Shangri-La The Shard, London

Myself and my now husband stayed here for a couple of nights whilst celebrating our wedding in London. It was the most perfect stay. I’d informed them that it would be our wedding and they had added personal touches for us. We had rose petals on the huge bed when we walked in, and a personal note written on the window congratulating us. The bed was the most comfortable bed I’ve slept in. The air con in the room was freezing which I absolutely LOVE! The whole place was spotlessly clean and smelt amazing from the second you walked in. Staff were completely attentive and made us feel so welcome. The view was out of this world! We will hopefully be back for our anniversary. Loved every second.

This was our 2nd time staying here. The first time was a few years ago, and it was incredible - which is why when picking our mini honeymoon hotel, it was the only choice. The room, views, and aesthetics were amazing as ever; however, the service was inconsistent from start to finish and dampened the experience. Before we checked in, Guest Relations emailed congratulating us and offered their services on setting up reservations and upsells. We chose fabric rose petals and a coffee mascarpone cake to be in the room on arrival. I'd also asked for champagne flutes to be in the room on arrival too. In the brochure sent for the upsells, the cake descriptions were the same for x2 of the cakes, clearly a typo, so I raised it. The email I got back was simply: "Thank you so much for your information. For the pool, we open from 6am to 7pm, " No confirmations, just a very blunt and unfinished email. 40 mins later, we got a proper reply confirming everything. I'd tried to bid on a room upgrade and got errors consistently on the portal, so we gave up. During check-in, I asked if the cake and petals were in the room. We got told yes and on entering the room realised the cake was nowhere in sight, along with the champagne flutes. I called asking where they are, what's going on etc. It took 2-3 phone calls to sort it out, and I was told the reason the cake wasn't in the room was that it would "melt". We ate half the cake and left the rest overnight, no melting - and on our first visit, the cake was in the room ready - no messing around in having to call for something we'd ordered. I genuinely don't think the cake or champagne flutes would have been bought up without having to call. We'd just got married, we're on our honeymoon - we wanted what we ordered to kick off celebrating. We used the spa twice. First time was an amazing experience, there was a lovely woman running the area and she was fantastic - super on it with handing out towels, making sure there was no water on the floor etc. The second time was a man, who was slow and unresponsive. There was excess water between the pool and the sauna - I saw two women on separate occasions nearly slip, and he saw them too - yet it took him another 20/30 mins to actually sweep the water away. Yes, there's a sign saying wet floor but for a staff member to see someone nearly slip and not clear the water - super concerning. We had a booking at the Gong Bar during the evening. We were told there was a waitlist for a window seat - which I totally get. Happy to wait...however, a couple was then sat after us in the same section to us. A family left the window seat and the guy of the other couple grabbed the waiter and asked to move. They were immediately allowed to take a window seat...so the waitlist was clearly non-existent. We left immediately and got better service at a restaurant nearby. Upon other incidents, I left my vest top in the bathroom and my PJs on the bed. Housekeeping folded my vest top in between my PJs and placed it to the side. We spent an hour trying to find my vest. Not sure who folds clothes between a PJ top and bottom that were in separate areas. They also chucked our champagne bottle cork in the bin, which we wanted to keep for the occasion. This one is probably on us, but again super annoying. Housekeeping also got rid of most of the rose petals after the first night - we thought we had them for the whole stay, which again, super annoying. If you are ordering fabric rose petals, just a heads up they will remove them after the first night. We got very unlucky, with inconsistent service and sucks that it was our honeymoon stay. Also some of the information given is again...inconsistent. For example, the pool timings we were told it was open till 7pm, yet the paper at check in we were given and at the pool say it closes at 6pm. For a hotel of this calibre, we'd expect consistency.

Although we only live 30 minutes outside of London, my wife and I decided to celebrate our wedding anniversary by staying in the capital somewhere special so that we could enjoy all the city has to offer without having to worry about getting home each night! When you're trying to celebrate such an important occasion, every small element is important and it's easy to have your expectations dashed, so we spent a LONG time trying to find the right hotel and my god did we pick a winner! It was quite honestly the experience of a lifetime. The service was second to none from the moment we walked through the door, the staff were incredibly friendly and attentive, our room was incredible (I've never stayed in such an incredibly peaceful room!) and the views were so beautiful that I never wanted to go to sleep at night, I just wanted to stand and stare out of the window and enjoy the beauty of London from above (with the added surreal nature of it being silent!) We expected to be fighting for space in the infinity pool and sauna but apart from one occasion we were the only people there and had it all to ourselves and were made to feel like a king and queen. Both my wife and I came away feeling like it was one of the most incredible experiences of our lives so thank you so much to everyone at the Shangri-La The Shard for blowing our expectations out of the water and giving us an experience we couldn't have hoped for even in our wildest dreams. I've no idea how we'll ever top this!

My husband and I were gifted a Virgin Experience Sunday Brunch at the Sky Lounge Shangri La The Shard. First impressions were great, the staff who greeted us were very courteous and the venue was stunning. After we were seated, our waitress asked if we were dining as part of the Virgin Experience. Im not sure why this was relevant. We were then offered a sparkling wine, I explained I didn't drink alcohol so I was offered a non alcoholic version of the sparkling wine. I asked if there was a juice or another drink I could have as an alternative as I didn't like the taste of wines, and I was told no. I thought this was very poor. We then chose our meals from the limited menu. I do not eat fish, so I asked for the sirloin steak. I was told this was only served one way, medium rare, which again I thought was very poor considering the price point of this meal. I usually eat my steak well done, so i just ate around the edges of the steak, and I noticed that many of the other diners had done the same thing, leaving the rare centre. I do have to say that the buffet dessert and cheese table was exceptional. Most definitely, the highlight of the whole experience. Unfortunately, I was not impressed by the whole experience overall, so I will not be doing this again, and I would not recommend it to friends or family.

We recently stayed at Shangri-La The Shard, and overall, our experience was wonderful. From the moment you enter, the hotel is visually stunning luxurious entrance, beautifully appointed rooms, and the views are simply out of this world. Waking up to London’s skyline felt surreal. The location couldn’t be more ideal. We loved being able to walk to Borough Market, Tower Bridge, and The Tower of London. Everything felt central and convenient without being overcrowded. Inside the room, we especially loved the heated bathroom floors, heated toilet seat, and the gorgeous shower. Housekeeping was top-notch, always prompt and detailed. Breakfast was average in terms of food, but the views during breakfast made it more than enjoyable. From a family perspective, this hotel worked well. While rooms that are labeled “sleep four” can feel a little tight, the hotel can provide rolling cots. Cots were so comfortable. The only disappointing part of our stay was one isolated incident. One staff member stopped us and questioned whether we were guests at the hotel. While we understand security is important, we noticed that guests behind us were not questioned in the same way, which made the interaction feel like racial profiling. It was disheartening, especially after staying there for several days. That said, we want to emphasize that this was one individual and does not reflect how the majority of the staff treated us. Everyone else was professional, warm, and respectful, and we truly did enjoy our time there. We also had a moment of panic when my husband left his luggage behind as we boarded the train to France. The hotel was quick to communicate and incredibly helpful in coordinating the return of the bag huge relief and much appreciated. Would we return? Yes, absolutely. Despite the one uncomfortable moment, the beauty, comfort, and overall hospitality made this a stay to remember.