Hilton HHonors - Hilton London Euston hotel Trip Reports and Reviews

After reading bad things about this hotel I was faced with a dilemma this week. I stayed at the London Metropole on the night of the 8th March, but the rate jumped to an astounding £350++ per night for the 9th.

I looked at other options for a London stay and thought about the Euston Hilton. Unlike many of the other Hiltons in London I have not tried this hotel so I thought "what the hell" let's give it a go how bad can it be? I looked at the web site and noted that some rooms had sofas, a particularly appealing feature of a hotel IMHO. I booked a standard room on a RO basis expecting my Diamond upgrade and free breakfast.

I was very pleasantly surprised. My GF checked in as I was on my way back to London from a short business meeting in Scotland and got delayed at Glasgow Airport for a little while. Upon arrival I was disappointed not to have a room with a sofa, and mentioned this to the front desk. They changed my room with barely a quibble (despite me hearing them make a remark to another guest that they were fully booked). The ambience of the lobby area is quite good. This seems to be a relatively small hotel and seems cosy (and a little old fashioned) but with lots of modern touches. The bar area and main restaurant (neither of which we used on this stay) looked clean tidy and classy with a mix of traditional and modern furnishings.

The room was easy to find and of a reasonable size. It faced inwards to a courtyard type area and was very quiet for the overall location. The furnishings were a little odd for a Hilton (My GF remarked that they reminded her a lot of a Holiday Inn) but the bed was very comfortable, the TV was a great size the sofa was very useful and comfortable and overall the room was far more practical than the East Wing room of the Metropole we left the night before.

The bathroom had been completely refitted in a modern style with lots of tile and granite. The bath was small and there was no seperate shower, but the fittings were of high quality and the shower worked very well (again much better than the separate shower in the Metropole). The only notably poor feature was the cheap (and somewhat shoddy) suspended ceiling throughout the room as a whole.

Breakfast in the basement restaraunt was also good and notably quieter than other London Hiltons I have stayed in. The furniture and design of the basement dining room was of good quality and the food was good too. Normal Hilton staffing issues (absent or disinterested staff) were noted however. I also found the sweetener at breakfast to be heavy and granulated (in its Splenda pack) indicating that it had got damp and been dried out, luckily I had my own sweetener tablets in my briefcase.

Upon check out I was billed for breakfast but when I mentioned that I should not have to pay for this as a HH DIA, it was removed from the bill.

Overall I was very impressed (perhaps partly because of my low expectations) and I would definitely stay again (if I could guarantee a room with sofa). I do think that £153 (tax inclusive) was a little expensive for a hotel with no Exec Lounge (given that I normally pay less than £130 at the Metropole), but for the cost I would say I was totally satisfied with my stay experience (a rarity for me in a UK Hilton).

I know this particular hotel has had a bad rap on this forum, but it seemed worthwhile detailing my own experience.

Thanks for the update.
This is quite helpful.

Using my HH DIA points, I'm planning on staying at this hotel for a couple nights in July. Hopefully, I will also have a good experience!!

I take back some of my positive comments.

I checked my Amex bill online today and found that I had been charged 2 items @ £16 each for what I assume to be breakfast at this property for my other half and I. I am furious about this given that they removed the charge and seem to have surreptitiously recharged my credit card for the same items they removed when I checked out.

I have emailed the GM (who I know is on holiday this week) and Diamond Desk and will post an update. I have never experienced anything like this in 8 years staying at Hiltons or in my 4 years as a HH Diamond.

I take back some of my positive comments.

I checked my Amex bill online today and found that I had been charged 2 items @ £16 each for what I assume to be breakfast at this property for my other half and I. I am furious about this given that they removed the charge and seem to have surreptitiously recharged my credit card for the same items they removed when I checked out.

I have emailed the GM (who I know is on holiday this week) and Diamond Desk and will post an update. I have never experienced anything like this in 8 years staying at Hiltons or in my 4 years as a HH Diamond.

I'm trying to stay in a central London Hilton for ten days in mid-September. The only one that seems to fit my business budget is the Euston. A couple of questions:

1) How far a walk is it from the hotel to the tube (Euston I guess)? Trying to get to Canada Square so it looks like Metropolitan line to London Bridge then transfer to Jubilee?
2) Is there an exec lounge?
3) Is there air conditioning - that works :)
4) What is the GM email's address?

