The Park Hyatt London River Thames has only been open for 10 months. It still has that new hotel feel. It’s located in the Nine Elms district on the south side of the Thames, and many find it to be an odd location other than proximity to the U.S. Embassy.
The hotel has 203 guest rooms, including 34 suites, two ambassador suites, and one presidential suite. It occupies the first 18 floors of a two‑tower complex (the taller tower has residences that share some hotel amenities).
Base rooms run about 360 to 398 square feet, with standard suites around 560 square feet. They feature marble bathrooms (bathtub and separate shower), hardwood parquet floors, and Nespresso machines.
In the lobby is Nine Elms Bar & Lounge and Nine Elms Kitchen & Terrace (for all‑day dining and breakfast), and Cantonese restaurant Yú Gé.
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The hotel is a category 7 for redemptions and I spent 25,000 points per night and applied a confirmed suite uograde for my 3-night stay.
Most describe it as out of the way, but it’s well-connected by Vauxhall (Victoria line) and Nine Elms (Northern line) stations. It’s surrounded by towers, with only a few nearby amenities though the coffee shop right next door is pretty good.
This is not where you stay on your first visit to London as a tourist, and it’s not a hotel that gives you an especially English feel. Instead, it’s modern Park Hyatt luxury in a newly gentrified neighborhood. But honestly I loved it and it worked great for my purposes, giving me a very nice suite for my family at reasonable cost and we’re hardly London first-timers.
I was on the 12th floor and the room was incredibly bright and airy with great views down the river and high ceilings. While the suite itself was small, the layout was great and we had no problem as a family of four. Lower‑floor suites don’t have the same views and sense of spaciousness as a result.
Staff here are excellent, from the doormen to front desk, bar and room service.
Globalist breakfast is available in both the restaurant or via room service with 5 GBP tray charge, but each morning I’d get up with my son and take him downstairs for coffees and a pastry from the restaurant and we’d order room service later on. They didn’t charge us for the to go items since our breakfast was included.
I have to say their prawn congee was excellent, though the accompanying dim sum was just alright. My daughter absolutely loved her pancakes each morning. The coffee was good, and I’m a sucker for fresh squeezed orange juice.
The wellness floor includes a pool, gym, spa, sauna, and meditation pods. Yú Gé is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays, and we’d planned to eat there on a Wednesday evening but did a late tea and wound up skipping it.
This is a solid London 5-star hotel and a value for the points paid.
Some reports have suggested that the hard product falls short of real top‑tier five‑star standards but I really did not get that sense at all. I absolutely loved the bones of the property. I’d definitely stay here again, depending of course on where I needed to be and what I was doing in London.
Is it a nice hotel? Yes. But it is not luxury when you consider all of the legitimate 5-star hotels in London. I’m not sure you could even call it elegant. It could be a JW Marriott or Intercontinental. Nice. Somewhere between 4 and 5 stars but not luxury. I don’t know why a Hyatt elite using points would stay here over the Hyatt Regencies in London, two of which have a club lounge.
Seeing as I’ve stayed in London 3 times before, I suppose I’m due. At 25K/night, that’s a steal. While it’s a little out of the way from the most touristy spots, it’s real close to the US Embassy. In the past, I’ve enjoyed the views from the Shard, but the Shangri-La, surprisingly, doesn’t have the best breakfast. Besides, can’t really use points to maximum value as with this Park Hyatt. Good review, Gary! Safe travels!
Gary, in your photos, the woman standing at the far left hand side check-in desk (from the point of view of the guest) has RBF. That falls short of excellent service. Front desk must appear approachable and smiling at all times.
@E. Jack Youlater — To each their own, sir (or madam). Some do find so-called ‘RBF’ attractive. You know, maybe they like the ‘thrill of the chase’… to turn that frown upside down. 100% smiling is not human or realistic. Also, it’s another beautiful day, and Taiwan remains a free, independent country.
@1990 – Some find the darndest things attractive. Remember R. Kelly? (Like that United Club Card ad – you’re in!!)
100% smiling may be unrealistic, but the fact is, muscles are trainable. If you consciously smile more, you’ll eventually look nicer, even when you are not actively trying to smile.
“Taiwan” is part of China. Specifically the People’s Republic of China. On the topic of embassies since this Park Hyatt is near the US embassy: there is no embassy or consulate of Taiwan in either the US or the UK. There are, however, diplomatic outposts of the People’s Republic of China.
@E. Jack Youlater — Oh, the irony… I was just mentioning Mr. Kelly in Gary’s earlier post… like, how he successfully used Shaggy’s ‘wasn’t me’ defense in his 2008 acquittal, but that sure didn’t work for him in 2021…
Anyway, Taiwan is part of the Republic of China; not the PRC, also known as the ‘mainland,’ which is a dictatorship, currently occupied by Xi and the CCP.
As for ‘recognition,’ just 12 countries currently have formal diplomatic relations with the ROC, because the rest of the world continues to appease the PRC, lest they ‘cut off’ trade, or bully them in some other way.
However, as others have said, please do try entering ROC with a visa for PRC, and vice versa, because that won’t end well for you. Each has it’s own sovereignty.
As I’ve said before, I just wish the people within PRC could actually self-determine without threat of ‘re-education.’ One more time, if you can’t respectfully disagree with your own government, that’s not ‘freedom’ or ‘liberty.’ At least in Taiwan, they can vote for their own leaders, and criticism them, if they wish; whereas, the people in Beijing, Chongqing, or Shenzhen can’t do that without being punished.
I’ve been to both countries, and would like to visit each again, soon; however, with Xi’s ‘promise’ to re-unify/attack by 2027, I’m not ‘excited’ by what’s to come there. Your thoughts?