Bob U.
Yelp
This hotel really should be a five star rating, but it misses the mark in a few places. The hotel is beautiful, the décor is amazing in all the public spaces and the rooms. There's a beautiful multi-story atrium that houses the excellent Winter Garden Restaurant (reviewed separately).
Everything is clean and neat, the staff is superb, going out of their way to help with requests. The rooms are spacious, the Mirror Bar is fantastic and the hotel is very centrally located, near Marylebone High Street and Baker Street tube.
So what's wrong?
At five-star prices, there is need of some updating to make it truly a five-star hotel. One, the beds are uncomfortably soft. I know mattress firmness is a personal preference, but these mattresses are clearly well past their prime, way too soft and lumpy. Two, the plumbing is apparently set up in such a way that when someone nearby (presumably) flushes the toilet, the hot water in the shower becomes scalding hot. Three, the electric is fragile. I plugged in an iron and all the outlets on that side went out, including the TV. And last, although the rooms are very large, especially by European standards, there is almost no place to store clothes except in the closet. Maybe this last one isn't such a big deal for some people, but I was there twice over a two week period and it was inconvenient pulling clothes out of a suitcase each morning.
Even with these nits, it's absolutely a top notch hotel and with a little fixing up, would be a world-class experience.