Thanks

I'm trying to stay in a central London Hilton for ten days in mid-September. The only one that seems to fit my business budget is the Euston. A couple of questions:

1) How far a walk is it from the hotel to the tube (Euston I guess)? Trying to get to Canada Square so it looks like Metropolitan line to London Bridge then transfer to Jubilee?
2) Is there an exec lounge?
3) Is there air conditioning - that works :)
4) What is the GM email's address?

Thanks

Ok here goes

1) A short walk to either Russell Square (piccadilly) or Euston (northern) also Euston Square (circle & hammersmith & city). IMHO a bit of a PITA to et to Canary wharf from there have you thought about the Hilton Docklands?

2) No

3) Not noticeable, I had the window opne and that was in a really good room

4) PM me and I will give it to you

All in if you are looking for value, try the Islington Hilton. It is 2 stops further down the Northern Line (so is closer to Docklands and the City). It is also an infinitely superior hotel.

I've stayed at this hotel many times (it's very handy for BMA House just a couple doors down) including in its pre-Hilton days (used to be a privately-owned hotel until about 2-3y ago I think). It has definitely improved since then but unfortunately the underlying size and shape of the building does cause some problems.

In particular - rooms at the front tend to be pretty noisy, and also a bit on the small side. Particularly bad are the top-floor rooms which have sloping roofs. Last time I was checking-in I heard another guest say that if they couldn't move him he was leaving. Compared to the price that the nearby Travel Inn charge you really shouldn't put up with a small room.

A couple of stays ago I complained about the room I was given (and lack of Gold VIP upgrade) - the GM wrote back and apologised saying that my account had been updated so that I shouldn't get that size of room again in the future.

As a nice touch they often have a letter waiting for Gold VIPs inviting them to complimentary drinks/canapes in the evening at the bar - perhaps this is due to them not having an exec floor? I've also found that I tend to only get charged the £3.50 tray charge for room service breakfast, not the full extra 'upgrade' price from the breakfast included with the room rate.

I've found the temperature in the rooms to be pretty reasonable. There are air conditioning controls throughout although they only seem to let you increase or decrease the temperature by 3 degrees!

Overall - reasonable-enough place to stay, just make sure you get a decent room! Perhaps even worth phoning earlier in the day if you're going to be late checking in. I also tend to book via the call centre rather than the web as this seems to ensure that the 'upgrade if avail' phrase makes it on to the booking confirmation.

Cheers

Alan

The temperature in London is not bad by mid September. I am sure that the average UK ac will be fine by then. That is not the same as if you were there today when the temperature was in the 80's (F).

Euston Hilton is just about 2 - 3 min walk to Euston Station and about 5 min to Russell Square station. It is on a main road to central London (therefore plenty of traffic noise).

I have to say I found this Hotel to be nothing short of awful! Service was appalling and things one would expect in a UK Hilton (such as BT Openzone Wi-fi access) were not available. Wi-fi access was provided instead by another partner (with an excessive fee). No LAN access working in the rooms. Management did not seem too concerned. And to top it all off? Well had to scream shout and make a fuss before they 'eventually' posted the points for the stay. Certainly not a property I would ever stay at again. For the sake of a few stops on the tube; consider the London Metropole.

I just finished a 4 night stay at this property. We were meeting friends who were staying a a nearby B&B and wanted to burn off some HH points for 2 nights, and found a great rate on ba.com for the remaining two nights.

The first night they had us in a front room on the 3rd floor and it was really noisy. In fact, the window latch was broken and the top sash wouldn't close all the way, so we were essentially open to the street. They had no more nonsmoking rooms and couldn't move us, and engineering was afraid to try to fix the window for fear the top sash would completely fall down and then not go back up. The room was also just really uncomfortable, despite the queen sized bed and ok overall size.

The next day they moved us to a second floor room at the back and it was like night and day. Though the room was smaller and had only a double bed, the ceiling was at least 12 fee high and an entire wall was windows, with doors that opened onto a "juliet" balcony. This room faced the terrace off the gym, so there was a little noise in the morning from hardy exercisers, but it was much more pleasant and quiet compared to the first room. Among other things, the furniture was in much better shape.

