Photo credit: bestourism.com
I’ve always felt that whenever I travel outside Canada, I get excellent service – whether it’s in the U.S.or Asia. Now, even London, UK, exemplifies great hospitality.
Four years ago, I stayed at The Langham London and wrote a blog post on its excellent service. Last month, I stayed for six days again in the same hotel and marvelled at its quality again. In fact, not only was the hotel able to maintain its property and rooms in top-notch shape, but the service actually further improved from that of four years ago!
Due to my dietary constraints, I have called the hotel prior to my departure to inform them of my special requests for meals in the Club Lounge. Not only were they able to give me gluten-free options during breakfast, but they also provided ample selections for afternoon tea and hot and cold hors d’oeuvres in the evening as well. The staff at the Club Lounge were all attentive and eager to please. My request for unsweetened almond milk for breakfast was fulfilled throughout my entire stay without fail. I also noticed that the food quality and selections at the Lounge were higher and more generous than the options from my visit four years ago.
Club Lounge attendant Annabel proactively checked all the benefits of the hotel’s loyalty program for me and express check-in and check-out were super efficient. One of the longest-serving doormen, Ian, who has been working for the hotel for 12 years, was super charming and addressed me by the last name. With such well-trained staff, how can a hotel guest not be happy and satisfied?
My only complaints, if any, were the overly-vibrant noise level of the hotel’s Artesian Bar almost every evening during my stay and the occasional fruit flies over lunch at The Palm Court Restaurant.
When it comes to hotel bars in London, my preference would be The Churchill Bar at The Hyatt Regency Churchill. The elegant and stylish bar was designed with a young Winston Churchill and his wife in mind, with references to the late Prime Minister’s life in photography and art, and in travel and animals. This is the bar where London Mayor Boris Johnson recently launched his new biography on Churchill by conducting media interviews here – a bar with interesting cocktails where you could either relax alone or talk to friends over drinks without the need to yell at one another.
London’s weather was bone-chill cold and damp in November, and I was eventually glad to return to Toronto even though it’s at least five degrees Celsius colder here. But I must say that I miss the excellent service at The Langham which should be an exemplary role model for our hospitality industry in Canada!
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