London’s finest hotels team up to encourage summer bookings with discounts and exclusive perks
There's a new promotion that's aiming to see a boom in hotel bookings in post-lockdown London. This week, Hotel Week London launched its first initiative to get would-be holidaymakers and staycationers to book stays in some of the capital's best hotels this summer.
To entice travelers to book through the initiative, Hotel Week London has teamed with 35 of London's best hotels to offer exclusive savings, perks when booking and credits to use during their stay. The official "week" runs from 28 May to 6 June 2020, though some hotels are offering their promotions for longer than that period.
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Among the list of participating hotels in Hotel Week London are the Four Seasons London Hotel at Park Lane, The Lanesborough, Rosewood London, The Savoy, The Standard, The Biltmore Mayfair, Dukes London, the Conrad London St. James and more.
Related: 17 best hotels in London for every type of traveler
With the initiative, each of the participating hotels offers new bookings an incentive for doing so. For example, the Four Seasons London Hotel at Park Lane is offering those who book as part of Hotel Week London free daily breakfast for two, one seasonal welcome drink per person per stay, parking for one car during the stay and early check-in and lake checkout. For this property, the perks are available for stays from May 28 to the end of June 2021.
For a sample one-night stay in June, the "Rediscover London" package, which comes with the Hotel Week London benefits is about £55 ($76) more expensive than the lowest room rate, costing £700 for one night. However, if you take into account the cost of breakfast at £38 ($52) apiece — £76 ($104) for two — the free drink for both travelers, which may cost about £20 ($27), and the check-in and checkout perks, you easily make up the difference in price.
Meanwhile, The Dorchester is promising to transport guests from a London train station to the hotel in style. For stays from May 17 to the end of June, the Hotel Week London rate will mean you get picked up in a personal vintage car from any London train station. You'll also get a specially chosen bottle of wine in The Grill when having dinner. A sample one-night stay in May costs £595 ($818).
The Lanesborough, meanwhile, is offering guests a guaranteed upgrade at the time of booking, English breakfast for two, welcome amenities on arrival, Champagne and chocolates and a Regency Tour of the hotel. Additionally, guests booking as part of Hotel Week London will receive either a three-course Michelin-starred dinner in the on-site restaurant Celeste or a 60-minute massage. Rates as part of the package start at £705 ($969) for stays from May 28 to the end of June.
Related: The ultimate beginner's guide to London
At the lower end of the nightly rate spectrum is The Standard. Starting from £199 ($273) per night for stays from May 28 to the end of June, a one-night stay will get you a bottle of bubbles on arrival as well as a £30 ($41) credit to spend at the hotel's rooftop bar or Double Standard bar and restaurant.
Some of the benefits are similar to those that you might get with a booking service such as American Express Fine Hotels & Resorts program. With that, you'll get a room upgrade when available, daily breakfast for two people, guaranteed late checkout and a unique property amenity. Depending on the property, the FHR benefits may be better than those offered by Hotel Week London. However, with other properties, the Hotel Week London benefits will outweigh those offered by FHR. Ultimately, it'll be worth checking to compare.
It's worth noting that for some of the Hotel Week London packages, you have to book directly through the initiative's website in order to lock in the discount and package. However, for others, you can book directly through the hotel or by calling and quoting "Hotel Week London."
By launching the campaign now, Hotel Week London is looking to capitalize on Britons who are looking to stay closer to home this summer. According to the latest guidance from Prime Minister Boris Johnson in the roadmap out of lockdown, hotels and B&Bs in England can reopen from May 17 at the earliest, though that date may be pushed back. Additionally, if that date holds, international travel will be permitted to return.
If that's the case, Americans could be permitted to enter the U.K. If the United States is classified as a green country in the U.K.'s traffic light system, travelers entering England would be able to skip quarantine but would need a pre-departure COVID-19 test as well as a post-arrival PCR test.
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