Hilton HHonors - Quick question: Hilton London Metropole

Hey folks, planning a quick jaunt to Blighty from Sept 12-19...planning to stay @ London Metropole since it's an easy walk to Paddington, tube stops, tourbus, etc. and husband hasn't seen any of the tourist sites.

My dates are only just missing the HH 2-for-1 deal that expires Aug 31, dangit, but I am able to use HHonors points to book the first two nights of the stay. There are a number of room categories at Metropole: King, King Deluxe, Deluxe Plus, etc. but when I went to reserve my HHonors nights only the plain "King" variety was available for redemption. I had already booked one of the "Deluxe Plus" rooms for the rest of the days of the stay.

I assume they'll make us change rooms after the first two days, from the plain King to the Deluxe Plus. Will we have to do it at a specific time/can we leave bags behind the desk?

Will it be so much hassle I should just suck it up and reserve the plain King room for the duration of the stay and save us from having to move around? I'd call but I understand this is the largest hotel in London and seems like whomever answers the phone might not be able to provide a really definitive answer on this. Just looking for input from Flyertalkers; any info appreciated. I'm a lowly Gold member, if that makes any difference.

Since you are a Gold member, just book the basic King or twin room and you should get upgraded to the Executive floor room as long as it is available. Check in at the Executive lounge.

You may also wish to consider looking at the Trafalgar Hilton which has one of the best locations in London where you can walk to Piccadilly, Leicester Square, and Covent Garden from the hotel. This hotel does not have Executive floor rooms, but it has a very chic environment, and your Gold status will award you free breakfast. The Hilton Park Lane is also well regarded for very good amenities, but it is a bit less centrally located.

You can also try and get a GLON award. See this thread here: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/hilton-hhonors/603818-glon-hilton-hhonors-award-questions-information-definitive-thread.html

Above reply is correct. At that time of year you have a very good chance for an upgrade to exec floor. If not, you will have access to Exec Lounge -second floor - which is a good one. One of the few London hotels which has a pool - Good breakfast-nice cocktails and enough snacks at night. Enough available if you prefer not to go out. Have stayed at most central London Hiltons and have been returning several times /year to Metro.
No problem leaving baggage. Lobby is well staffed. Short walk down Praad st to Paddington-keep walking and you will find many restaurants/all types/pubs.
DB-Chicago

I don't think I've ever had a hotel move me to a different room in the middle of a stay, even with different reservations, but I usually blend points with $ stays.

I like the Metropole's location relative to stores and Paddington. Also, the breakfast downstairs wasn't bad either.

For a good lounge, try the Waldorf Hilton. Good spread, internet access, afternoon tea, plenty of seating. I was impressed.

Thanks SO much folks. Don't think I can make GLON, but after digging thru other threads I should have no trouble scoring an AXON - after I empty out my Amex MR account. ;) Going to call tomorrow and ask. Looks like I have a few Cat 5 options in London; unfortunately Trafalgar is a Cat 6.

In any event if I do wind up sticking with the current plan, I'll definitely ask about the upgrade possibility.

(Wow, how much money have I saved now having read Flyertalk? Imagine one of those slot machines with the numbers flying by so quickly you can't read them...)

ETA: Xpost....thanks for the info portishead! Here's hoping I score an upgrade. Will report back.

As a gold, I am quite sure they will put you in the "executive tower". You can probably call them to confirm.

Thanks SO much folks. Don't think I can make GLON, but after digging thru other threads I should have no trouble scoring an AXON - after I empty out my Amex MR account. ;) Going to call tomorrow and ask. Looks like I have a few Cat 5 options in London; unfortunately Trafalgar is a Cat 6.

In any event if I do wind up sticking with the current plan, I'll definitely ask about the upgrade possibility.

(Wow, how much money have I saved now having read Flyertalk? Imagine one of those slot machines with the numbers flying by so quickly you can't read them...)

ETA: Xpost....thanks for the info portishead! Here's hoping I score an upgrade. Will report back.

If possible, try and get the Cat 6 Axon award at the Trafalgar or Park Lane. If you stay at the Trafalgar, you can take the Piccadilly Line from Heathrow straight to Green Park in about an hour. It is not fast as the Heathrow Express to Paddington and the Metropole, but it is an option nonetheless. Check out user reviews for all three hotels on tripadvisor.com. The Metropole is well located for access to Paddington and not far from Marble Arch, and it is located in an area with a high concentration of Middle Eastern restaurants and shops.

