Romantic Staycation – The Marriott, Grosvenor Square
It was Mr E’s birthday last weekend and I had planned a little romantic treat for him for the week leading up to his birthday. His actual birthday was on Saturday the 16th and I wrote him a cute post ; see post – 35 things I love about you – proper cheesy, I know but don’t front, it was cute! Have a read and you’ll see what I mean. For his birthday weekend, we knew we were not leaving the country but desperately needed a wind down away from the house.
Enter a romantic staycation at The Marriott Grosvenor Square! My theme for this year was to do things we had never done before, I had a budget so I went hotel shopping!
I had already reserved a spot at our favourite seafood restaurant so I knew that I wanted a hotel close-by so we could walk there. If you are asking the name of our favourite seafood restaurant, I can tell you that it is Scott’s, Mayfair – look, the BEST seafood restaurant in all of London, no arguments lol. Anyway, I narrowed down my search with this and it came down to 2 hotels. Marriott won because I realised almost last minute that I had their loyalty card which meant that I was offered some perks and 15% discount on my booking!
PS – Most hotel loyalty schemes are free to join and I always encourage people to sign up even though you might only use it once a year. Hotels and Airlines love and reward loyalty!
I booked directly through the hotel having done my googles to confirm that they were offering the best deal. I checked my usual comparison websites and they were all around the same price but the hotel was offering me a discount on my membership! Our booking was Friday to Sunday – short but sweet!
Getting there, Location & Check In
So Mr E had no idea where we were going and I made sure he did not drive. If you know him well, he loves to drive everywhere! Tbh valet parking was going to cost us £58 each day; how sway Marriott?! So it was a confident NO from me! We took an uber from our flat that lovely Friday afternoon and I had pre-warned the lovely uber driver not to say anything about where we were going so as not to ruin the surprise. Check in usually starts around 4pm and we arrived just before.
Marriott is located in Grosvenor Square as the name suggests; literally 2 minutes’ walk from Oxford street. However, what I loved about its location is how it almost disappears as you walk towards Oxford street which makes you feel further away from the noise.
Check in was very quick and we were told what perks came with our reservation. I do love a fast check in. My card was held for a deposit of £200 which is the norm when checking into a hotel. It’s an open tab in your name for when you order room service or break something lol – sort of a collateral against your stay. The held money does not get deducted from your account but held for the duration of your stay and released once you leave (if you have not broken anything).
Wondering what to look out for when booking a hotel? Check out related post – 10 things to check before you book your hotel for everything you need to know before you book any hotel, resort or air bnb!
Lodging
Our room was the Executive suite and it had just been newly renovated. It was so pretty. I loved the bed so much and the pillows were the perfect level of soft. My favourite thing in the room was the curtains – I loved how the royal blue curtains danced around the white walls. There were blue and grey accents throughout the room and I just found everything minimal, crisp and classic. I definitely added the hues to my house inspo mood board.
Walking into the room, there is the semi walk in closet with hidden wardrobes and guys, guess what?! AN ACTUAL DECENT FULL LENGTH MIRROR. We all know that hotel mirrors are usually the worst but this one was perfection. I still need to find out where it’s from as I need it in my home! Loved it and of course took sooooo many mirror selfies with it!
The bathroom was gorgeous and huge! I’m not sure if all the bathrooms for the executive suites are that big because, we all know London and tiny spaces or if our bathroom was more tailored to accommodate a wheelchair user. Since the room had been recently renovated; perhaps, Marriott is being more inclusive? We loved all the space anyway as it meant I had more space to dance around while brushing my teeth so yay to that!
As with suites, there was an entertaining area with a full sofa, a side arm chair and a center table. We also had a desk and chair which came in handy on Sunday morning when Mr E had to do some work!
Service
LOVED!
I had booked room service for Saturday morning and the lady who brought up our breakfast was lovely. We ordered a full English each with hot chocolate and pineapple juice but when she came up, she forgot to bring the toast. When I reminded her, she went red in the face and kept saying she was sorry, I almost gave her a cuddle not to worry. Bless her! She dashed off and came back with our toast and more apologies!
I would have been annoyed if the service was below 5 star tbh. I feel the service is expected to be high when you are paying all that money and Marriott was no exception. We really enjoyed our stay and would most likely choose it again as long as it is within our budget over any other hotel.
Every evening after we’d come back from dinner, there was a little chocolate treat and a kind note. For Mr E’s birthday, they kindly left a bottle of champagne and a little treat for us. It was all so sweet!
