Hilton HHonors - Best London & Paris Hiltons for touring the cities

After reading a couple of the recent posts with do a search response, I am nervous to open this thread, however in reading the London and Paris Hotel threads, they seem to be unique to indivdual hotels and did not seem to provide the exact information I am looking for - but they were helpful! So please don't flame me, or if you do, at least help me out first :rolleyes:

I will be staying 4 nights in London and 3 nights in Paris. I have never been to either city before, and want to see many of the "must see" tourist attractions and things while there. Not really interested in shopping, but hopefully to see a play in London.

I plan to use points, so $$ does not matter. Likewise, I am Diamond, and while the perks for being Diamond are nice, I'd much rather be closer to the attractions then staying at a Hilton far from the attractions but where the Diamond benefits are better if you know what I mean. So with that being said - What is the best Hilton to stay at in London and Paris with respect to closeness or easy access to by subway/bus to the majority of the attractions??

From the threads I've reviewed, I am thinking for London - Waldorf and Paris - Arc d'Triomphe - but is that the best strategy?

Stayed at the Hilton ADT in June on Points... Big mistake. Had booked for 3 nites and were locked out of the room each nite of the last 2 becuase they kept saying the reservation was for one nite. The staff at checkin was very rude even when we showed them our confirmation receipt for three nights. The hotel is not near anything. The Champs Elysse is approx 4-5 blocks away uphill! The our room had a very large (3-4ft) what appeared to be a water damage spot on the carpet.

Things to see...The eiffel tower at night, the louvre, the left bank, Louis Vuitton (the crowd in there is unbelievable),the Ritz (hemingway bar). Use the metro it will get you anywhere very inexpensively (buy the 10 ticket pack)

As for London, you didn't say when your trip was, but you may want to consider the Park Lane Hilton. Right across from Hyde Park, which always has something going on. Overlooks the back yard of Buckingham Palace too. Short walk down the road to Harrods and shopping. If you are going in Spring or Summer it is worth looking at.

One thing about London. Don't get too hung up on being "close" to the touristy things. Bring comfortable shoes and walk everywhere. London is one of the greatest cities in the world for walking. Everything is a reasonable walk from everything, and if you get tired, the black cabs are great, or just hop on the tube. Seriously, you will miss a lot if you don't plan on lots of walking.

I visited these two cities just last month and stayed at the Waldorf Hilton in London and the Eiffel Tower Hilton in Paris. Both were conveniently located to mass transit and other sites. The executive lounges at both properties were not the greatest in Europe, but certainly not the worst, either.

We stayed at the Waldorf this summer and thought that the location was very central. There are several tube stops nearby. We were able to walk to Trafalgar Square, Buckingham Palace, London Eye, Covent Garden, theatre district.

I've stayed at the Paris ADT and had a wonderful stay -- great upgrades, very nice executive lounge, nothing but friendly service. Yes, it's about 5-6 blocks to the Champs-Élysées, and depending on which way you walk, you may have a modest hill or two. But it's mostly downhill from the hotel to the Champs-Élysées, and we didn't find the hills to be anything excessive. There's also a Metro station (Courcelles on line 2, IIRC) about a block away. We didn't find the location to be a hindrance at all to enjoying Paris as tourists, and enjoyed that fact that the neighborhood was less busy and more quiet at night than the hotels along the Champs-Élysées or near the Eiffel Tower.

In London I've stayed at both the Kensington and Canary Wharf properties. Kensington was older and nothing special, but I found the executive floor rooms to be adequate. It was quiet, clean, and comfortable, but nothing fancy. Canary Wharf is a very new property, and the executive rooms are fairly large for London, with nice bathrooms, and the lounge was nice. Neither hotel is particularly close to any of the major tourist attractions, but both were reasonably close to transit -- Kensington is between two Tube stations (Holland Park and Shepherd's Bush), and has a bus stop right in front of the hotel. Canary Wharf is adjacent to the Docklands Light Railway. My experience with both was that you had to allow 15-30 minutes to get into the central part of the city.

I really like to Hilton ADT and have always received great attention when I have stayed there - Hilton Eiffel Tower is well placed but is a bit old and worn now.

In London avoid the Docklands Hilton - it's in the middle of nowhere, Green Park has small rooms and no AC, Trafalgar is nice even if the staff are a bit snooty. Hyde Park Hilton is OK but really depends which parts of London you're planning to explore - just be careful you don't choose one of the more out of the ways one, like Olympia

I too had very nice customer service from the Hilton ADT. The staff was extremely friendly during my time there and the executive lounge was quite nice. We used the Courcelles Metro stop whenever we needed to go somewhere and found it very convenient. The Hilton near the Effiel Tower also had very nice customer service, however, the rooms seemed a bit more dated and the lounge not as nice as those at the ADT. The location is of course extremely close to the Effiel Tower with wonderful views. Metro stop is also close by.
drnp

Couldn't agree more. ADT it an excellent property. Nice rooms, nice lounge, nice style of the hotel and in a very good location. For London I would either go for the Waldorf Hilton or for the Trafalgar. Both have their pros and cons and there is plenty of wisdom on this board; just do a search.

Couldn't agree more. ADT it an excellent property. Nice rooms, nice lounge, nice style of the hotel and in a very good location. For London I would either go for the Waldorf Hilton or for the Trafalgar. Both have their pros and cons and there is plenty of wisdom on this board; just do a search.

I can second that (with a little preference for the Trafalgar).

I have stayed at the Hilton Trafalgar in London and it is a great location. I would certainly go back there if I need to book a Hilton room using points in London.

