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.
Perhaps the best deal in London is part of Marriott’s Autograph Collection, 10 minutes walk from Kensington palace.
I didn’t know what to expect when I booked the hotel Xenia. I maintain Marriott gold status through my Amex Platinum and was headed to London for a quick weekend wedding trip. If you’re a frequent reader of MM, you may be aware that my girlfriend and I did a weekend wedding trip last year as well – byah! I absolutely love the adrenaline of flying halfway around the world over just a few days to celebrate love, see friends, and ball out in lie-flat luxury. This was no exception. I wanted to do one night in central London and a couple at the airport. I found an incredible deal at the Hotel Xenia London, £117 for an entry level room thinking I’d get upgraded with my status.
The Deets:
- When: August 2017
- Where: Kensington London
- Status: Gold
- Benefits: Room upgrade and breakfast
Location:
- 10-15 minutes walking from Hyde Park, Royal Albert Hall, Kensington Palace, and smack in the middle of hold your nose up, I sign the front of checks Kensington Uber Rich.
I’ve stayed at several different hotels in London, but never in Kensington. The hotel is across the street from the Kensington Marriott on Cromwell Rd which is a big, bad, convention hotel.
The Xenia sits quietly, in stark contrast to its big brother across the street. In fact, if you blink you’ll miss it. If you like warm welcomes, friendly smiles, and the feeling that if you missed your wake-up call someone would definitely be knocking on your door – this is the place for you.
The entry level rooms are SMALL!
Buy beware. I don’t mean small for an American in Europe, I mean you could potentially ship your room Freight. I failed to notice the size when I booked my non-refundable rate, but I was traveling alone for the first night, and figured I’d score an upgrade. Plus…I wanted to cruise around London.
Check-In.
I Ubered from the airport and was warmly greeted upon arrival. The hotel has a small charming lobby, and a staff that has been well trained and prompted to make guests feel as though they are guests at a bed and breakfast rather than a hotel.
Upgraded to an Classic Room
Still only 13 square meters, but it had a King bed ( two twins put together). On that note…while be advertised as a King – my feet hung over the end of the bed when my head touched the headboard. I’m only 6′ tall. I think this may be a stretch for a “King,” but nonetheless I was happy to have the extra space.
The bathroom feature L’Occitane products and while small, was perfectly adequate.
Breakfast.
As a Marriott Gold Elite I received a complimentary continental breakfast served in the conservatory portion of their restaurant, Evoluzione. I always get terrible jetlag when flying East and slept a whole 0 minutes. As a result, I went to breakfast smack when it started…at 7am.
I found the food to be fresh, plentiful, and very good. The staff was a bit cold if I’m being completely honest.
Overall:
Would I come back? Absolutely. While the room is small, and if you’re not alone it would be a bit cramped, it doesn’t really matter. Who comes to London and spends a ton of time in their room?! If the rates were similar ( I’ve seen them as low as £99) I’m not sure I could pass it up. Great location, solid breakfast, near the tube, and a friendly staff.
Looking for a place in London? Check out my other reviews
- London Edition
- Marriott Park Lane
- Grosvenor House London
- Intercontinental Park Lane
- Conrad London
- Waldorf London
Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities.
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
Welcome Offer
Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 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 Bonus
- Every year you keep the card, your total spend will yield a 10% points bonus. If you spend $10k in a year, you’ll get 1k bonus points
- Chase Sapphire Preferred continues to redeem at 1.25c in the Chase Travel℠ and the slew of other benefits remain in tact including Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver ( primary ), purchase protections, etc.
- Points are transferrable to 14 Ultimate Rewards partners
- Redeem in Chase Travel℠ for 1.25 cents per point
- No foreign transaction fees
- Suite of Travel and Purchase Coverage
- Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver is my favorite
- Get complimentary access to DashPass which unlocks $0 delivery fees and lower service fees for a minimum of one year when you activate by December 31, 2027.
- $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.