Have you heard about Expedia VIP Access hotels?

Sometimes in life, all you really need is a break and a little VIP treatment to help you feel yourself again. That’s why Kach and I decided to jump online and book ourselves a short stay with an Expedia VIP Access luxury hotel in Central London. We chose Hotel 41, a 5 Star Luxury Boutique Hotel on Buckingham Palace Road.

In case you haven’t been following, Kach had been traveling in northern Pakistan when her driver fell asleep at the wheel and crashed head-on into another car. Her leg was trapped under the dashboard and her ankle fractured in two places, which led to an emergency flight to Bangkok, following by a very painful surgery back home in the UK using plates and screws to fix it all back together again.

Amazingly, Kach battled on to keep our planned trip to Finland and St Petersburg in Russia, but all the pain definitely took its toll, not to mention the physical strain on me from pushing her wheelchair around historic cities. These beautiful places were simply not designed with accessibility in mind back then!

Expedia VIP Access Hotels

As soon as we got back to the UK, we sought out a very special place for both of us to relax and recuperate before embarking on our long drive home to Herceg Novi in Montenegro. We decided to book our luxury hotel stay with Expedia because they have a feature called Expedia VIP Access Hotels which only lists the absolute best quality hotels available.

Over 3,500 hand-picked hotels in 121 countries are featured worldwide and only the best of the best are chosen, helping to alleviate that nagging worry that your hotel might not be as good as you were expecting.

It isn’t easy for a property to make the Expedia VIP Access list as the requirements are stringent and each hotel is hand-picked to ensure that only the very best are chosen.

Here’s an idea of just what it takes to become an Expedia VIP Access hotel:

• Consistent top reviews from guests
• The best customer ratings within their region
• Consistent achievement of Expedia’s stringent service standards

Expedia Rewards Membership

These are not the only benefits. If you’re an Expedia Rewards member, there are loads more reasons to book an Expedia VIP Access hotel:

• Double Expedia Rewards points for members when you book VIP access hotels. These can be used for discounts on hotel rooms. Plus 250 extra bonus points!
• Special services and amenities such as; Free parking, Spa credits, Complimentary food and drink, Upgraded in-room entertainment, Priority check-in, Free room upgrades (if available)

Here is the story of our own experience staying at the 5-star boutique Hotel 41 in London, which we booked using the Expedia VIP Access list!

Our arrival at Hotel 41 in London

While we would usually use the train rather than drive into the centre of London, Kach’s wheelchair and crutches made it extremely difficult to do it any other way. Having said that, the staff at Hotel 41 made our whole arrival extremely easy and an absolute pleasure.

We were greeted as we arrived outside by the hotel valet, who had our bags inside by the time I had walked around the car to help Kach get out! The car then disappeared to some secure location for us to forget about until it was time to leave. I do love valet parking!

In the entrance lobby of polished wood and black and white chequered floors, we were greeted by Oliver, who is impossible to describe in terms of a simple job role. “Concierge,” “Guest Service,” or even “Butler” – frankly, none of those do justice to the incredible treatment we received here.

Hotel 41 proudly maintains 2 staff per guest – unheard of in any other hotel we have ever stayed in. Every member of staff was very friendly and personable, attentive and professional yet relaxed enough to be able to have an easy conversation with. Whenever we needed or wanted anything, there was always someone there but we never felt crowded. Great service is always as much about balance as it anything else and the balance here was perfect. It’s easy to see why Hotel 41 made it onto the Expedia VIP Access hotels list!

While our bags disappeared with another member of staff, we were shown to the Executive Lounge to check-in, where we would ultimately spend most of our stay!

Our Executive King Room at Hotel 41, London

As a 5-star luxury boutique, it’s no surprise that no two rooms are the same in Hotel 41, however, they do all share a common theme in their crisp black and white palette.

The luxurious king-size bed was the centrepiece of the room with fine cotton sheets, feather pillows and hand-made mattress. The classic style and simple elegance of the mahogany furniture were complemented by hidden modern touches. The remote-controlled blinds, personal espresso machine and a flat-screen TV inside a special cabinet added a touch of tech!

The bathroom felt like our own personal bathhouse spa, with marble floors, walls and classic chrome fixtures. Amazingly the full-size bath could be filled with steaming hot water in just a couple of minutes. We relaxed with some low light and bath salts before falling into the most comfortable bed we’ve ever slept in!

We wanted for nothing and could relax in total comfort in thick bathrobes, sipping on chilled sparkling wine. Very specific snacks had been added to our room because they noticed they were our favourites in the lounge. That’s true attention to detail!

The Executive Lounge at Hotel 41, London

The fully glazed conservatory roof of the lounge floods the whole space with soft natural light. This lends added warmth to the fine woodwork and traditional wing-backed leather chairs. The large globe in the middle of the room is a beautiful centrepiece drawing the eye up into the skylight. Here guests can be seen passing on their way to enjoy the roof terrace.

Upon the roof terrace, small tables and chairs sit amongst plants and crawling vines, with a view across Central London. There is even a small bar where guests can borrow sunglasses and suncream while enjoying an ice-cold cocktail. It’s also quite fun to glance down through the glass and see the lounge from a different perspective!

In the evening we found a quiet corner to enjoy some excellent gin and tonics with complimentary canapés and bar snacks. As Oliver told us when we first arrived, “No guest ever goes hungry at Hotel 41!”

Dinner can also be served here in the lounge, but we were fulfilled with gin, bar snacks and sweet treats! We did, however, enjoy a fantastic English and continental breakfast the next morning before we checked out. It had been a long time since we had eaten real black pudding with artisanal British butchers’ sausages. I also highly recommend ordering the poached eggs, which always impress me when they are done really well!

Our stay with Hotel 41 in London was exactly what an Expedia VIP Access hotel stay should be. We will definitely be making more of them in the future!

Disclaimer: This post does contain sponsored content, but all opinions of the services mentioned are our own.

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