In this post:
Booking
We were looking for a two night stay in London over Eugene’s birthday. The criteria was that we needed to be close to Covent Garden, with a room big enough for two kids (hard to come by in London). ME London (Meliã) offered decent-sized suites and we found it for a good price through Amex Platinum Fine Hotels + Resorts. After checking the hotel’s own website and various booking sites, it was comfortably the cheapest option. The booking also included breakfast, a £75 per night hotel credit, a guaranteed 4pm checkout and an upgrade subject to availability.
We booked an Extra ME+ Junior Suite, which comes in at 430 square feet, for £455 per night including breakfast. It’s worth noting that the FHR upgrade is generally a one-category upgrade within your room type, rather than a room-to-suite upgrade. As we were travelling as a family of four and wanted a bit more space, on arrival, we asked the question and were offered an upgrade for an extra £140 per night to upgrade to a Beyond ME+ Suite Panoramic City View, bringing the total to £595 per night. Given we were staying during easter half term, and the weather was warm and fantastic, in a 750-square-foot suite at a five-star hotel in central London, it was very good value. The same suite was retailing for c. £1,000 per night during our stay.
Check In
We drove to London from Surrey, some might think that’s crazy. But with two kids, more luggage than is reasonable and a pushchair, the idea of getting a train was far more stressful. The hotel offered valet parking which costs £55 a day. It seems like a lot of money, but we pulled up right outside and the porters were extremely helpful and responsive. Anyway, trains aren’t much cheaper these days anyway.
We were greeted in reception and brought a lovely glass of English bubbles. I had been in communication with a host, Isabella, before arrival and she was in reception to greet us which was a lovely touch. In fact, she was fantastic throughout the stay, very helpful and warm. In contrast, the actual check-in staff member was quite transactional and didn’t even flinch when we mentioned we were there celebrating a big birthday.
The reception itself is very modern, but quite dark. It’s definitely going for trendy vibes. I was expecting the room to feel a little dark too, but actually, I liked the way it had darker tones but felt very light.
Room
Isabella also took it upon herself to show us to the room. It was an incredibly spacious room, especially by London standards. You enter into a long hallway, and there are doors on either side of the front door that enable you to have two other connecting rooms and make it a really large 3/4 bedroom suite, which is great for larger families.
On the left of the hallway was a small WC, and then a little further on was a spacious living area with a sofa, dining table and desk area.
This became our second bedroom. It wasn’t a sofa bed, which I do think would have been easier, but instead they brought a fold out camping style bed and a cot for the baby, which worked fine, but it took up more space than a sofa bed would have.
Further through, you walk through another little hallway that splits the bathroom in two.
On one side is a HUGE bath with a shower next to it. On the other side is a large double vanity sink and a separate toilet. One thing Eugene and I always go on about is having enough surface space in a bathroom, and this one delivered. It makes such a difference when you can spread out a bit.
The toiletries were C.O. Bigelow and were plentiful, and what I really loved was that there was a very large bottle of bubble bath. Needed for such a large bath! The hairdryer was a Dyson, which definitely adds an element of luxury.
Once past the bathroom is the main bedroom, a really light and spacious room with lots of tall windows looking out onto the Strand. The view was fantastic.
The bed was a great size and actually very comfy.
There were also two little seating areas in the bedroom, on either side of the bed, which is helpful when you are using the main living room as a bedroom.
I would say that for such a large room, there wasn’t an abundance of storage for clothes; however, for a 2-night stay, that wasn’t a problem.
The mini bar was well stocked, and there were nice snacks dotted around on various shelves. Not great for the wandering hands of a toddler, but we moved them out of the way quickly.
The Stay
On arrival, there was a bottle of bubbles provided. I’m not sure if this was a perk from FHR or because it was Eugene’s birthday, but we enjoyed a glass before heading out for the afternoon and evening.
We headed back to the hotel relatively early, as we had two kids in tow and got them to bed. As we were in this process, we had a knock at the door for turn down at 8pm. Maybe this is standard for London as they assume most people to be out for the evening, but it seemed like an inconvenient time.
We had a good sleep, despite a baby crying all night… (ours, not one from another room). It’s worth mentioning though that the air conditioning seemed to be struggling, and on what was the hottest day of the year so far, the room became a little uncomfortable overnight.
The TV was also pretty useless. We wanted to chill and watch it once the kids were in bed, but we couldn’t get any of the apps to work on it or even live TV, which was a shame. We wouldn’t normally use a TV much in a hotel, but when you’re in bed early for the kids, it would have been helpful.
In the morning, we decided to get room service breakfast so we could get ready whilst we were waiting for it, and because it’s just a lot easier with the kids. When we called to order, we realised this was included, which was a very welcome surprise. It was a pretty good breakfast (especially the streaky bacon), and we ended up ordering room service both mornings. We will do almost anything to avoid a buffet (snobs, I know). The first day it arrived after 20 minutes, but the second day it was over an hour, despite being told it would take around 30 minutes.
We had a peek at the Radio Rooftop bar. It looked like a lovely space to go for a drink, especially with the weather we were having. It is adults only after 5pm, so we didn’t get the opportunity to use it, but that is understandable, and not something I would grumble about.
We didn’t use any of the other facilities, but there is an ok sized gym and also a nice looking bar in reception.
I had asked in advance about arranging a cake and some balloons, but Isabella informed me that they were already planning something for us. I simply coordinated a time with her, and when we returned on the afternoon of Eugene’s birthday, everything was waiting in the room, along with a small gift for our son. It was a genuinely thoughtful touch, and Eugene was chuffed.
Final Thoughts
ME London ended up being exactly what we were looking for. The location was excellent, and having such a spacious suite made a huge difference when travelling as a family of four. Booking through Amex Fine Hotels + Resorts was not only the cheapest option we found, but also came with some genuinely useful extras. The included breakfast covered room service, we had a £75 per night hotel credit, a guaranteed 4pm checkout and the potential for an upgrade. When you factor all of that in, it makes the overall value proposition much stronger.
Overall, we had a great stay and will definitely be back.
It’s a hotel we’d happily return to for another family stay in London. Although ME London definitely positions itself as a stylish, design-led hotel rather than a family hotel, we never felt unwelcome with children.
