On Thursday night I was invited to watch Sting and Paul Simon live at the SPG Suite at the O2 Arena in London. SPG have secured at suite at the O2 Arena which means SPG members can now use their points to purchase experiences like watching Sting and Paul Simon for 20,000 points which includes your ticket and hospitality for the evening – all pretty nifty if you have a whole lot of points you want to spend or if a concert has sold out at the O2 then this is when SPG Moments will come in really handy.
The hospitality includes food and drinks so it means you can get to the suite early, relax and have a meal and a few drinks before the event starts. For us gluten free folks there were a number of options to scoff (unfortunately these cute cupcakes via Eric Lanlard weren’t gluten free but I still thought they were awesome)
The suite is was situated directly in front of the stage and unfortunately my photos aren’t doing the view very much justice but I could make out the stage and see the screens clearly.
This is what the O2 Arena looks like when it’s empty!
After the concert we headed back to the Aloft London Excel where we were staying and I have to say this is the perfect hotel to stay in if you are looking for something close to the O2 Arena in London.
Review of Aloft London Excel
Now this is my second time staying at the Aloft London Excel and I have to say I actually really like this hotel and it’s location. If you are looking for a clean, stylish hotel located in the East side of London with reasonable rates then you can’t go wrong with this hotel.
For £150 per night you can have a suite, yes you read that right a suite for £150 a night!
Lounge
The lounge area had a table and chairs, tv, coffee making facilities and sofa – I didn’t actually use this area much other than making sure my new shoes were kept comfortable on the sofa and yes I overpacked for one night.
Bedroom
The bedroom has a super comfortable bed, I slept like a baby and it also has a telly, desk and enough power outlets to sink a battleship (finally power sockets right by the bed – I get accused that I sleep and cuddle my phone in bed and yes I possibly do but who doesn’t right?!?!) anyway…
Bathroom
The bathroom is spacious and has Bliss toiletries and also the wardrobe is in the bathroom area (I really loved this) along with more coffee and tea making facilities and free water.
Location
The hotel is located within a few steps of the Prince Regent DLR station and right on the door step of the Excel centre. You can watch the planes coming in to land as well if you’re a Aviation Geek (guilty!) as you are right across the Thames from City Airport – perfect airport hotel me thinks and then if you’re going to the O2 Arena you can jump on the DLR two stops and then catch the Cable Car across the Thames (yes I did this and a big thank you to Anna for spending the whole ride chatting to me, thankfully there were no tears on this occasion).
Breakfast
Now I didn’t actually take a photo of breakfast and just stuck to the fruit and yoghurt options for breakfast but am super sure that they will have gluten free breads available if requested.
Facilties
The hotel has a wicked swimming pool and gym if you are that way inclined, obviously I’m not and there are no photos but I did check it out!
Would I recommend – yes if you are looking for a spacious suite in London then I would recommend Aloft Excel and the suites are perfect for small families as they give you a little bit more room to play around with. You can book via their website here.
In the past year I’ve starting staying at some SPG Hotels (Grande Bretagne, Sheraton Krakow and W Hotel London) – their loyalty program is free to join and if you book directly through their website then you will start earning points which you can use to book free hotels, transfer over to Air Miles or on SPG Moments. SPG (Starwood) includes the following hotel chains – The Luxury Collection, Sheraton, Westin, Aloft, W Hotels, Le Meridien, Four Points, Element and St. Regis.
Hotel loyalty programs are a great way to save dosh on hotels but can be pretty intimidating at the beginning until you understand how they work; trust me, you won’t lose a kidney or have to start selling tupperware when you sign up to SPG. Do you want me to do an easy peasy guide on how to use a hotel loyalty program and the benefits of it?
Disclaimer: I was provided with a complimentary ticket to the O2 Arena and a free night at Aloft Excel in London however I’m an opinionated old cow and would tell complain profusely in the post if I didn’t like something.
xx
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