Stayed here for 3 nights on a shopping and theatre break with my wife. The Hotel upgraded us when they found out that it was our anniversary ....... and the suite that we had was magnificent. Service was impressive from the minute that we walked through the door. I arrived early to leave my luggage on the first day (which was dealt with by the Concierge within 30 seconds) before heading up to my office, my wife arrived later in the afternoon to be greeted by her name (without introduction ... very slick !!) and was immediately offered a hot towel and coffee in the Lounge whilst her luggage (and my luggage from earlier in the day) was whisked up to the suite. Througout the stay we were served by charming staff, who knew our names instantly and were always available to meet our slighets request be that booking tables for dinner or taxis for travel. High end service like it should be in a true 5 star hotel (but unfortunately not all 5 star hotels view it that way !!)...... the Taj is really top-draw.
One very minor quibble is that the breakfast room is quite small and can get a little crowded on occasions. We had no problems with a table for 2 people each day, but on a couple of the breakfast visits we saw families of 4 that had to sit at different tables .... a slight problem when you have young children ?!
One final thing to say that as this hotel is in its own courtyard it is ever so quiet which is remarkable for a city centre hotel just yards from Buckingham Palace, St. James's Tube and Victoria station .... it makes for very restful nights without the usual background noise of central London.

I would not hesitate to stay here again !!!

Had very high hopes for our stay based on great reviews.
The big disappointment was the accommodation, we were upgraded to a 3 bedroom suite which was massive. It was quite tired inside including a water leak through the roof of our bedroom which although perhaps no longer leaking was decoratively unrepaired and the carpet below was badly stained and mouldy. Most of the carpets, curtains and soft furnishing were showing a high degree of wear. The Moulton Brown bathroom accessories were at odds with the tiny and very dated bathrooms.
Not five stars by any standard, that said, the price was reasonable for the space on offer and as such we would have enjoyed our stay if it had not been for the incredibly Smokey atmosphere in all the suite rooms and in particular the bedrooms. We asked in our booking for non- smoking accommodation. At check in we were told that all suites were smoking and that housekeeping air the rooms before they are reoccupied. Our rooms could not have been aired if the widows were open for 2 weeks. It really put us off returning to our accommodation other than to sleep and then get out again.
I think it is naughty to offer non-smoking accommodation on your website which is in fact for smokers but claim that opening the windows somehow qualify it as non-smoking. Our room had cigarette ash on the carpet that remained throughout 3 housekeeping visits. Plainly if you’re a smoker it’s going to be no bother at all but for us it was not remotely enjoyable.
On the plus side the service at reception, breakfast and in the quaint library bar were all second to none.

On my recent visit to the 51 (September 2012) I was once again delighted by the outstanding customer service. A friend was having a birthday and John, one of the incredible Concierges, got us fabulous tickets to "Singin' in the Rain" and the manager Araceli, helped me to order a birthday cake. Kudos to the pastry chef for creating the most gorgeous and divine chocolate cake ever! As always the staff were exceptional and nothing is too much trouble. Thanks to Vasi, Nelson and Alex who are the best in the business. The 51 really is a home away from home, making everyone from children to adults feel special.

I only stayed for one night on business...,yes it's not cheap...but by London standards its fine.....service frm the moment you walked to the door... Beautiful well equipped suite....just a shame I was only there one night, only used a small part of the services....small intimate library for drinks, snacks and they ordered food frm next door for us..... Stylish decor.....true 5 star service.....defiantly recommend it.....:-)