LOVED this hotel! Perfect for a Quiet Getaway!
Written: Dec 29 '04 (Updated Dec 30 '04)
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Pros: Beautiful quarters, quiet residential area, 2 blocks from tube station, simple and elegant, huge suites.
Cons: Relentless housekeeping staff, had to leave the hotel for laundry facility.
The Bottom Line: I highly recommend this hotel for both business and pleasure. The rooms are apartment sized, the service was great and the outside has beautiful gardens! Peace and quiet!
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| razberryswirl's Full Review: Dolphin Square Hotel |
Choosing the Hotel
When we were planning our honeymoon for October of 2003, we had no doubt that we'd go to London. My husband had been there several times and I have always wanted to go with him. The only decision to make was where to stay and in what area.
We were mostly wanting to get something inexpensive but still nice. That's tricky in London because everything is overpriced and the American version of "nice" is much different than in London. As in most large cities, space is hard to find at any price and for people on a budget like we were, it was a huge gamble to choose something.
We decided to go through Priceline.com and let them choose our hotel and area, as long as we could stay within a budged. Nine months before our vacation, Priceline accepted our offer of $80US per night for seven nights. I immediately began to research the hotel and found mixed reviews. It certainly LOOKED nice in the photographs and the customer service via email was quick and polite. We started to research the area, Westminster, which is a wonderful, quiet location just outside of the busier areas of London. It's also very close to Buckingham palace and just a few blocks away from a tube station.
Getting to Dolphin Square from Heathrow
Finally, our wedding day arrived and next thing I knew, we had set foot into Heathrow Airport around 10pm local time. My husband had researched and found out what train we needed to take to get to Victoria Station. From there, we hailed a cab and they knew exactly where Dolphin Square hotel was. We were so excited, not only having just been married but being driven around this place that we finally were able to go to together!
The cab drive was only about 15 minutes to Dolphin Square. Although it was dark, we could tell why it was called "Square". The whole complex is shaped like a square. One side of the square made up the hotel area; the other three sides were actual flats (apartments) that people lived in. We were dropped off and greeted at the door and were signed in quickly after verification of ID. The lobby was not all that impressive and it was small, but elegant in a simple way. There were a couple of computer terminals which you could pay for internet access, a fancy restaurant that is open for lunch and dinner, and also a health club resides at Dolphin square, free for use of the hotel guests. There is another more casual restaurant with tables along a balcony that overlooks a huge pool. They took us up the elevator and way down a long quiet hall to our room. Inside, what we found was spectacular.
The Room/Room Service
As I mentioned before, space is hard to find in London. Even small flats are so expensive there. My husband warned me about the space in London. This hotel exceeded our expectations as far as size: there was a bedroom with the king size bed that we requested (in London, it's two twins put together), a long bathroom with lovely tub/shower which was stocked with shampoo, towels and soap, a long kitchenette with stove, fridge, microwave and STOCKED cabinets and also a lovely living room with a small TV, mock fireplace and a small table for two overlooking the street just above the main entrance. It was lovely, quiet and romantic!
It was fun to go through the rooms and pick out all of the things we never find in other hotels. The bedroom was simple but had a very lovely two-door armoire type closet that was built into the wall with plenty of space, plus a 5 drawer chest and a fold-down ironing board. There was also a desk and chair and a phone. The bathroom was long and very roomy compared to other hotels, and there was a warm pipe that you could lay your towel on to warm as you bathe. The shower head had a lovely spray and the sink had a great basin to wash your face in. The kitchen was immaculate and the drawers full of silverware and utensils and the cabinets had dishes, cups and saucers, and cookware - even a French Press for coffee! We totally stocked our kitchen and it really felt like home! The living area had a furniture that wasn't fancy, but definitely homey, plus a vase sat over the mock fireplace where we placed a flower that my husband picked for me. We even propped a wedding photo up next to the vase. Our room truly felt like home.
In the morning, we opened the windows which were easy to open. There were no screens, as my husband told me there aren't bugs in the UK the way they are in the States. It was so lovely to wake up to the sound of children playing in the schoolyard across the street and the slight breeze swaying the pretty curtains. We looked out at the busy street and the sounds didn't bother us at all. Traffic in London doesn't sound like the traffic in Philadelphia, Chicago or New York.
We had room service that morning and a lovely traditional English breakfast was served to us on time, hot and well stocked with condiments like ketchup, sugar, salt and pepper, etc. The plates looked elegant and the food was okay (I'm not fond of the English sausages or bacon myself!). The food WAS pricey - we paid about $45 for the both of us, including full breakfast plus juice, tea and hot chocolate, complete with our own little ceramic pots for the "drinking chocolate".
The Exterior of Dolphin Square
We left our room to do some exploring. The grounds of the Dolphin Square are beautiful. Not to mention that the buildings are beautiful and historic...the gardens in the middle of the "square" are beautiful. There's a large dolphin fountain and many plants and greenery with benches where you can simply sit and enjoy the peace of the gardens and watch the residents doing their daily routines. This hotel also sits near to the river Thames...so you can always feel a fresh breeze.