I am also trying to find a hotel in Paris. I am trying to decide between Hilton ADT and Hilton Paris (Eiffel Tower). It sounds like both are OK based on this thread but I am not sure which one has the better location.

I have stayed at the Hilton Trafalgar in London and it is a great location. I would certainly go back there if I need to book a Hilton room using points in London.

I am also trying to find a hotel in Paris. I am trying to decide between Hilton ADT and Hilton Paris (Eiffel Tower). It sounds like both are OK based on this thread but I am not sure which one has the better location.

Location is similar good or bad. There are certainly people who would say that the Eiffel Tower is in the middle of nowhere in Paris so the Paris Hilton is in the middle of nowhere too. And there are people who say that a few blocks to Champs-Élysées is a pest. I personally prefer the ADT, it is certainly the nicer hotel, I have no problems to walk from there and it has a direct metro to Montmarte on its doorsteps.

I like the Hilton Green Park, as it's centrally located and on the Piccadilly line which is direct to LHR. The tube stop (Green Park) is about 3 blocks away. It's a couple of stops to Harrods (Knightsbridge), theater district (Leicester Square), Covent Garden, etc.

The public areas and rooms aren't too fancy, but the rates are typically less than the other Hiltons.

Another vote for the Park Lane. Was there last weekend for an 3 nt sightseeing visit. If you like views, it is about the only Hilton in London high enough to give you any decent views (as as of 8th floor or so for city or palace views). Note that some floors have not been renovated yet so can look and feel a bit dated (see other threads on the property for details). After starting off on a lower floor (6th) which was redone, I asked for another room and ended up on the 18th floor with nice city views, but the floor was yet to be reworked. The views made it all good (especially the fireworks all over the city and suburbs for Guy Fawkes night)

Same as the Green Park location, it is less than 5 minutes walking from a tube (http://www.thetube.com)station on the Piccadilly line (Hyde Park corner in this case) with direct connection to LHR for GBP 4. Unless you are close to Paddington or someone else is paying, don't waist money on the Heathrow Express or Taxis. Most often underground, even when connecting, will take about as long or a little longer for a lot less dosh.
If you are arriving or departing from LGW, trains or Gatwick express are the best way to town, arriving at at Victoria, from where a taxi is about GBP 5 to the Park Lane. For more info see the London airport transport FAQ (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=755296)

If you are interested in guided bus tours, the 2 major hop-on-hop-off companies Big Bus (http://www.bigbus.co.uk/)and The Original (http://www.theoriginaltour.com/)have a stop right across from the hotel (take pedestrian underpassage to cross the road, know as 'subway' in the UK) At this point (1st October 07 to 29th Feb 08), the bigbus tickets are valid for 48hours instead of the normal 24 hours. Both companies also have a one way commented river cruise included and Big Bus also has 3 walking tours (see their websites for more info). I can recommend the "Royal London Walk" for a slightly 'behind the scenes' view of the preparations towards the changing of the guard. Our guide did warn us, it is not a walk, it is a workout. Note that during the colder months (not sure of dates, but certainly last weekend 3 Nov) the changing of the guard is only on odd days in London, even days at Windsor Castle.

I am a regular at the London Euston. Great location, near a major tube stop, the staff is pretty good. The rooms aren't huge as the building is registered but my relationship with the staff makes up for it.

I can second that (with a little preference for the Trafalgar).

Agreed! I am staying at the Trafalgar right now and love the location. Was upgraded to a Deluxe Premium Plus room with a full bath with tub. Have also stayed at the Waldorf three times. Although wired Internet service is GBP 15 per day, there is a free wireless signal from the building across the street that I have been connected to since I arrived on Friday. If you arrive early, they will put a rush on your room and have it ready within an hour. I have not been treated as well at the Waldorf, unfortunately, and have waited for hours there each time to get a clean room.

We stayed at the newish Hilton London Bridge over the summer, and I would definitely recommend it myself ... great location and nice lounge. Not quite as conveniently located as the Trafalgar of course, but it's definitely one to consider. It is especially convenient if you're flying into LGW as you can hop the First Capital Connect (not the more expensive Gatwick Express to Waterloo!) train straight to the London Bridge station and the hotel is a short walk from there.

Agreed! I am staying at the Trafalgar right now and love the location. Was upgraded to a Deluxe Premium Plus room with a full bath with tub. Have also stayed at the Waldorf three times. Although wired Internet service is GBP 15 per day, there is a free wireless signal from the building across the street that I have been connected to since I arrived on Friday. If you arrive early, they will put a rush on your room and have it ready within an hour. I have not been treated as well at the Waldorf, unfortunately, and have waited for hours there each time to get a clean room.

I had similar experience with service at the Waldorf. I arrived before noon and had to wait until mid-afternoon for a room, although the room was decent enough and large for London. The Trafalgar can be considered as centrally located in London where you can walk to most attractions.

I also prefer the ADT in Paris over the Paris Hilton. The Art Deco decor in the rooms is nice and the lounge is much nicer and not as crowded as the one at the Paris Hilton.

[QUOTE=phinzup;8696087]Stayed at the Hilton ADT in June on Points... Big mistake. Had booked for 3 nites and were locked out of the room each nite of the last 2 becuase they kept saying the reservation was for one nite. The staff at checkin was very rude even when we showed them our confirmation receipt for three nights.

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Sorry to hear about your problems, I stayed at the hotel in 06 on points and received the royal treatment. At check-in I was escorted to the lounge for executive check-in. Each night there was a snack of fruit and a sweet of some sort waiting in my room. All told very enjoyable.

I've stayed at the Green Park Hilton several times. The staff has been pleasant and there is easy access to the tube and the bus. There are also a wide range of good restaurants a short walk from the hotel.