To Eat - on site
Gordon Ramsey Bar & Grill
With our reservation came free breakfast at the Gordon Ramsey Bar and Grill restaurant within the hotel so for our second morning, we decided to leave the room and head to Mr Gordon Ramsey’s famed spot. It was 9.45am and was not busy thankfully. I ordered some well-done fried eggs and sausages; there was a buffet of cold slices, breads and grains to choose from. I also had a bowl of fruits for good measure lol. Hashtag fit fam!
M Club
This was an exclusive chill spot which was open all day with different dishes to feed your peckish self! Our reservation gave us access to the M Club lounge which had nibbles, drinks and hot food at specific times throughout the day. It actually meant that if we wanted, we did not have to include breakfast in our reservation or go out to dinner because there was always something to eat if you chose to spend all day in the hotel. How lush is that?!
To Eat - off site
Did we leave the hotel at any time?
Yes! Although we spent A LOT of our time in the room sleeping, we did manage to go out both evenings actually! I knew we would be too lazy to leave the room so I made sure I had reserved spots outside the hotel which would essentially force us to leave lol
The first evening, we had dinner at Scott’s Mayfair. Scott’s is literally 8 minutes’ walk from the hotel and the plan was to walk down for dinner. However, it was raining that evening and frankly, I could not be bothered to walk with an umbrella while battling my extra long trousers so we ordered an uber LOL. We had the loveliest seafood dinner. I love Scott’s so much and if anyone wants to know where to go for seafood, head over to Scott’s (make sure you reserve first as it does get pretty busy). If its a lucky day, you could spot one or two celebrities there too!
The second evening, we had a late Lunch at Sexy Fish, Mayfair. Sexy Fish is another one of our faves for seafood. The first time we went to Sexy Fish was after it had just opened, I managed to get a Valentine’s Day reservation in 2016 and it was the best experience ever. It has remained a fave since then! We had a 4.30pm reservation and the plan was to leave the hotel at 2pm, walk to Oxford street to get Mr E’s birthday present before heading to the restaurant. However, laziness took over and we did not leave the hotel till 3.45pm, walked around a little and even got to Sexy Fish at 4.15! Luckily our table was already ready even though it was a packed Saturday evening!
See another planned event fror Mr E’s birthday in this related post – Mad Hatter’s Afternoon Tea, Sanderson London
Check out more Hotel Reviews in Cappadocia, Turkey and Quintana Roo, Mexico
Have you seen 35 Things I Love About You yet?
Facilities
I really did not go to the Marriott to use any extra facilities such as the gym or whatever else. We had gone for a healthy spa stay a few days before so this one was intentionally booked to chill and not think about gym or saunas. However, I can confirm that there is definitely a gym on site and I know most people want to know if there is a pool but I did not see one on the website. I assume, as with most central London hotels, there was no pool.
Conclusion
One of my main reasons for choosing the Marriott was its proximity to everywhere I wanted to go and it worked out perfectly within my budget as well. I wanted a boujee hotel because it was the love of my life’s 35th birthday, I wanted to blow his mind away and this was something I knew would make the both of us happy!
Was it pricey? Yes.
Was it worth the price? Yes.
Check out was 12 noon on Sunday and with sadness in our eyes, we looked at each other and promised ourselves to do staycations more often. That’s how much we loved it! As much as I am careful with how and where I spend my money, I am also a big believer of enjoying your life while you can. Where I can afford something within reason, there is no holding me back. Hopefully, I become a millionaire soon so I would not have to save to be able to afford all these things or think twice before spending because tbh, my eye is too big hahahahahaha
…and just like that, it was back to our precious flat (and reality!)
Bisous, ‘Bugo x
6 Comments
Melissa
I love this! With all the pictures of the hotel etc I feel like I stayed there myself lol! Also I’m in love with that hotel mirror too!
I’m a big fan of seafood so I defo have added Scott’s to my list of restaurants to try.
Sounds like a perfect getaway break and well planned. X
Bugo
Yayyy i’m glad Melissa!
Isn’t a full length mirror everything?! LOVED it so much – so many music videos were shot there hahahaha
you’ll love Scott’s, I think it’s the best restaurant for seafood in London, don’t quote me though LOL
thank you for reading and leaving this lovely comment x
Nneka
This blog post was so beautifully written! I actually feel like I was there sha lol! It seems like you two really enjoyed your staycation, rightfully so! x
Bugo
thank you SO much hun! Yay I guess I achieved my goal of making one feel like they were on the journey with us.
We had the absolute best couple of days, so refreshing and relaxing x
Ronke
Really enjoyed this
Bugo
Thank you my lovely x