night. Didn’t think that one through. It took 30 minutes to get to the hotel from Knightsbridge thanks to pedestrians and closed roads. If you can manage it, take the tube or walk. You’re only a few minutes from Picadilly or Leicester Sq stops.
Location is on the edge of Chinatown, surrounded by lots of theaters, a few minutes walk to the National Portrait Gallery and Trafalger Square, Harrods, etc, etc.
Ask for an inside room, or a room where the façade lights (they change color) don’t light your suite up like a disco ball.

Booked afternoon tea. Place was deserted at 2pm, but that was no problem — filled up throughout the course of the next couple of hours. You’ll find yourself in the bar area. My partner and i were sat at the side overlooking the KFC and a couple of drunk homeless men, shouting at people walking past through a traffic cone — the Dorchester this is not!
Tea itself was a little uninspiring, standard 4 slices of sandwich, and the bread just on the ‘turn’ suggesting they had been made earlier in a batch — you wouldn’t get nor expect that at one of the more ‘posh’ hotels. Also no refill of sandwiches, but a set amount. Scone was excellent though! Cakes following that were OK — nothing to write home about, not particularly inspiring, light or well made. Some attempt to link them to some funky ladies (Gaga, Westwood etc) but i’ll be honest — thought this a little weak.
Cocktails here are good — i have also been here at night when the pretentious crowd hang out! Espresso Martini for £12 is as good as the next place that makes it.
Would have given it 2.5 stars — but staff were friendly and inviting, so i’ll round it up to 3.

Excellent service.
Clean, great looking rooms
Room is very small.
Views out the window are poor.
Not a hotel you’ll want to bring your family to.
Bouncers at the entrance make it a scary, not friendly place to enter.
Laundry service is absurd.

Pros:
great location, walking distance to the fine restaurants, clubs, bars, regency street shops, and even museums.
Pretty ‘hip and nightlife scene’ type of hotel. Ultra modern.
Fast service when it comes to needing something sent to the room.
Cons:
–super thin walls (I thought other reviewers were exaggerating, but was surprised to experience the awkward 3 am luggage rolling above us all throughout the night.
I think there’s a storage room next door and that also is a source for all day noise.
–overpriced for what they offer.
–cheap décor throughout the hotel.
–getting the room cleaned will almost require an extra phone call to get it done later than 8am.
–CHECK-​IN TOOK ALMOST 3 HOURS.
(A free drink at the bar didn’t really do justice. Room wasn’t ready when it was supposed to be).
Do your research. The other nearby hotels are similar in price, but check online to get a great deal wherever you choose. If you’re just going to be here for a night, I’d say go ahead. If you’re planning to stay and make a fun trip out of it, don’t stay at this hotel.

My fiancé and I stayed here on Friday, 28 November for one night. I had booked the hotel using Starwood points a few months before this actual date. Also, I attempted to use both a Suite Nightt reward and the Platinum Your24 feature of my Platinum Starwood membership level. Both of which I am entitled to use together (according to my Starwood Platinum Ambassador).
My initial experience with the front desk staff was that the lady couldn’t be bothered to either greet me as a valued Starwood program member or to find me an acceptable suite and to honor the upgrade features that I am entitled to as a Platinum Starwood member. She was a bit cold and aloof. It felt like she was just biding her time until Brad Pitt or some other movie star would arrive and grace her presence.
We arrived in our originally assigned room to find the craziest merger of a bathroom and a kitchen island in a super-​small room that I have ever experienced. It actually felt like they took a small kitchen, put the toilet and shower stall in two separate closets and then threw a king-​sized bed in one corner of the room. The view from this part of the hotel (on the 5^th floor) was also horrible. A «Spectaculor Room” – I don’t think so!
After calling down to complain about this poor accomodation and asking to speak to the manager, I was told that the hotel manager was in a meeting and would call me backc soon. About 20 minutes later, another customer service representative finally called me back and arranged to move us to an actual suite on the 3^rd floor. The actual phrasing used was, «We were able to move another guest and provide you a better room». A totally bullshit response since this room was obviously fully appointed and no one had stayed in there for a while.
This second room was indeed much better – mainly due to the fact that the sleeping area and desk were separated in a different room, there was a bathtub added and the much improved view was front-​facing. No complaints there – but they should have just placed me in this room to begin with instead of causing me to have to fight for it.
Breakfast as tthe hotel was ala carte and very costly. Probably better to just walk around and find better food for less money. Starbucks and Whole Foods are nearby, too.
Great location, though. Right in the middle of London and walkable to almost anywhere. The concierge provided a nice tourist map, too.
If you stay here, be sure to arrange to have the hotel car take you back and forth to the airport or international train station. Their driver really knows his way around London and saved us from missing our train back to Belgium.
Note to international train travelers: Be sure to leave AT LEAST 1 hour early from this hotel to get to the train station. Traffic is horrible here, even outside of rush hour.

