Hilton HHonors - The Lanham Hilton, London Trip Reports and Reviews

Many thanks to my fellow FT'ers who recommended this hotel and suggested that I fax the hotel in anticipation of our visit in an attempt to secure a "Gold Upgrade."

We traveled to London with our 11 year old daughter (flew 1st class on miles) and I wanted our accomodations to be special as well.

The hotel was a FANTASTIC choice. Upon arrival, we were asked to move from the reception counter to a sit-down desk, where the manager, in his tie, brocade waist coat and tails, came over to introduce himself to us, gave us his card, and informed us that he had upgraded us to the "Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Suite"!

Since we were with our daughter, this was a perfect suite because it was on two floors and we each could have a bedroom. Our daughter loved being in the "highest room in the hotel."

If it had been just my wife and myself, I would not recommend this suite because all of the rooms are accessed by stairs (from the entry door, up a flight of stairs to the first landing with one bedroom and the bath, then up a flight of stairs to the 2nd sitting room/bedroom). In our case, it was perfect.

The marble bathroom was actually "down the hall" from the master bedroom, but it was well appointed with modern plumbing fixtures, robe and slippers, and a generous supply of towels (which were replenished during "turndown service.")

The bedding, including the pillows) was excellent and duvets were available upon request. It was almost like a small flat, and while we were there for 5 nights, never seemed small. All of the windows were retrofitted with a second layer of glazing, heavy drapes, and the room was VERY quiet.

We booked the room with a package that included full breakfast, which we came to learn was worth $90 per day ($30 American EACH - for a "full English Breakfast). The dining room was beautiful, the service attentive, the linens and serviceware elegant, and the food plentiful and good.

After full days of touring, the pool and spa were welcome reliefs, and the locker room showers actually better than the one in our room! To save time one night before theatre, we all used the locker room facilities after swimming so we would not be waiting for each other to share the bathroom in the room.

The hotel has an excellent location, close to the Oxford Circus Tube, and there is a beautiful neighborhood with Georgian architecture nearby. While it is a large hotel, the building is from the late 1800s and it has a "small hotel" feel. Very european, not "modern", though there is a new Conciergce Level" wing that is much more modern.

The staff was gracious, helpful, and the Concierge staff friendly. In all a perfect stay and highly recommended.

[This message has been edited by FrAAmer (edited 06-19-2001).]

My family stayed there a couple of years ago and they upgraded us to a suite, also. It was one of the highlights of our trip.

The Langham is undoubtedly my favourite Hilton in London. Great rooms, upgrades for Golds on a consistent basis and great service.
The only problem at the moment is finding a room available!

martin

Better stay at the Langham sooner rather than later, as it might not be a Hilton for very much longer!

See:

http://www.hotelnewsresource.com/n/search.cgi?template0=nomatch.htm&template1=news_details.htm&jnews.ID_option=1&news.ID=62018031126

It is truly a great hotel. I liked the location too.

I am not a religious person in the least, very moral though. There is a church next to the Langham. My wife and I went for XMAS day service a few years back.
It was so much fun that each time we are back in London, we go for a service there.

I just checked in yesterday for a 3-day award stay at this property.

At check-in I asked the agent whether I had been upgraded and she said, "yes." I then asked if I was on the concierge floor, I was told, "no." I asked if I would have access to the concierge lounge, I was told, "no." I then asked if I would get free breakfast, and I was told, "no."

It seems, the way the hotel looks at it you either get room upgrade OR breakfast.

Went to my room (a "Superioer Room") which was not really anything special.

I called Hilton reservations and asked if I could book three rooms at the concierge floor for three nights. I was told, "yes."

I then called down to the front desk and asked why I had not been upgraded to the concierge floor. I was told that there were no rooms available. I then told the agent that Hilton reservations had informed me that there were at least three rooms available. The agent did not seem to know what to answer to this but she told me that she would get back to me.

After calling down twice more the duty manager finally contacted me 1 hour after my original call. He told me that I should have been offered free breakfast. He also told me that I had been given the best possible upgrade since the concierge club floor was "special accomodation" and therefore no Gold or Diamonds were upgraded to that. I printed out the T&C from the Hilton website and presented this. Now he said that there were no room available for me at the concierge club floor but that he would call be in the morning (today).

I then called reservations again and was told that there were as many as 9 rooms available at the concierge floor. I called the duty manager again and told him this, and he said "Yes, I know, they (reservations) have been calling us twice."

