Grosvenor Casino The Park Tower

STAY AWAY. Horrid. If I could give 0 stars I would certainly do so. The service is non-​existent. This is not a casino but rather an poor excuse for a use of space in the lower level of a rather nice hotel called the Park Tower Knightsbridge.

Alright, I have to admit. The beauty of having a title like Journalist and Political Correspondent allows me a certain latitude of dabbling in various vice-​ridden areas of life in search of facts. Not, that I want to give away any acquired trade secrets… but, a bit of common sense and an understanding of human nature is always helpful when psychology is required to gather intimate details.
I admit, I must have had a sub-​conscious compass as to what I wanted to be when I grew up, because when I came of permissible age, 18 I instigated memberships to various London casinos with the thought in mind that opulence, power, skulduggery, avarice and chicanery went hand in hand with the image of well dressed powerful men around gaming tables. Clearly, I saw too many Bond movies when I was young and was so influenced. But, they did indicate it all went together with nefarious activities, Right? Not that I ever wanted to have a profitable Goldfinger mentality at a Roulette or Blackjack table. Girls don’t usually make great gamblers.
The restaurants in these elite gaming houses are normally perfect in every way and this one is certainly no exception, with impeccable service from start to finish. The prices for incredible gourmet delights are never excessive either, which is quite remarkable, working on one’s locale. However, when you factor in the possibility of loosing one’s shirt and even, god-​forbid, pants at the gaming tables, you understand and appreciate the psychological principle of the entire evening. What they don’t necessarily make on the food, the establishment will certainly make up for on the Roulette. That’s the general ‘understanding’ in most Casinos, anyway.
Still, if you have bread to burn and seek merely the thrill of spending up big with well-​dressed Belgravians, one has a couple of options in the eating and drinking department. Catering for casual diners in the bar area who are eager to hit the floor after a nibble on a light, but tasty dish. Or, the Balcony Restaurant for a greater dining experience with views over the gaming area, just to keep abreast of the action and get that Bond adrenalin pumping hard.
While the casino opens it’s doors from 12.30pm till 6am the restaurant only offers it’s delightful European and Arabic Cuisine till 2.30am leaving plenty of time to play or coax the final drop of decent highly sensitive material out of one’s squeeze for the evening. Whether your meal be accompanied by an expensive bottle of Champagne, if you like bubbles up your delicate nostrils or, an incredible pinot noir, it is all topped off beautifully with coffee and desert or their infinitely divine chocolat. This is the impressive part.
My entire meal, more than adequate for any starving writer of consequence, so after eating and along with my squeeze — at a close proximity — a game of chance is chosen. There’s always plenty on offer, although when very busy, bustling to get a good seat can be a major challenge. Just make damn sure you get all the required data BEFORE one hits the tables otherwise, you could be in for a long night (as I said, doors are open till 6am) and one either may loose lucidity from the constant trips to the bar or, with a choice of American Roulette, Blackjack, Three-​Card Poker, Stud Poker and Punto Banco with a minimum bet of £5 going all the way up to £5,000 per hand, you either have a very, very long evening ahead of you OR maybe, a relatively short one!
However, for gaming, be aware there’s better deals in town where the punter has at least some chance… let’s say a better chance than Buckleys. Which is how I rate this casino. While I don’t normally have a wager and merely watch on such occasions — keeping my eye on the Squeeze at all times — one notes that the odds of gaming at Blackjack on a six deck shoe as opposed to a four deck shoe is a real sucker’s game. Which means, the house has you behind the eight ball from the word go! Roulette, well, definitely a mug’s pleasure of pure chance.
This particular Casino has it’s regulars and one gets the feeling it prefers them to interlopers. After all, Belgravia is in the most affluent part of London and unless you unload a Fort Knox heap of chips on a table, you may well be seen as a cheap intruder. But, when one has inhibition inducing libations beforehand at the bar, it’s easy to see how one can off-​load their wallet full of ‘the reddies.‘
At first glimpse at the inside of this Casino you are under the affluent roof of a lavish establishment that 007 and his dry unstirred martini would surely approve of. Where better to get the true feeling you say, after a wine… or two? Well, as I’ve observed, not this Casino and not in any of the other Grosvenor Casinos either. Once you are a member of one, you are kindly looked upon by them all — So, ‘Hook, Line and Sinker’ — ‘The Group’ have you! But, there are kinder Casinos around, where the dealers treat you as a human and not just a disgorging ATM machine!