2 Stars = «Meh. I’ve experienced better.» and definitely how I felt during my week long stay. I have stayed at quite a few «W“s and this one is not like the rest.
If you arrived at night like we did, you’ll realize that this hotel has a club, as in a night/​dance club. There are three to five security guys dressed in all black that stands near the door. They looked like the bodyguards of mob bosses. No smile, no real greetings, they just stare at you as you walk by. But don’t judge a book by it’s cover, because I talked to a few of them during the day, and some of them are really friendly. I guess they need to tough a night to keep out the unwanted party-​ers?
Speaking of the club scene, the place blasts house music/​beats most of the day well into the evening in the hallways, it does lower at night, but never turns off. The hallways are really dark which can be annoying.
The rooms here are really modern, modern to the point where it’s annoying. The room I got had has the sink and counter OUTSIDE of the bathroom. The toilet (as in the pooper) is in a room all by itself, so it the shower. The problem with this is that the door where the toilet is is ALWAYS opened with «dirty» hands because the sink is outside! That’s pretty gross since I don’t think housekeeping ever does that great of a job. As far as the sink goes, don’t even bother to turn it on to a useful level because you would just end up getting water all over the counter and floor.
The drain in the shower was clogged from day one, I pulled up the decorative bar that was covering the drain hole, upon close inspection, it was filled with hair and gunk from the previous guest… guests? it was really gross.
Modern is great to look at and shows really well. But realistically, it’s not very functional in the long run.
I like the location of this hotel, but I didn’t enjoy the fact that it’s busy with people who are just there to party for the evening. There is really no view because of the decorative glass panels and the music in the hallways is just plain annoying after 5 days. Seriously, stop trying to be cool.

Yes I’m sure the hotel is an overpriced and noisy place to stay (it’s in the middle of Chinatown, what did you expect?!), but Sunday brunch here (*fanfare please*) is a gloriously lethargic affair and one that I thoroughly enjoyed!
If you’re in need of some rest + recuperation or just love a good Ibiza-​style chillout session then this is for you — oversized sofas, midday drinking, a DJ playing deep house… ok there’s no beach but the backdrop of the 1^st floor bar at the W is very easy on the eye. Swap your shoes for a fetching pair of cosy tartan slippers (yes, they give you your own SLIPPERS!!) and you’ll feel your world-​weary troubles start to melt away.
The food parade is fixed so all you need to decide is how hard you’re going to hit the booze. £25 will get you bottomless bloody marys or house wine, but that felt a bit too aggressive this time so most of us opted for a cocktail (around the £12-​mark). My Lavender Hill was a great choice if I may say so myself — that little bit naughty given it was barely after midday but floral and refreshing too.
The food line-​up begins with a cute granola jar each, followed by a 3-​tiered stand containing a smoked salmon and cream cheese bagel, half a scotch egg and a bowlful of chicken caesar salad per person. All looked good and tasted great, particularly the scotch egg which I’m not usually that crazy about. There are veggie alternatives to each so just let them know. If you think that was enough you’d be wrong — main course of a giant yorkshire pudding topped with strips of tender roast beef, mash and broccoli follow with a mini pot of gravy. And just in case you somehow had a teeny bit of stomach space left, they throw in a side bowl of mac+cheese too — and it was this that defeated me! All of that for £25 makes it a decent value feed even without the setting.
We managed to stretch all of this out over an indulgent 4 hours or so, which in hindsight sounds ridiculous but felt amazing. There’s no hassle or hurrying from the staff, and they’ll give you a break before the roast. It’s like entering a world where laziness is mandatory — the whole set-​up is designed to get you comfy and keep you there, from the slippers to the Sunday papers to the roaring fire features. Grab a pic’n’mix paper bag and help youself to sweetie jars of cola bottles and popping candy. There’s even a small cinema room attached to the bar screening New Girl and Flight of the Conchords reruns! Yup prepare yourselves — emerging from this cocoon into the real world afterwards is pretty damn painful.
It wasn’t all perfect — my granola pot was lacking any actual granola, whilst my friend sent back a teacup that didn’t look clean. They also forgot one of our eight cocktails to start with. Maybe it was the supremely relaxed vibe but these were small wrinkles that we didn’t really mind — esp when the staff were quite sociable and engaging otherwise. One guy was even convinced my mate was a Hollywood actor, and when he obviously played along and agreed, the waiter brought us over a round of free shots!
There’s room for improvement with the service then, but I have to give the whole experience 5-​stars for that blissful feeling of contentment I felt, sinking back into a huge pile of plush cushions cradling a cappuccino with a full tummy, surrounded by good company and eclectic tunes. In truth, they had me at the slippers ;)
Extra tip: brunch starts at 12pm so book as early as you can from then to get the best section of sofa to sit on. Then make sure you arrive 10mins before all your mates to get prime position on the cushions — the 3 latecomers to our gang had to make do with stools on the opposite side of the table, and watch as we got cosy! Trust me, given the amount of time you’ll be sitting there, the earlybird definitely catches the comfiest seat…