He still would not give me a room on the concierge floor and went totally into the woods making statements such as, "It is due to fire regulations."

Also, the front desk had told me that they limited the access to the concierge lounge because it tended to get crowded. We have now visited twice and it has never been filled more than 25 percent.

I will keep fighting and keep you all informed http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

Goldlust --

thanx very much for your timely post as my parents are leaving for London at 8PM (20:00) EST and will arrive at the Langahm sometime around 2 PM GMT for a 2 night pre-paid stay with a tour group. I have alerted my dad to this as he is a Senior HHonors Gold and was hoping for room upgrade and especially lounge access.

If you see this message before he departs -- before midnight your time today -- I would greatly appreciate it if you could fill me in re the further shenanigans of the hotel. Moroever, the names of the duty manager, et.al., who at least provided you lounge access would be most appreciated, if he should encounter similar problems.

Many thanx,

D2B

Just did a quick check online (Sunday 1540GMT) and there are concierge rooms available tonight.

Thanx. My parents arrive your time tomorrow and the website lists availability. I have written to Adam and referenced GoldLust's post. Perhaps he can persuade them to honor their commitiments!

DOC 2 BE
I've just received an e-mail from Adam, he said that he was leaving today for a one week vacation. Maybe send to Kristy?

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by ryker:
DOC 2 BE
I've just received an e-mail from Adam, he said that he was leaving today for a one week vacation. Maybe send to Kristy? </font>

I certainly hope he replies to me as I sent him an e-mail probably before you sent one to him! However, do you ahve Kristy's e-mail address?

Doc 2Be
Please contact me by e-mail and i'll explain and give you the e-mail adress for Kristy

On March, I stayed in the Langham on a reward certificate and got upgraded to a corner mini-suite(not on the concierge level), with access to the lounge and breakfest. I also got a one treatment certificate on the health center but it was all booked a week in advance.

After spending a night in the "Superior Room" I called down around 2pm the following day (Sunday) and spoke with another duty manager who seemed more forthcoming. Though it did involve a painfully long wait I was eventually moved to a very nice room in the "Concierge Club." I fail to see, however, why the hotel could argue that their "Concierge Club" is so amazing that it does not fall within a regular "Executive Floor."

I am sorry that I am late at responding but I doubt supplying the duty managers name would really help. What one had to do is fight, it would seem. I did see a nice elderly couple in the lounge so if they were DOC 2 BE's parents, then they were at least succesful in getting lounge access http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

I don't think they are at the hotel yet, but one can hope that the hotel has been chastened by your fighting for all of our rights! Congrats on getting the upgrade and enjoy the rest of your stay! When do you return to your studies, and I assume you are a law student in Denmark?

Perhaps a career as a litigator is in your future? http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

Okay, so they are checking in today and not yesterday? I should have known not to trust my friend who claimed he had the time zones all worked out...

If they want to meet someone who shares the same passion as their son they are welcome to stop by room 483 http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

I got a call today from the Assistant Manager. According to him this had all been a big misunderstanding and indeed it was policy to upgrade Gold and Diamond to Concierge Club...

Well, if your parents have any difficulties they should call reception and ask to speak to Carlos or Klaus - those are the Assistant Managers.

It most certainly is NOT their (Langham, not Hilton corporate) policy to provide upgrades of any sort. I, too, spent 20 minutes arguing at the desk that as a Gold VIP I deserved an upgrade. I got nothing. I was assured both by the clerk and the asst. manager that neither breakfast nor a room upgrade would be forthcoming, and we had to pay for breakfast. This hotel seems to, as a policy, simply ignore its obligations. A follow-up letter to Hilton has remained unanswered, and I'm pretty steamed.

Please do a search for my trip report on my recent stay at this property. We had a WONDERFUL time and I can't believe that any of the staff there would respond to any guest the way some of these posts read. We were upgraded and treated like royalty.

I'm not sure what the fuss is about the concierge level.

I would suggest booking a room on the website at a rate that INCLUDES breakfast. The US value of a full breakfast is $30 per person per day. Use your GOLD/DIAMOND status to upgrade to a better room.

