Four Seasons Canary Wharf

100   Recommended
September 12, 2014 by EXPERT

 Map | 1 Review | 100% Recommended
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Four Seasons Hotel London at Canary Wharf
 Map | 1 Review | 100% Recommended

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A little while back I had stayed at the Four Seasons Hotel Canary Wharf. Friends from out of town were visiting and were staying at the hotel. I decided to join them, albeit in a separate room. The following is a report of that stay. I had asked my TA to book a package rate which was available on the FS website. This package put me into a Superior room. Although it was only single occupancy I requested to pay the double occupancy rate to get double the amenities, which were, a bathrobe and a breakfast smoothie per person.

Check In

I arrived at the hotel by taxi due to the extreme London heat and was warmly welcomed by the doorman. Escorted to the Front Desk I was warmly welcomed by the staff to the hotel. My request for double the amenities was honored and I was upgraded to a Deluxe room with river views, and right next door to my friends' room.

Room

All the rooms are of the same size, only the location differs. Deluxe rooms have full river views. My room had Bulgari amenities stocked as requested and there was a hand-written welcome note from the GM along with bottles of mineral water and a large plate of fresh and dried fruit. The view from the room was mesmerising -- who knew the Thames could look so nice from a Four Seasons room!!!!!! The bathroom was large with separate stall shower, bath, toilet and heated towel rack. The bathroom did not have a very luxurious finish (i.e. no extensive use of fine marble, etc) which was interesting. The room had a large TV, king-size bed, arm chair with ottoman, and large working desk. The layout of the room is [essentially] identical to that of the Four Seasons San Francisco.

Location

The hotel is in a low-rise building with both interior and exterior design very contemporary. The footprint is not too large and the building features a very distinct roof. Both Quadrato, the restaurant, and the Bar, have outdoor seating. The Holmes Place Health Club is in a separate building to the rear of the hotel (along the river) with Ubon by Nobu occupying the penthouse of this structure. There is a Business Centre on the Mezzanine floor open 24 hours a day with 3 computers with complimentary broadband internet access and free printing. The Holmes Place Health Club is a very nice facility with a great infinity edge swimming pool (which was very busy while I was there), great workout equipment, large jacuzzi tubs with water and light features, and an expansive locker room. There are also complimentary fitness classes (pilates, etc) which hotel guests can sign up for. I had forgotten my running shoes and the hotel had delivered 3 different sizes of running shoes to my room within 10 minutes. Very efficient and courteous service!!

Service

Interestingly enough, one of the Concierge, Anne, was a familiar face. I had met her in Berlin when I had stayed at the FS Berlin in July 2004. She looked and sounded awfully familiar and as we talked more it became evident where we had met in the past. I was amazed that she remembered me!

Room service was prompt and very very good. I was craving a hamburger and in 15 minutes a great hamburger with complimentary bacon, cheese, and grilled onions, with french fries was brought to my room. While it wasn't the cheapest hamburger, at 3am it was a god-send. The service was very warm, efficient, and courteous -- everything one could ask for at a Four Seasons hotel. There was one hiccup -- the breakfast at Quadrato. I ordered poached eggs with my breakfast and specifically requested no mushrooms due to allergy. When my breakfast arrived, it arrived luke warm and the poached eggs were awfully small and cold. Furthermore, there were mushrooms on the plate, buried underneath the breakfast potatos which i noticed only after asking for new poached eggs. Service was inattentive and it took 15 minutes for my new eggs to arrive. However, at check-out I mentioned this and the breakfast was removed from my folio immediately and without question. I received a letter from the General Manager about a week after check-out acknowledging my mainly positive comments but also apologising for the breakfast and noting what measures had been taken to prevent that from happening again. This was a very nice touch. As I left the hotel to walk to Westferry DLR station the doormen offered me two bottles of mineral water to take with me into the oppressive heat. I was amazed how resort-like Canary Wharf was as compared to the chaos of Central London. The FS felt dreamy and was very relaxing.

Dining

Ubon was good but I thought that the technical execution at Nobu was higher. The food tasted good and the river views with the sun-setting in the distance was magical. Price-wise, I don't think Ubon was much cheaper than Nobu. The grilled cod with miso was very good, as was the salmon tartare with caviar, and the rock shrimp tempura in spicy creamy sauce.

Overall

I highly recommend this hotel and especially at the very low weekend rates -- it is an excellent value.

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