Great Scotland Yard Review: A Unique Stay in Central London
When it comes to booking high-end Hyatt properties in London, travellers are spoilt for choice. Depending on your needs, there is a great property for every visitor. If you’re visiting London to see the sights, then Great Scotland Yard (GSY), located just off Trafalgar Square, is one of the most central Hyatt hotels in London. It is an incredibly unique property and is classed as a 5-star hotel, providing a variety of amenities and dining options.
However, while this property is certainly one of the more intriguing London Hyatt properties, one question remains: is Great Scotland Yard worth the points/money?
Related: Reviewing the World of Hyatt Credit Card
Luckily, we have copious experience with this hotel, and have compiled our thoughts to help you decide if this is a property you should visit!
Without further background, let’s jump into the review:
The Location
Great Scotland Yard is definitively located in one of the best spots in London for visiting many of the most recognizable landmarks. Not only is this property in shouting distance from Downing Street, but also within a short walking distance of the National Gallery, the London Eye, Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, Trafalgar Square, and the Royal Opera House. For a first-time visit to London, you can’t ask for a better starting location for seeing the sights.
The location of Great Scotland Yard and surrounding attractions
Now, the typical downside of a hotel located so centrally is the lack of escape from the noise and bustle of the busy streets. However, despite Great Scotland Yard being located directly in Central London, you won’t have to worry about any street noise; the property is tucked away on a surprisingly quiet side street away from the fanfare, while still being right near both bus stations and a tube stop. I was thoroughly impressed with how quickly I was able to go from the busy main road to the quiet side street with the hotel while still being in such an excellent location! This is, by far, one of the most impressive parts of the GSY hotel experience.
Location Score: 5/5
The Property
The hotel itself is a careful cocktail of luxury and playful references to the building’s history with the Metropolitan Police. We stayed around over the holidays so the property was beautifully decorated with a festive flare, with Christmas trees and a mind-blowing gingerbread model of the hotel exterior. Even without the decorations, the property is beautifully designed. It has a mix of traditional and contemporary elements that make it feel high-end, but not stuffy.
The property also has a few restaurants including The Parlour which offers afternoon tea, The 40 Elephants for drinks and snacks, and Eksted, the hotel’s main restaurant, which is open to the public for dinner and where the hotel serves breakfast to guests.
I had breakfast at the hotel each morning and it was one of the highlights of the stay. The staff was friendly and accommodating, and the food was fantastic. You can easily order a hot dish or choose from a wide selection at the high-quality buffet. My partner was managing a stomach condition during our stay and the kitchen was exceptionally accommodating.
The 40 Elephants bar within Great Scotland Yard
Property Score: 4.9/5
The Room
The main room I stayed in was one of the hotel’s King Bed Deluxe. It was quite roomy by London standards—taking up ~24 sq meters and featuring a massive king bed, closet space, small table with two chairs, and a gorgeous bathroom. The room was nicely designed, with tasteful contemporary decor.
The absolute highlight of the room was surprisingly the bathroom. It features a Japanese toilet with a heated seat and in-built bidet, Jo Loves products, a large vanity, and a massive walk-in shower. I’d almost say that the shower makes this hotel worth a stay on its own—it has the most impressive water pressure I’ve ever seen in a hotel with gorgeous teal-coloured tiles and mood lighting. The bathroom also had a motion-activated night light under the vanity—a small and extremely practical touch that feels so considered—one I wish I saw in more hotels.
The hotel does provide a few complimentary beverages and snack—snack is intentionally singular—in the room, but could easily add some variety to the snack selection with minimal effort (or even provide two items given the room clearly had two occupants). I find these sorts of small touches make a stay feel special.
Overall, the room was excellent by London standards, though I would caution that without a desk space, it may not be well suited to someone visiting the city for business travel. The room also does not have a mini fridge, instead it has a cooling drawer, with a notice not to store perishable food. This seemed like a bit of an odd choice, which became annoying for storing leftovers, but not necessarily a dealbreaker.
Room Score: 4.7/5
The Service & Extras
For a 5-star hotel, one expects consistent, quick, and friendly service, as well as a few personalized, luxury touches. After digging into British standards for hotel star systems (and from personal experience), I’ve found that the system is highly subjective and there aren’t any formal regulations. With that said, this was probably the most disappointing part of my stay at Great Scotland Yard. I will caveat that we stayed over New Year’s, which meant that we paid well over £600/night over 4 nights, far beyond the typical prices for the property. However, with such a hefty price tag, expectations were high.
When looking at the service overall, the hotel seemed understaffed. No one to help bring in bags upon check-in, or say hello when coming and going from the hotel. While these aren’t by any means hotel essentials, they are expected at a hotel that claims to be 5-star and luxurious. For almost every request we made, from the major ones (asking to switch rooms) to minor ones (requesting additional water), there was a general lack of urgency and responsiveness, often resulting in multi-hour waits that left us in limbo. Again, this very likely could have been due to us staying over a holiday period and it’s understandable if the staff presence was reduced; however, I wanted to flag this as it’s important to consider for anyone booking a stay during any major holiday.
To live up to a 5-star categorization, the hotel would also benefit from adding a few special touches. For example, before our stay, the hotel emailed us a survey asking a few personal questions before our arrival, but the information we provided was never used to customize our stay in any way. Honestly, it felt a little odd—why put in the effort to fill out this (fairly detailed) survey about preferences only for the information to not be used? It’s the missing little touches that left us just slightly disappointed in this regard.
Service Score: 3.8/5
Final Thoughts
The famous entrance to Great Scotland Yard
Overall, the Great Scotland Yard is a lovely hotel. Don’t get me wrong; despite the few bits of disappointment, the rooms are generously sized with an unbeatable location and some of the best hotel bathrooms I’ve ever experienced. I would definitely recommend it, especially for any tourists new to London, but not at the inflated holiday pricing that we paid.
However, don’t let this dissuade you from staying during off-peak (and average) times of the year, as many of the issues mentioned would have been relatively fine without the almost-doubled fee and additional business from staying during the holidays; instead, I want to highlight that there may be better options out there if you hope to get the most luxurious experience possible, especially during peak times. However, this is still one of the best Hyatt properties and London, and frankly, one of the most fun.
Overall Review Score: 4.3/5
We hope this review was informative! If you’re interested in other property reviews, make sure to check out the best Hyatt properties in NYC and explore our review of another great Hyatt, Carmel Valley Ranch. And if you’re interested in using Chase/Hyatt points for your next booking, make sure to explore our guides on how to transfer Chase points to Hyatt and how to book Hyatt properties with points!