There are some serious maintenance issues at this hotel. As I said, many of the windows are nearing (or past) the end of their useful life - the engineer told us they are slated to be replaced. I looks like they did a partial renovation pretty recently, but they did it really cheaply and it looks it. For example, we had one halogen light in the bath that burned out while we were there and was never replaced. It looked like it had overheated repeatedly - the fixture was all warped.

Also, the breakfast (which was included in our BA rate) was dreadful, and the breakfast room in the basement was sweltering hot.

In sum, this hotel might be ok at a good price if you have need to be in the neighborhood, but otherwise I'd look elsewhere. I wouldn't go back.

I did get a followup email survey about my stay for this property and replied truthfully. I received a personalized email followup from the property manager several hours later. Kudos where kudos are due, though I still wouldn't stay there again if I had other alternatives.

...The first night they had us in a front room on the 3rd floor and it was really noisy. In fact, the window latch was broken and the top sash wouldn't close all the way, so we were essentially open to the street...

I think I might have gotten the same room -- which hasn't been fixed!

:(

I'd concur with earlier statements about this hotel being noisy. There are essentially two issues -- wood floors that creak, which you can hear upstairs and down, as well as in the hallway, and the street noise. I'd strongly recommend asking for a room away from the street, which I moved to and then was able to sleep soundly.

...this hotel might be ok at a good price if you have need to be in the neighborhood, but otherwise I'd look elsewhere. I wouldn't go back.

My take was that I'd stay there again if I need to take the train from Euston early in the morning, but only for a single night's stay. This is not someplace I'd want to spend a lot of time, but if you get a room in the back it is minimally acceptable -- although certainly not luxurious by any means.

I stayed at the Hilton Euston last week and I found it to be a reasonably good value London Hilton. I was upgraded to a deluxe room which was at the front of the hotel but didn't find it too noisy. The room was very large and clean, the only problem I had was that the AC didn't seem to work properly.

The bar was very busy - football game on TV - and lots of smokers. The restaurant is an impressive room and the food and service were both good. Breakfast was OK with a good selection of hot and cold food.

Most of the London Hilton's are outside of my employer's budget so I'll be staying at the Hilton Euston again soon.

I stayed at the Hilton Euston last week and I found it to be a reasonably good value London Hilton. I was upgraded to a deluxe room which was at the front of the hotel but didn't find it too noisy. The room was very large and clean, the only problem I had was that the AC didn't seem to work properly.

The bar was very busy - football game on TV - and lots of smokers. The restaurant is an impressive room and the food and service were both good. Breakfast was OK with a good selection of hot and cold food.

Most of the London Hilton's are outside of my employer's budget so I'll be staying at the Hilton Euston again soon.

The strange thing is this hotel is often significantly more expensive than better properties. It is a rarity that the Euston is cheaper than one of the other better properties. Quite often the Metropole or London Bridge work out significantly cheaper and they at least have proper Executive Floors and lounges.

Of the other London Hiltons, the Islington is consistently cheaper than the Euston and considering it has no Exec Floor has pretty consistent HH DIA recognition.

The Euston can sometimes be a little cheaper (which led to my first and last stay) but even then it tends not to be significantly cheaper. Given the lack of Diamond benefits at this property (apart perhaps from a room with a sofa), I really don't see why anyone would choose it in preference to another property (one off pricing exceptions aside).

I did approximately 50 nights in various London Hiltons last year (either 1 or 2 night stays) and on only 1 occasion did I notice a price at the Euston >£10 less than the Metropole or equivalent.

The bar was very busy - football game on TV - and lots of smokers. The restaurant is an impressive room and the food and service were both good. Breakfast was OK with a good selection of hot and cold food.

Yep I can't wait for the smoking ban to come into effect in England - I really notice the difference when I'm down travelling!

In general I think the Euston Hilton is OK if you get an upgraded room but the 'standard' rooms are pretty dreadful.

Well have to eat my words - stayed at the Hilton Euston last night. Booked through my company's TA and got a rate of £165 which was the same as shown on hilton.com. However, the TA rate was plus VAT as well.

Checked in and told the hotel was full so no upgrade but free breakfast. My room was tiny and I mean broom closet tiny with a small bed jammed in one corner. The windows didn't shut properly so the traffic noise was very loud all night and the AC just blew hot air regardless of setting. The bed was not only small but very uncomfortable - the mattress was so worn that there was a huge dip in the middle. £200 for this, you must be joking! Woke up this morning hot and with a sore back. I didn't bother with breakfast as I just wanted to get out of there.

