Hotels

JW Marriott Grosvenor House London Review – another fantastic use of Marriott 50k night certs

a car parked outside of a hotel

We may receive a commission when you use our links. Monkey Miles is part of an affiliate sales network and receives compensation for sending traffic to partner sites, such as CreditCards.com and CardRatings. This relationship may impact how and where links appear on this site. This site does not include all financial companies or all available financial offers. Monkey Miles is also a Senior Advisor to Bilt Rewards. Terms apply to American Express benefits and offers. Enrollment may be required for select American Express benefits and offers. Visit americanexpress.com to learn more Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities.


JW Marriott Grosvenor House London

The JW Marriott Grosvenor House London was built in 1929 and is one 4 Marriott properties located near Grosvenor Square off Park Lane. I’ve stayed at the Grosvenor House multiple times over the past 30 years and this past visit featured newly renovated common areas and room.  I have a fondness for this hotel since it was the first place I ever stayed in London when my mom and I accompanied my dad on a business trip in the 1990s.

The JW Marriott Grosvenor House is located on Park Lane within 5 mins walking of the Marble Arch tube stop, Oxford street Hyde Park, and less than 20 mins to Harrods or Selfridges. It’s a great central location ideal for those who want to experience the hob nob of Park Lane, the High Street tourist vibe of Oxford street, and the access to Hyde Park.

First Impression

We were greeted promptly and welcomed to a a beautifully renovated lobby and checked in without waiting a single second. I’ve walked through the Grosvenor House multiple times since my last stay, and was very excited to experience it another time.

a lobby with a reception desk and a counter

A look at the hotel pre-reno

JW Marriott Grosvenor House London

Other London Hotels we have reviewed

How we booked:

The last time I reviewed the property was in 2022 and redeemed free night certificates. This time around, I could have done that from my Gold account, but my wife and I decided it was better to use her account, Titanium, to gain access to the lounge and redeem 145k points total for 3 nights. 2 of those nights were points save.

The one downside of using points at Marriott hotels is that you’ll often end up in some of the most undesirable rooms, which has happened a few times at this property before I started my blog.

On this trip, we applied some upgrade certificates and ended up in a Suite. Now… we weren’t guaranteed that suite, but upon check in we inquired if we could upgrade from the Executive Room we’d been allocated, and they gave it to us free.

 

Stay Details

  • Where: London
  • When: Feb 2025
  • How many points: 145 for 3 nights
  • Status: Titanium
  • Upgrade: Yes to 1 Bedroom Suite

a group of flowers on a marble table

Check In

We entered off Park Street and left our car at the valet while we checked in. It’s worth noting that many of the parking garages nearby offer parking far cheaper than the Grosvenor House – we used the JustPark app to find some at the Hilton Park Lane – a 5 or 10 minute walk right down Park Lane.

I always double check my benefits. One, it assures me I am being given the proper benefits and nothing has been over looked, and two… it tells the desk clerk that I know what’s up.

The desk clerk quickly confirmed our lounge access, that breakfast would be served in the JW Steak House, and notified us our our upgrade to a corner executive king on the 5th floor.

a large room with a large couch and chairs

The Rooms

Executive King from 2022

We were given a Southeast facing corner room that featured 3 windows. January isn’t exactly the sunniest of times in London, but having 3 windows certainly made the room feel bigger.

a room with a bed and a television

There is a short hallway featuring double closets where you’ll find robes and a safe

It leads to a small full bathroom finished in floor to ceiling marble.

a bathroom with a sink toilet and shower

The vanity features two bottles of water and Bvlgari products. Quite plush.

We actually stayed at the hotel a few days later in a different room – here’s a quick peek at the other room: 630

1 Bedroom Suite

Our suite was spilt in two by the bathroom

a door open to a bathroomwhich featured a single vanity and a shower.

a bathroom with marble walls and a toilet

As a point of reference, here’s a look at the pre-renovated room from my last stay – 830 – a one bedroom suite

IMG_4755The bath hasn’t really changed much…

 

Breakfast – The Executive lounge is a massive attribute

As a Platinum elite or higher, you are afforded access to the executive lounge. Used to, they gave you the option to have breakfast at the JW Steakhouse or in the lounge, but currently, it’s only available in the lounge. The JW Steakhouse is under renovations.

It’s located just right off the elevator bank and discreetly tucked down a short hall. Some hotels offer a club level or executive level that doesn’t really add much value to your stay. The offerings throughout the day at this executive lounge are a game changer, and rival some of the better executive lounges found in Asia. There isn’t a view here, but you’ll find a great breakfast, wonderful pastries, loads of drinks, and the 6-8pm canapes could suffice as a meal replacement.

a hallway with a mirror

The Grosvenor House really outdid itself with this club. There is loads of space to work ( I wrote this review in a small semi-private TV room ) and a variety of seating arrangements.

a room with tables and chairs

Not only is there a Breakfast Spread with pastries, cured meats, smoked fish, but there is a hot offering as well that gives the option to have a traditional Full English Breakfast. There are many juice offerings, soda offerings, and a few coffee machines that will make you lattes, espressos, americanos, etc.

