Conrad London St. James - Executive Lounge Review/Blue Boar Breakfast

Thanks to my Diamond status we had access to the Conrad St. James' Executive Lounge during our recent stay, and it really improved our experience. Having a place to relax and have a drink before dinner or going out makes a stay much more pleasant and, particularly with London prices, more affordable.

First, we arrived at the Conrad early and our room wasn't yet ready.  After an overnight flight, I'm generally ready to take a shower and change clothes, so not having a room ready can be a real inconvenience. In this case that was mitigated by the fact that the Conrad's lounge has two shower rooms available. We left our checked luggage at the front desk and proceeded up to the lounge where we were able to shower.

Throughout the day, soft drinks and water were available:

We returned to the lounge in the evening for some pre-theatre drinks and nibbles.  Canapes, snacks, and alcohol were complimentary:

 Havana Club 7 Anos is a personal favorite!

Diamond guests can choose to have breakfast either in the lounge or in the Hotel's restaurant The Blue Boar. We tried both and, on the whole, I found the lounge more convenient. The selection didn't materially differ between them. 

In the lounge there were breads and pastries:

Meats and cheeses:

Hot options:

A coffee set-up, including an espresso machine:

And cold cereals, fruit, and yogurt:

And a toaster!

We also had breakfast at the Blue Boar one morning and I found that the selection was virtually identical to the lounge. The major difference was more hot items in the restaurant:

And a better selection of fruit: