Review: The Welbeck Hotel London [United Kingdom]
| Positives | Negatives |
|---|---|
| Nice and convenient location | Disappointing breakfast |
| Beautiful room design | Ugly rooms hallway |
| Great points booking value (for now) | Expensive in cash |
| Free minibar restocked daily |
London can be a tricky place to plan out award travel on with typical high fees associated with flying into LHR, and that doesn’t even factor in the hotel costs. Yet, one hotel caught my eye while figuring out where to stay and it’s The Welbeck Hotel.
The Welbeck Hotel sticks out as being an “unbranded” hotel that participates in the IHG program with it being bookable on points, earn points on cash stays, and deliver elite status benefits.
It used to be the Holiday Inn London – Oxford Circus and then rebranded to The Welbeck Hotel that seem to be stuck in limbo when it comes to transitioning into an IHG brand. It’s speculated to be a Vignette Collection hotel at some point, which had been noted on the hotel’s page for a moment until it was removed.
The Welbeck Hotel- Booking
I booked a 4-night stay with 102,000 IHG points with the help of the 4th night free benefit from the Chase IHG Business Premier. The hotel retailed at around 230 GBP during my stay, so it’s a tremendous value out of my IHG points usage, and is one of the best value for London when it comes to hotels on points.
Because IHG constantly run double points promotion when buying them, it’s worth exploring points booking as an option rather than cash as you can get better value out of the stay.
I suspect the low price won’t stay for long possibly because the hotel’s still in transition phase into becoming a branded IHG hotel, and is probably running a promotional rate during the time of my booking. In general, the pricing on IHG points will be similar to Holiday Inns and Hotel Indigos while being significantly lower than the Kimpton Fitzroy in the local market.
The Welbeck Hotel- Location
The Welbeck Hotel is located in the Marylebone area on Welbeck Street that the hotel is named after. It’s nearby to notable places like Oxford Street, The Wallace Collection (free museum), Chinatown, Leicester Square, and The British Museum (mostly free).
Access to public transportation wise, it’s in a very convenient place with Bond Street station being the nearest to the hotel that serves London Underground and Elizabeth Line for easy connection with London Heathrow Airport (LHR). I find it to be in an excellent location especially for a first time visitor to London.
The Welbeck Hotel- Check-in
I arrived to the hotel at around noon straight from LHR through the Elizabeth Line and walked 5 minutes from Bond Street station. I was able to get early check-in which was greatly appreciated after a long flight. As an IHG Diamond member, I was able to select the welcome gift of 600 points or daily breakfast for two. Of course, I chose the breakfast.
The lobby is well-furnished with a chess set in front of the reception and the bar and lounge area called The Welbecker.
The Welbecker has a sizeable lounging area and a photo booth by the bar counter.
I took a peek inside the photo booth room, and it’s filled with wallpaper of medical apparatus. I’ve learned that Welbeck Street has a history with the startup of London’s medical scene. A cool nod to history.
The Welbeck Hotel- Double Standard Room
I was assigned to the 5th floor, the second highest floor of this hotel. When I got to the hallway to my room, I did not like what I’m seeing with the all-red design. It looked like I was walking through a sludge of raw meat with the floor color.
But, when it comes to the room, it was the complete opposite and my eyes relaxed a bit as I entered.
Lots of neutral colors that are more pleasant to look at that the hallway outside should’ve followed.
The Double Standard is of the typical size of a European hotel room at 16sqm (64sqft). The bed itself was nice and firm with fluffy pillows and a body pillow.
The renovation also feature electrical sockets like a universal, UK (Type G), and USB-C adaptable for current times.
The view was nothing noteworthy as my room was on the back of the building, but I figure this side would be quieter than the one facing Welbeck Street.
Despite the official size, the bedroom area felt quite adequate with some spacing between the bed and the living space that has two chairs and a round table between, TV, and the pantry.
The TV already has apps like Netflix installed, which is quite nice and you probably won’t find Chromecast or hooking up an HDMI necessary.
A nice touch to the room is the free minibar throughout your whole stay, and they’re restocked daily should you consume them. The free things include the popcorn and cookie by the coffee and the drinks inside the fridge which are water, small bottle of milk, and cans of Coke and Diet Coke.
The closet was decently sized, and they provided some slippers, safe, hairdryer, ironing board, and luggage rack.
My stay happened during the Easter weekend, and they left a note with a Creme Egg, a British chocolate with sweet white cream fillings.
The bathroom’s located by the room entrance led with a marble sink and lit-up vanity mirror. The floor’s also heated!
There’s walk-in shower at the end of the bathroom with half-glass cover. I hate this stupid design that some hotels subscribe to. What is the point of the cover when water will end up flooding anyway!?
The TempleSpa toiletries they use have nice citrus fragrance.
Overall, it’s a beautiful room
The Welbeck Hotel- Breakfast
Breakfast is in the hotel’s restaurant on the basement level that consist of buffets with bread, pastries, cereal, cured meats, cereal, and cheese.
On top of the buffet, there’s a la carte menu. IHG Diamond members can choose one item from the Prescribed Plates or Eat Well plus coffee or tea.
Because of jet lag, I only made it for breakfast just twice, but overall it’s pretty OK, and thankfully not something I’d pay out of pocket. The portion for the a la carte breakfast items were disappointing, and they barely fill the plate. To be fair, I didn’t try everything, but the items I had were priced at 18-20 GBP each, and I expected more.
20 GBP for that Full English? Oof. The plate’s barely filled. You are better off going somewhere nearby.
The Welbeck Hotel- Gym
The gym is doors away from the restaurant on the basement level. It’s a tiny gym that opens 24/7 with 3 cardio machines, dumbbell racks, and cable crossover.
The Welbeck Hotel- Spa
There’s no spa facility in the hotel, but you can order in-room massage served by Ruuby, a digital beauty and wellness concierge. You can order treatments like massage, facial, nails, and even a haircut!? I don’t know how it’d be possible in a small hotel room for the haircut.
Though from how it appears, you’d need to book an appointment and it may not be as convenient as the typical hotel with an actual spa facility. The prices are also very expensive and comparable with what you’d expect from a luxury hotel that has a spa facility.
I didn’t try the service myself, but it’d be interesting if people actually do so from their room. To me, it doesn’t seem comfortable to have in-room massage considering the size of the hotel rooms, especially with the really high price.
Conclusion
The Welbeck Hotel is an odd place. From it being an unbranded IHG hotel, I can sense it’s still finding its identity. The rooms are nicely designed and sets the mood right for relaxation, yet you’re hit with that ugly red hallway every time you enter you room.
It tries to provide a 5-star hotel service like in-room spa, which I think is a strange way to go about it since who would do so in such small rooms? I think it should stick to its lane and not pretend to be more than it is, an upscale boutique hotel. The free minibar that’s restocked daily was awesome, and I think the hotel can benefit from increased small gestures like that for much better experience.
Breakfast was disappointing with their portion, and I wouldn’t pay out of pocket for them. There are many places in walkable distance that would get you the same type of breakfast for lower prices and possibly taste better as well.
Still, I did like my stay here because of the location and it does its job to provide me a comfortable stay. I was also content with the points price I paid, though it probably won’t stay this low for long. I have to point out that this place is expensive in cash and I think it’s too much for what it is, even for London.