I just did a tr on Metropole as well.
Quite underwhelming, but clean and it works mostly. In my opinion a bit of a depressing soul-less corporate hotel.

IMHO, I would book the Metropole for paid stays if you find a good rate, and it is conveniently located to the Heathrow Express. I would select the Trafalgar or Park Lane Hilton for an award as they tend to be more expensive, so HHonors points is a good method to use for payment. All three are good hotels, so it depends upon your stay's criteria: location, affordability, or luxury.

IMHO, I would book the Metropole for paid stays if you find a good rate, and it is conveniently located to the Heathrow Express. I would select the Trafalgar or Park Lane Hilton for an award as they tend to be more expensive, so HHonors points is a good method to use for payment. All three are good hotels, so it depends upon your stay's criteria: location, affordability, or luxury.

Sound advice. ^

One thing the Metropole's got that many others in London do not: two queen beds in one room!

Thanks much, folks! Trouble is, I earn my HH points mostly thru CC spend and not hotel stays - I'm a casual traveler - so not sure I can swing 175K points right now, even thru emptying out my MR account and augmenting through buying a few points, etc. 125 I can do, and I'm getting ready to call re: AXON.

I actually have been to the Paddington area - stayed at the London Elizabeth in '07, in Bayswater - so I do have a little idea what to expect. And luckily, I actually really, really love Middle Eastern food and seek it out when I visit larger cities. The pickin's for that are a little scarce here in Nashville. ;)

Thanks much, folks! Trouble is, I earn my HH points mostly thru CC spend and not hotel stays - I'm a casual traveler - so not sure I can swing 175K points right now, even thru emptying out my MR account and augmenting through buying a few points, etc. 125 I can do, and I'm getting ready to call re: AXON.

I actually have been to the Paddington area - stayed at the London Elizabeth in '07, in Bayswater - so I do have a little idea what to expect. And luckily, I actually really, really love Middle Eastern food and seek it out when I visit larger cities. The pickin's for that are a little scarce here in Nashville. ;)

I see you're AA Gold. If you have accumulated a pile of AA miles, you can always transfer them to Hilton at a ratio of 2 HH:1 AA. I think there is a $30 charge for a maximum transfer of 100,000 AA miles. Other than Starwood transfers and large Marriott travel packages, this is the one airline miles' transfer that many people believe is a fair trade.

One thing the Metropole's got that many others in London do not: two queen beds in one room!

And those rooms are nice and large too with much glass. They also have some very long and narrow rooms with 3 single beds. Very weird.

MisterNice

I stayed at the Hilton Metropole back in March 2002 as a lowly Silver. I had booked the "stay 2 nights with breakfast and dinner the first night" special. I was meeting my sister there. She had already checked in and we had received a twin standard room. It was nothing like the website pictures and so so so small. i went to the front desk and told them I have never seen such a small room and I am so used to larger standard room in America. i was nice about it, but just asked for a larger room. I was moved to another area of the hotel which I think was an executive room with 2 queen beds. I did not get lounge access, or if I did, was not aware of it. The room was a typical American size Hilton hotel room. I think it was like the 12 or 13th floor.

I left for Scotland for a couple days and when I came back, the same lady was at the counter and told me "I've put you in a similar room to what you had before because I know it's better for you."

My experience with Hilton not only at this hotel, but at the Waldorf Astoria, is that if you don't like your room and tell them this is not what I was expecting, i.e. too small, not like website picture, etc etc, they move you.

I really like the Metropole, however, the next time I returned to Paddington, I chose Hilton Paddington because I had husband and baby and it was just more convenient with HEX.

The "Plus" rooms do not show up on the award engine, but when I was planning a potential trip this spring where I needed two doubles, I called the Diamond Desk. They had to call the hotel, and it took a couple of days, but there was no real problem getting an award room with two queen beds (most likely in the newer West section).

I just did a tr on Metropole as well.
Quite underwhelming, but clean and it works mostly. In my opinion a bit of a depressing soul-less corporate hotel.

We had a 3 night stay and I agree with your assessment. We had two serviceable nights and then one without any water in the room. From 7PM or so to check out the next day, we had no water to bathe, wash hands or flush the toilet. Their solution was to let people go to the gym to shower and the public toilets to do their business.

I was expecting some offer of compensation as a gesture, but I think that's expecting too much in the way of customer service/common sense. I did think about Hampton Inn's guarantee.