If you go through a side door of the hotel, you are immediate connected to the "arcade" - a small parade of stores for the tenants and hotel visitors with all those little things you can think of. One store sells produce; one store sells personal goods and paper goods. There is a beauty salon and a couple of other specialty stores where you can find everything you need without leaving to go to the market - the closest market was a Tesco which was several blocks away.
The first day, we toured the blocks around the hotel. The great thing about Dolphin Square is that the area around it is residential. Many townhouses surround the area, plus a school and few specialty shops. There is a fish n' chips place just a couple of blocks away and the tube is only about two blocks away next to a couple pubs, a convenience shop, a library and a beautiful old Lutheran Church. I like the fact that the area is quiet and there weren't a ton of people walking around.
We walked several blocks down from the hotel and there is a slightly busy area with a post office, a couple of banks and more specialty shops and pubs. There are a few shops and places to go around the hotel if you are only staying a short day or two, but we already had a few places we wanted to visit so it was time to hop on the tube and explore. We visited many places like Leicester Square, Buckingham Palace, the British Museum, etc...all very accessible from the Pimlico tube station so nearby.
Hanging Out
We saw a couple of movies in the evenings, but when the nights became busy in London, we preferred to stay in our room and hang out. Our hotel was very quiet and at night, all you can hear is the occasional car drive by. The television had several channels and we always found an interesting movie or show to watch while we had dinner. I enjoyed cooking dinner in our room with various ethnic ingredients that were readily available in the markets.
One evening, I um...overcooked...something and there was a good amount of smoke in the kitchen. I promptly received a call from the front desk asking me if everything is okay. Apparently, the smoke alarm pre-warns the front desk of excessive smoke, and if it doesn't clear away or gets worse, the actual alarms will go off. The hostess reminded me that I can open the window in the kitchen and I did, clearing the room. I noticed that a light was blinking on the fire alarm and it stopped blinking after a little while. I thought that was nice.
A Bit of a Nuisance
While we loved this hotel and would definitely go again, there was one thing we were disappointed about: Housekeeping. They did a great job - they came every single day and we came back to a very neat room every evening. They vacuumed, replaced towels in the bathroom and straightened up, made the bed and washed any dishes if they were dirty. We found nothing missing and once we left a couple of pounds out as a tip but they didn't take it - they must have a policy against taking tips.
Usually we were gone from the hotel by 10am or 11am, but there were a few days that we slept in. I mean, we were on honeymoon for gosh sakes! Anyway, promptly around 11am, a maid would knock on the door for housekeeping - even if we had the "Do Not Disturb" sign on the door! The first day we ignored the knocks and figured they'd go away. But in a few minutes, the woman - I believe she said her name was Maria - called our room from a phone in the hallway. I told her we didn't need service that day and she seemed confused as to why we didn't want service, but she finally got it and said okay. This happend two or three times that week and I wonder if most people go to Dolphin Square for business or what - I guess people don't sleep in much there!
Considering the fact that it was the only negative aspect of our stay, I wouldn't use this to keep us away from the hotel, I'd definitely go again, but notify the front desk next time.
There was one other situation that was not as simple as it should have been but it didn't bother me much. The rooms have laundry bags and if you fill one and leave it out, housekeeping will take care of it for you for an extra fee, of course. The prices seemed rather high - for example, almost $4 for a shirt. I wanted to wash our clothes myself, so I asked about laundry facilities. Apparently, the whole apartment complex has only one laundry area. I'm assuming many residents have a mini washer and dryer in their flats, but for those who don't, they have to walk to the back of one of the buildings, go down the stairs into the basement halls and do their laundry in a small room with about five washers and dryers. It was a little confusing to me to find the place, but everything ended up just fine. I washed and dried two small loads for the price that having a shirt laundered would have cost. Plus, I was able to have a great conversation with a lovely older woman in the laundry room who has lived at the Dolphin Square flats for over 20 years. She was very excited at the idea of two young Americans here on a honeymoon, and she told me how much she loved living there. It really added to the stay.
Final Thoughts
I have seen many mixed reviews about this hotel, but my husband and I were very impressed. From what I have read, the Dolphin Square was being remodeled and many people were turned off of the hotel from contruction matters. I saw no construction in November of 2003 and only lovely, quiet wings so I suggest that anyone give this place another try.
I am not sure if we'll ever stay at the Dolphin Square again - the regular hotel rates at the front desk looked to be around $175 - $225 a night which is more than what we'd normally pay, so we got a great deal from Priceline for $80 a night - but we'd definitely take our chances again on Priceline to try for it.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
razberryswirl
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Member: Naomi
Location: Central Illinois
Reviews written: 42
Trusted by: 2 members
About Me:
Oh my goodness - I'm almost 30!
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