I know there seems to be a consistent stream of treatment of Diamond members by the Langham Hilton in London and I just wanted to confirm that it is still the case today. First of all, thanks to all the FT members who commented on the Langham. I had two rooms, one award and one paid. The award room was not upgraded, the paid one was upgraded to a superior room but no breakfast. Both rooms had no views at all. The only difference, IMHO, between a standard and a superior room is that the bathroom is bigger. I argued through the day for the breakfast and they said it wasn't their policy. Fair enough. I also add that they didn't do anything special for a welcome, (i.e., champagne or fruit) which I've gotten at every Hilton I've stayed at since becoming a Diamond, upgrade or no upgrade, breakfast or no breakfast. Still it's a beautiful hotel, and they didn't argue when I requested that they take a breakfast charge off my bill which I could not eat because I had to run off. However, I don't think I'll be returning there anytime soon. The whole idea behind the HHonors program is to "honor" the loyalty of its most frequent customers. And if there are half a dozen other Hiltons in the London area show even the slightest effort better than the Langham to award customers for their loyalty, then call me a spoiled little brat because that's what keeps me going back to the same hotel.

FWIW, I completed an award stay there in June. I'm a Hilton Gold and was upgraded to the Executive "Wing", with a huge room, marble bath, etc. They also gave me access to the lounge, with full breakfast, for my entire stay. The girls there (mostly German/French hotel management students) were awesome and even let me take some bottles of water/etc in the lounge up to my room.

I'm surprised by your report, as I think the treatment there was the best I've gotten at any Hilton, ever...

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by Axey:
FWIW, I completed an award stay there in June. I'm a Hilton Gold and was upgraded to the Executive "Wing", with a huge room, marble bath, etc. They also gave me access to the lounge, with full breakfast, for my entire stay. The girls there (mostly German/French hotel management students) were awesome and even let me take some bottles of water/etc in the lounge up to my room.

I'm surprised by your report, as I think the treatment there was the best I've gotten at any Hilton, ever...</font>

key indicator: "hotel management students" who are not yet corrupted by sub-standard practices. They are still following the text-book for the summer.

Well, yes, but I was talking about the lounge people, not the more senior staff handling my checkin (and upgrade)...

I guess I will include this hotel (and continue the London Hilton) on my "Do Not Use For One Year" list. I dont like to be lied to by snobbish hotel staff.

I am currently at the Metropole London Hilton and love the nice rooms and their nice executive lounge. The tea sammishes just keep getting better and better (they go great with the Foster Ice beer)

MisterNice
HH Diamond

It all just goes to show you that it's a crapshoot. I traveled on business and brought my parents and grandmother out with me to celebrate my grandmother's 80th. Hence the paid room and the award room. I even mentioned that to the hotel manager when I e-mailed him a week before my arrival asking for something special. Never got a response from him, and I had to find out about my "semi-upgrade" on the day of my arrival. Was it busy that weekend? Maybe. I know that there were Concierge rooms and suites available because I asked. The point is that I would have preferred a little courtesy of "I'm sorry" or even a "Here's a cheap token of our appreciation for your loyalty" that should be due to Diamond members. I too work in a customer service environment where we say "no" more than we say "yes", so I realize that business is business. But c'mon...

Stayed at the Langham in Sept. I am Hilton Gold, used points for free stay. Was not upgraded, was not allowed to access the lounge. Complained via comment card on way out about refused access to lounge. and to HH desk in USA (yikes, watch those LD calls). About two weeks later, received a letter from GM of hotel, for a free upgrade next time I stay at hotel. Location is great, received fruit basket and note in room upon arrival. Bummed about no lounge access.

First, it is an $80 cab ride (40 minutes) with small tip from LHR to the Langham. Upon arrival, we were greeted by friendly porters who helped us out of our cab and took care of our bags. One porter didn’t see me watch him throw our bags 5 feet down onto a conveyor belt through a little door leading into the basement of the hotel.

I was using a 3-day award along with 1 paid night. There was no award availability on the last night so my paid stay was on the last night with the award preceding. On the phone prior to arrival, I asked them repeatedly to upgrade us to the King Concierge room that we would be staying in on the 4th night since I am Gold so we wouldn’t have to change rooms. They indicated as long as an executive room was available, this was not a problem.

Kirsty at the front desk (a 21yr old drop dead gorgeous blonde with hazel eyes) indicated we had been upgraded according to the arrangements with the three people I had spoken with in reservations. Check in was quick and easy - less than 2 minutes.

