Amba Hotel Grosvenor

An old standby with a great location

The Grosvenor is expensive and a nice splurge in London. It's located right in Victoria Station, so it is perfect if you're seeing shows, going to the Kew, or any tube connection. The Gatwick Express is direct from Victoria to Gatwick and back. The lobby is a throwback to the grand old days of luxury hotels. The high tea is expensive and wonderful -- a real treat. Even if you don't have the high tea, the pots of tea are delicious and the tearoom is very elegant.

Staff service is hit or miss. Some were very friendly and helpful, others less so. We were quite jet lagged when we arrived. The attendant said something about having to notify them the day before in order to get a discount on breakfast, which made no sense to me and in our state of exhaustion just went right over our heads. The next morning when we went to breakfast, of course we didn't get the discount because we hadn'tt "notified" them. Why is this necessary? They were very helpful with directions, printing boarding passes for us, and other services.