**Just reviewing the bar here — not the hotel as a whole**
My overall impression of this experience was that is all so unbelievably cheesy. The debacle at the entrance with the (rude) bouncers, the overpriced and uninspired cocktails, the clientele, the music mix, the bartenders, even the name — Wyld Bar, ick — is just so outdated and shruggable.
We needed to kill time between dinner a movie, so we decided to check out their bar, after having such a great experience experimenting with new cocktails at The Strand Dining Rooms.
We paid £12.50+ for cocktails that were nothing special and kept with the overall trendy-​five-​years-​ago vibe of this hotel (mojitos, anyone??).
The décor was all over the place with wood panel effect on the walls and a floor to ceiling shelving unit with giant dinner plates with pictures of people on them making weird faces (why??).
The DJ table faced a wall (?) and the different seating styles throughout was actually great, except it was so poorly executed it just felt disjointed.
The bar area servers were probably the best part — they were very friendly, brought by small plates of spiced nuts constantly and let us know when a small sofa/​table became open so we could move away from the hard window seat.
A trip up to the bar allowed me to overhear ridiculously inane flirting going on between overweight travelling businessmen and women dressed for a club, not a chic hotel bar (though considering this bar, they fit right in).
The bartender looked excessively put out by my asking for his recommendation on a cocktail and I was equally put out by his answer: «they’re all good.»
To top it off, when I hit the bathroom on the way out, I found them in a state — paper towels littering the floor, dirty mirrors, etc. It’s like the staff have collectively stopped caring about anything.
Overall I left thinking this place is for middle aged-​business travellers who are not at all fussed about value to cost as long as there are pretty girls to hit on, and tourists who splurged and were likely disappointed.

Ein wunderschön designtes, modernes Hotel direkt am Leicester Square. Das Haus ist nicht groß, und W-​typisch designt, wenn auch etwas kühl. Ich bekam ein Upgrade in eine Suite, die mir natürlich sehr gefallen hat. Im Haus befindet sich eine Hippe Bar und das Restaurant «Spice Market», das südostasiatische Küche serviert, sowie das Frühstück.
Das Frühstück war für mich als SPG Platinum Mitglied kostenlos, und sehr gut, wenn auch nicht umfangreich, so wie ich es von anderen W Hotels gewohnt bin. Allerdings kann man sich á la carte viel dazubestellen. Das Abendessen im Spice Market war enttäuschend.
Insgesamt sind die Zimmerpreise im W London einfach viel zu hoch, das ist mit nichts zu rechtfertigen. Auch wenn’s ein tolles Haus ist.

Great location but very loud! Walking distance to Piccadilly Circus and Chinatown.
Since this hotel is located in a very touristy area, be prepared to battle when you walk the streets. It gets pretty tricky walking up/​down the narrow sidewalks.
The hotel itself is nice, rooms are not spacious like some of the other W properties but cozy.
The lounge area is a great place to meet friends for a drink, it also has a private area with a DJ in the back of the bar. We stayed on the 12^th floor and we would hear people screaming at 3 am… If you are going to London for some beauty sleep and some relaxing time, W is NOT the place for you!

Belle chambres, bien pensées. Service minimum.