So far, the Langham was nice, but not as posh as I the impression I received by reading other posts. I thought this was going to be a hotel like no other, but it was slightly less appointed than many I have stayed at. I didn’t realize that everywhere I stayed was also top of the line. HGlasgow and HSan Francisco blow it away. I preferred HParis because of the view. Waldorf NYC was much nicer, but the room we finally stayed in at the Langham was much nicer than the Waldorf’s equivalent.

When we arrived in the room, it was so so and I was disappointed. 4th floor, and slightly upgraded to a room with a nicer bathroom, and a back of the bus view of some well-appointed ventilation systems. Certainly not up to the level of the King Concierge room I was promised 3 times on the phone if it was available.

I went back down to reception and asked for lounge access and Kirsty indicated there was no executive lounge in the hotel. That was easy, cut and dry, except my paid reservation for the 4th night indicated complimentary lounge access with canapés and (2) spa treatments. She indicated I already received my room upgrade and was to pick up my spa passes in the spa and the bellhops would pick up our bags the morning of the last day to relocate us to our room in the executive side of the hotel.

While that seemed kind of whack, I had no leg to stand on because they did upgrade me to a nicer room and I am just a lowly Gold. It was just not the arrangements I had made. While en route to the spa, on the lower lever of the secret executive side of the hotel, I was surprised to see what appeared to be an executive lounge. Obviously, I didn’t like being lied to.

The ladies at the spa were very nice but never heard of treatments being offered with rooms, so there was 10 minutes of conferencing with reception. After reception gave the go ahead, it was time to determine what level of spa treatment was included. They asked me to check with them later in the evening. It was 4 hours before that was finally determined, 25 pounds pp. While en route back to our 4th floor room on the common side of the hotel, I got lost in the labyrinth of tiny corridors, and elevators.

I found an elevator thinking that if I can get to the 4th floor, I can get to the other side of the hotel. Well, the executive side is sealed off from the common side. Thank god I found a house phone. I called my traveling companion still in the room to let her know I was still en route but I was quite lost with no one in site. I went to get back on the elevator and voila, Kristy was going down to clear up the spa issue.

She indicated that she spoke to her manager and they agreed to let us stay on the executive side with the award stay for an extra 70 pounds + VAT ($133) per award night. I wasn’t about to let her off the hook so easy so I asked for a tour of the executive side to see the amenities and lounge. She happily agreed and we got lost twice trying to locate both the room and lounge. Its not a huge hotel, just very poorly laid out.

My guest and I waited in the lounge for an hour killing time chatting over delicious deserts and drinks while the porters moved our things. The lounge was 6 corridors and 1 elevator ride away – kind of like being stuck in a corn maze except no cutting through. The room was the usual executive room with an even larger bathroom, non-jacuzzi oversized bathtub, marble minibar area, and a converted king into 2 twins.

Bedding was cotton 300+ thread count and changed daily with oversized down pillows. We slept great as the hotel is very quiet. High speed Ethernet Internet was in the room at $30/day. Men’s hair cuts are $60 in the spa. The pool area was inside. The whirlpool was cooler than expected, but nice. They do allow people off the street to pay to use their facilities. The sauna was great. High tea from 3-6PM was nice but certainly not worth the $50 they tacked on to my room bill. It came with some pastries and sandwiches with the crusts cut off and they did not serve the tea for you. THe pot was too hot to hold bare handed. It’s all free in the lounge so this was a waste.

Bottom line, with all the hotels in London, the Trafalgar being too new, trendy and Euro-whatever (not to mention Trafalgar square is under major construction), Park lane being too business oriented and ugly, Islington being too out of the loop, I would be interested in seeing the Hilton Paddington or the Kensington rather than returning to the Langham. Incidentally, when we told people we were staying at the Langham, the price always went up a pound or two.

Overall, 4/5 stars. My mother was very pleased with the stay and since the trip was for her, that is all I cared about. This was my first award stay (albeit a partial). Makes me think NEVER to expect the type of accommodations I am accustomed to on award stays and ALWAYS integrate paid nights with an award based vacation at the beginning of the stay.

The award finally saved me $714 but it cost $1340 to see the savings. I have a hard time with any hotel that charges $504/night just for executive lounge access, I don’t care what city I’m in. It wasn’t THAT nice. For that kind of money, I’d stay at the Ritz.

