early London check-in after an overnight flight?

The Dorchester (c) 2016 by David Ourisman, all rights reserved

Flying a red-eye to London? Most flights from the US and Canada depart in the late afternoon or early evening and fly through the night. This is a great way to fly across the pond, especially if you're in a lie-flat sleeper seat and can fall asleep during your flight.

But when you arrive London early the next morning, you'll want to shower and change your clothes. Unfortunately, there being no arrivals lounges past immigration, you'll arrive at your hotel in the early-to-mid-morning needing to shower, shave or apply makeup, and put on some fresh clothes for the day.

What if your room isn't ready? While all Virtuoso hotels in London offer an early check-in if available, you can't count on this. Hotels can't control when in-house guests will vacate their rooms, and a full house means no early check-in possibilities.

The Dorchester Hotel has a new program for North American guests that will make your arrival much more pleasant. New GM Robert Whitfield recently told me about the offer: the Dorchester will guarantee you a room when you arrive! Two notes: (1) you or your travel advisor must provide your arrival information in advance, so the hotel can plan for your arrival. (2) While your specific room might not be available the moment you step enter the lobby, the Dorchester will give you access to a guest room of your own to use until your room is ready. You'll be able to shower, change, and go out for your morning's activities refreshed and feeling human again. (You can even take a nap, but I don't recommend this as it will totally screw up your sleep cycle!)

Diamond Club amenities offer you the best possible value at The Dorchester. All of our guests enjoy:

• guaranteed room upgrade (up to the Junior Suite category)
• full breakfast in any venue (including in-room dining) — virtually anything off the menu except alcohol and caviar, tax and gratuity included in the amenity
• one-time 100£ hotel credit that you can take off your room rate
• daily 100£ hotel credit for bookings of full Suites
• premium internet for unlimited devices

Another Virtuoso possibility in London currently offering guaranteed flexible check-in times is The Corinthia.

copyright (c) 2017 by Ourisman Travel LLC. All rights reserved. We provide Virtuoso and other Preferred Partner amenities as an affiliate of Brownell, a Virtuoso® Member. If you have comments on this column, or questions about booking travel, email me or visit my website.