Never, ever, ever again :(

Several of the OPs have mentioned the Hilton Islington. I stayed there about 3 weeks back and am staying again in 2 weeks. Both for 1 night each. It was a good location - lots of restaurants within walking distance.

I'm only a lowly Silver (quickly rectifying that:) ) so no upgrade. The room was fine but could have smelled a bit fresher. It wasn't dirty, just a bit musty. I let the management know. We'll see how it is in 2 weeks.

Tonight I'm at the Hilton Heathrow. Obviously not a great choice if you have business in the city centre, but I'm finding it very nice.

@BAGoldBoy - I have had a similar experience in the past. I complained to the Manager and they have now put a note on my account regarding this issue. Since then I have never been put in a similar room (I know I could just stay at a different hotel but it's very handy for meetings I attend nearby).

Alan

Yep I can't wait for the smoking ban to come into effect in England - I really notice the difference when I'm down travelling!........

I keep hearing about the upcoming non-smoking ban. Good for England!!!!! When does it begin?

MisterNice

1st July - http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/6196910.stm

Alan

Just checked in after a non-eventful (favorite kind) flight. I was quite early but since I check out at like 4 am I figure it is offset. The cleaning staff gets in at 9am so if the hotel is busy you have to wait for them to get in and clean a room. I didn't mind waiting they gave me breakfast, no upgrade available so I got my single room. I asked to be away from the road to have a quiet room, I got 83, the room has a window in the restaurant but it is pretty quiet. Really my only complaint is the room is tiny, broom closet comes to mind.

When we stayed there, the room I had was very large - had a couch, a king bed and plenty of room for a roll-away. After reading this thread, I am glad I got the upgraded room vs. Breakfast.

Well I just wrapped up a week at London Euston and I have to say I was really worried about staying here but it seems my worries were unfounded. True my room was small but it was what I booked. My Diamond benefit was breakfast. All in all, the location is great from a tube station point of view near two or three stations. The concierge is pretty good and the manager/sales people are awesome. Wednesday I had a invite to a managers reception under my door. I went and talked to the sales gal and the manager of the hotel. I voiced my concerns about the upgrade but understood they were full (its summer). I have begun negotiations to make this my preferred hotel and am hoping to get a good rate. I have 40nights of need right now with more coming every day, plus my students need a place to stay as well.

The restaurant has a Malbec on hand so that is good and the managers reception was nice with free food and drinks. I have to say that since this is a listed building in London they have done all they can to make it nice, and they have a few bids out on making the rooms on the road silenced.

No upgrade for me as Diamond. Since I had an inclusive package, they couldn't offer breakfast. Reception offered wine (I don't drink) or a plate of fruit. I agreed to the latter but it was never delivered to my room and I didn't have the energy to follow up. The room was on the second floor (rather than higher as is my preference) with an empty beer glass outside of it. It was small and because its an older property the floor creaked whenever I walked on it or when the person above me walked in his/her room. The room faced away from the street so at least it was fairly quiet. Its a good location for my purposes but I don't think I'll be returning.