To top it off, they billed me $85 for the spa passes. I had to waste more money calling them on the phone to reconcile this. Also, the 2 Cohibas they sold me were were cracked and fell apart 40 minutes after they were removed from the humidor. I was at the airport by this time so I could not get new ones.

Code HB should have gotten me double base points. (28k or almost 1/3 to Dimaond) HHonors is still trying to correct that as it did not post properly because of the way the Langham reworked the reservation.

This 5 star world traveller will never go back.

[This message has been edited by PaulGQ (edited 01-26-2003).]

Boy how could we possibly miss this you only posted it in 5 count em 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 threads.
Mike

That tells you how pissed off at them I was.

My wife adores the Langham and it is a very nice property IMO. We really like the location, the nice walk from Oxford Circus tube stop.

On a side note, we are not very religious, but were there over Christmas and decided to go to service at the church (All Souls or Saints is the name I believe) across the street from the Langham. What a wonderful service, lots of fun, not the drone English service I had pictured in my head.

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by PaulGQ:
Certainly not up to the level of the King Concierge room I was promised 3 times on the phone if it was available.</font>

Someone on another thread asked the difference between SPG Plat and Hilton Diamond. Above is the HUGE difference w/my experiences w/SPG so far.

NO advanced calling or email, what a waste of time IMO. The hotel should be aware of the perks that come w/the various levels of status and dole them out WITHOUT ASKING. SPG has done an exceptional job at this so far. Hilton seems to need more and more coaching w/me showing my printed benefits list etc etc. Not worth the time anymore. I will make Silver at Hilton if THEY are lucky.

PaulGQ, you said you weren't happy, you called it a horror story in another thread, yet you gave it 4/5 stars. Why?

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Sharon

I just returned from London where I spent four nights at the Langham Hilton. I was advised against it by others on this board. But keep in mind that as a lowly Silver member, I was not concerned with getting any special treatment. They supposedly upgraded me to a nicer room although it was not a suite or a particularly large. But it did have a marble bathroom, bathrobes and was definitely upscale.

After my first night, I ordered the continental breakfast and was very impressed. They wheeled in this table filled with more food than I was able to eat. (And I can eat lots!) I called room service and said this was the best room service breakfast I've ever had in any hotel. The guy was so appreciative of my comments, that he personally brought a VIP basket of fruit to my room. However, he promised to come back the following day to refill it but never did. A day later I ordered the continental breakfast again and it was very mediocre. It was carried in on a tray and the order was not quite right. So apparently, they have a problem being consistent.

Now, for the exciting part of my stay; My first night there, I went down to the lobby and there were huge lights, cameras, trucks and movie eqipment everywhere. I enquired at the front desk and was told they were filming a scene from the next James Bond movie. I asked if Pierce Brosnan was around and was told he was already there and then left to shoot another scene at Leicester Square. But I did see some other scenes shot outside at the entrance to the hotel.

I do have one question I'm hoping someone could answer. I used HHonored Guest points for this stay just as I did a few years ago. But on my prior stay, I had to pay about $100.00 in taxes when I checked out. But this time, I only had to pay for incidentals. Can anyone shed some light on this? Thanks.

In my experience, Hilton award stays are free...you pay only incidentals and taxes thereon. You may have been treated incorrectly on your last stay.

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by dingo:
In my experience, Hilton award stays are free...you pay only incidentals and taxes thereon. You may have been treated incorrectly on your last stay.</font>

There was a period where the Langham seemed "confused" about taxes on rewards. It was discussed here a while back, search the archives. They started acting less confused about a year ago now.

I agree; no taxes.

Also, it may have been another Pierce Brosnan movie, but as far as I know they haven't written the script for the next Bond film, much less started filming. But fun though!

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Sharon

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by SkiAdcock:
Also, it may have been another Pierce Brosnan movie, but as far as I know they haven't written the script for the next Bond film, much less started filming. But fun though!</font>

You're probably correct. I just did some "searches" on Pierce Brosnan. He has a couple of upcoming films, none of which is a bond thriller. It makes sense too. The Bond films are usually every two years. With the last one just out last Christmas, it is a bit soon to be filming the next one. Oh well.

IM'd a friend of mine who works at Pinewood where Bond movies are usually filmed. Here's his reply:

"they are usually every two years so were due to shoot /release in 2004 but due to pierce contract issues and script not advanced enough will go for 2005!"

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Sharon