Additionally, they do a nice offering in the evening, which could probably serve as a meal replacement. They also do an afternoon tea prior to I

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

 

The Gym

Plenty of equipment to get a good workout in during your stay. For a London hotel it was good sized and well equipped.

Overall

The JW Marriott Grosvenor House is a fantastic property in the heart of Mayfair/Park Lane that offers Platinum elites and above, a great breakfast with a world class executive lounge. I’ve had the pleasure at staying at over a dozen 4 and 5 star properties across London and this continues to be one of my favorites. For a Platinum Elite looking to redeem 50k certs…this would be nearly unbeatable in central London.

If you’re looking to pay cash, and honing in on hotels in the $250 to $350 ( maybe $400 ) price range, and you enjoy traditional luxury, a great executive lounge, and a Park Lane location, I would seriously consider the Grosvenor House. Prices climb way north of here, but I’d consider anything in that range a steal.

If it’s pricing much above that price point and you don’t have status, I would heavily weigh your options. The executive lounge is a major attribute for this hotel and without access, it would be hard for me to justify paying a premium. London is littered with great properties that may be priced better.

Another quick note – the hotel is on the big side, so if you’re wanting a similar location with a more boutique vibe within the Marriott umbrella, the Marriott Park Lane, which is a couple blocks north and may suit you better. It feels like a small hotel even though its right at the Marble Arch tube stop. 47 Park Street, if priced competitively, would offer an apartment like feel as well.

I tend to think if you can get $.01 per Marriott point you’re doing pretty well ( often times you can purchase them for $0.008 per point). Rates for an Executive King were around 400 pounds which is roughly $540 a night, just a bit over a penny a point at the max value of the 50k certificates. Our suite was nearly $1k USD.

Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities.

a blue credit card with a blue background

Learn More

Affiliate Link

 

Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card


4.8
4.8/5
The Chase Sapphire Preferred® is a great starter card that earns Premium Ultimate Rewards that can be transferred into over a dozen partners many of which are US based including Hyatt, Southwest, United, IHG, and Marriott.

Welcome Offer

Earn 75,000 bonus points after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening 

Annual Fee

$95

Points Earned

Transferrable Chase Ultimate Rewards

  • 5x on all travel purchased through Chase Travel℠
  • 3x on dining, including eligible delivery services for takeout & dining out
  • 3x on select streaming services
  • 3x on online grocery purchases
    • (excluding Target, Walmart and wholesale clubs)
  • $50 Annual Chase Travel Hotel Credit via Chase Travel℠
    • The begins immediately for new cardmembers and after your account anniversary for existing cardmembers
  • 2x on all other travel
  • 10% Anniversary Points Boost
    • each account anniversary you’ll earn bonus points equal to 10% of your total purchases made the previous year
  • Points are transferrable to 14 Ultimate Rewards partners
  • No foreign transaction fees
  • Suite of Travel and Purchase Coverage
    • Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver is my favorite
  • Complimentary DashPass which unlocks $0 delivery fees & lower service fees for a min. of one year when you activate by 12/31/27. Plus, a $10 promo each month on non-restaurant orders
  • $95 Annual Fee

We keep an up to date spreadsheet that lists the best ever offers: You can find that spreadsheet here.

Historically 80k is a very, very good offer and hit in both 2022 and 2023. In 2021, we saw the offer hit an all time high of 100k. Who knows if that will ever come back.

Main Cast: 

Cards that earn flexible points and should be used on the bulk of your purchases.

Supporting Cast:

Cards that earn fixed points in the currency of the airline/hotel and can not be transferred at attractive rates. These cards yield benefits that make it worth keeping, but not necessarily worth putting a lot of your everyday spend on. 

The Chase Sapphire Preferred® is exceptional starter card and offers transferrable Ultimate Rewards, and pairs well with other Chase cards.

If you carry this card alongside Chase’s cashback cards like the Chase Freedom Flex®  and Chase Freedom Unlimited® or the business versions: Ink Business Cash® , Ink Business Unlimited® you can combine the points into Preferred account and transfer into hotel and airline partners

Annual fee is quite low at $95 a year + you get a 10% anniversary bonus on points + $50 hotel credit in Chase travel.

The responses below are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser. Responses have not been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by the bank advertiser. It is not the bank advertiser's responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.

17 Comments

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.