I've had about 20 stays (~60 nights) in this hotel in the last 7-8 months.
The reason I stay is for its proximity to Euston Station, from where there are fast and regular trains to where my client is located. Of the cheaper London Hilton properties that I've tried (Kensington, Kensington Olympia, Metropole) it scores lowest in terms of room quality and service.
As a Diamond I get an upgrade about once in 10 stays. They always make a song and dance about giving me free breakfast instead, until I point out that it's included in my rate. I usually take the fruit platter. This week they delivered the fruit platter to my room at 10.35. I was asleep, having been up since 4.30am. The lady delivering the platter seemed annoyed that I had taken so long to answer her knocking and laughed when I said I was asleep. This is fairly typical for this hotel. While I'm at it, this week I booked one of their 'Deluxe King' rooms, at an extra £30 per night. I was given a standard (read tiny) twin room. I returned to reception and asked for this to be resolved. The receptionist contradicted me directly, numerous times, saying that I had not booked a Deluxe room and that the room I had was the only one left. I asked to speak to the manager who miraculously found me a deluxe room and muttered an apology. I'll be taking this up with hotel management and the Diamond Desk.
So, apart from this week's shenanigans, my experience at this hotel has varied wildly. As mentioned, upgrades are very rare, even for Diamonds. Even as a Gold, I was frequently put in the tiniest doubles I have ever seen. Asking for a better room sometimes works, sometimes not.
This is an old building so rooms vary. Some standard doubles give you a large room, overlooking one of the interior courtyards and with modern a/c. Some Deluxe Kings are roughly the same size but with a huge bed and a bathrobe and slippers but with draughty windows facing the very busy street and no a/c. In general, the interior facing rooms are superior although the ones around the courtyard where the gym is, while bright and airy with floor-to-ceiling windows, are right beside a very loud ventilation machine (I think, whatever, it's NOISY!). All rooms have creaky floorboards. You will be woken by the guest in the room above you. All rooms, apart from those right at the end of the corridors are subject to noise from the corridors. You will be woken by the guests on your floor. Do not accept a room beside the lifts under any circumstances!!
Every now and then I get a good-sized room in a quiet part of the hotel with nice big windows, that close, and it's actually very pleasant and as good as you'll get for London at this price range. Like I said, experiences will vary.
The one thing this place has going for it is access to transport links. I've had some really crappy rooms and shoddy treatment in the other Hiltons mentioned above. I've never stayed in the more upmarket London Hiltons as they're not approved by my company. I have to say I'm heartily sick of this hotel but the alternative is lugging my luggage on the tube on a Monday and Thursday and getting up 30 minutes earlier for work each morning.

Contact the Sales people if you have several nights you know you will be there. I was paying a pretty good rate, with an auto-upgrade and included breakfast.

Do they have functional internet here? I'm thinking of selecting that as my Diamond amenity.

I read here some bad reports about this hotel, but I decided to try it, booking 5 months ago a room for 69 pound breakfast included using the january sale promotion. The hotel is in an old building, very convenient with the railways station and the tube (less than 3 minutes walk). I checked-in last sunday, early afternoon, and the hotel was almost desert. I had a very small room at the 4th floor facing the main street. The bed was not a king size, but a queen size, and was unconfortable for two. Bathroom small with only a shower. Small window and curtains not enough to have the room dark, expecially in early morning. Lot of noise arriving from the street and very difficul sleep. Air conditioning noisy and not working properly. The floor creaked whenever I walked on it or when somebody in the corridor walked in. Breakfast in the basement below Hilton standards, in a small restaurant fully crowded. We had a table close to the roaster and very hot. 20 minutes to wait in order to have some fried eggs!

Just stayed there for 3 nights (and at what I consider to be a high rate of 159 GPB). The reception and first night were truly great but after that my 4th floor room became totally overheated (it became over 90 F degrees or more than 27C as was more like a sauna than any time of hotel room I have ever had) and there was little to nothing the staff could do but they did try. Other rooms on 4th floor suffered as well.

Eventually and after much discussions, which were unnecessary and very inconvenient for me and my schedule, I was moved finally to another room but also on 4th floor and it too was far too hot but at least not as bad as my first room (23-24 Celius).

On departure, I complained and I asked for a free room night as a result, and was denied but was offered to comp my room service meal on one night and my phone calls. This is a pathetic response and I await a better offer. I was to stay there again in early November but I am rethinking that now.

As a Diamond member I think I received really bad service from this property esp at the price I was paying which was mid level but high to me in my currency.


I simply cannot recommend this property to anyone.

100k

I have stayed at Hilton Euston 3 times this calander year. Once was pleasure- I took family, had two huge adjoining king deluxe rooms and we were very happy. They were a bit slow about service and opening the rooms but really I had no issues and was looking forward to trying again. I have business meetings in the immediate area so I stayed again twice on business. The first time the room was tiny, I knocked my water over as there was no bedside table so it was on floor and I was surprised they did not offer me a paper (normal) or acknowledge my previous stay. I heard nothing from the feedback form I put in. I went again, as it was convenient, and again, crap room, poor service and it just made me think, why bother. I can pay a small amount more to stay in another Hilton- or looking at these posts, I will try Metropole or Islington. I am really disappointed that they don't bother responding to feedback but assume they just do not want my business so I am not chasing it up- just taking it elsewhere. Considering I was happy to be a repeat customer- business and leisure, I guess customer relations is not a huge issue and they must have plenty of turnover