gofly

Does anyone has any experience with this hotel? I am thinking to spend a night at this property in June. My main question is whether it's easy to get to from Gatwick airport through train/bus. I know there is Hilton at South Terminal at Gatwick airport, but it charges much more than Croydon. It costs $75GBP for a king Junior suite (including breakfast and service charges/tax)at Hilton Croydon. I will try to stay at Croydon If it's not too much trouble to get to from LGW airport.

The _Banking_Scot

Hi gofly,

While East Croydon station is on the main line from Gatwick airport to Victoria station, The Hilton is quite a distance from East Croydon station ( 1.5 miles and there is only a morning courtesy bus link to East Croydon station.

The hotel fact sheet is on;

http://www.hilton.com/en/hotels/cont...fact_sheet.pdf

Only standard rooms so opps for HH upgrade would be very small.

The LGW Hilton is a lot more convenient.

If cost is an issue you could consider say the Green Park Hilton ( 1 tube stop to Victoria then Gatwick Express in 30mins)

Regards
TBS

[This message has been edited by The _Banking_Scot (edited 04-23-2003).]

obs

I am HH gold and have to stay in croydon next week. The wife Plus 1 child + Infant will be staying with me for 1 night as they intend to go to IKEA(I expect to be financially wounded on this) As a Gold on the first night If I book a suite will we get Breakfast vouchers or should I book the B & B rate? Also, Anyone ever stayed there and if so is it any good? Does the hotel have a lounge which we would be able to use, and how far is it to the local shopping centre?

Thanks

chejus

1- Do you really have to go there? I believe that people go to Croydon just because they have business there. I believe it is an industrial part of town.

2- HOTEL
I stayed there in May 2005 for two nights.
The hotel has a nice ample lounge with chairs, mainly used as a bar.
Behind this ample lounge sits the breakfast room, also nice. Breakfast as in any other regular hotel, buffet.
The construction is nice, the room I was given, just a standard room was that...just standard. I can remember the bathroom was also big. But you may get a better room. I´m not a member of HH, I just use my United Mileage Plus miles.
3- SHOPPING CENTER: You are 100 meteres away from a compound with 4-5 eateries, but that´s it. I travelled to london and you need to take a bus to the train station for 15-20 minutes and then the train to Victoria Station for another 20 minutes. Nothing interesting to see on the bus ride.

I did not enquire about any shopping center around but it seems to be very far from anything nice.
Good luck.
Adios
Diego

xooz

Searched on this and only found that the Croydon location is not highly thought of. However, I wonder if it would not be tolerable as an overnight staging area prior to departing Gatwick. It seems to be relatively close and is more than 1/2 the rate at either the Hilton Gatwick or those Hiltons downtown. My thought is to wrap up business, have dinner downtown, pick up my bags and take the train to Croydon. Sleep, get up and go. So...
- Has anyone done this? If so, was the savings worth the hassle?
- Any experience getting to/from hotel from the train station?

drwoodsy

Well I used to live a few miles away from the Hilton Croydon so here goes. If you need to get from East Croydon station to the Hilton you will need a taxi as the hotel is quite a distance from the station. Similarly for the trip back to get the train to Gatwick. I have not stayed there but know the rates are pretty cheap. So it depends if you are happy with getting 2 taxis and what time you need to be back at Gatwick.

ContinentalFan

I stayed there once, but found getting from the hotel to LGW to be a pain. The LGW Hilton is more expensive (and doesn't provide as good service!), but it is convenient. If you have extra time on your hands, staying in Croydon is fine. For me it is a calculation of factoring in the cost of transportation to/from Croydon and the value of the convenience of at LGW. The Gatwick Hilton has won out.

The _Banking_Scot

Hi,

There is also a Hilton at Brighton ( direct rail link to LGW) which might be worth considering ( although bit of a trek from central london the night) before

The cost saving would have to be considerable in my case to sue Croydon/Brighton as the convenience of LGW hilton is hard to beat.

Regards

TBS

ContinentalFan

Brighton is a very clever idea. Sure, there is a train journey involved, but it's not a bad place to spend a day in the spring, summer or early fall.

xooz

Thanks all... more or less what I expected to hear. Brighton might be worth a visit some day. I have for now opted to spend the last night at Hilton Euston, since they had a reasonable rate (83.7GBP), and I have never stayed there.

The _Banking_Scot

Hi xooz,

I think there has been some decidedly mixed reviews ( using search) on the hilton Euston.

Maybe the metropole or paddington might be better.

However the £83.7 is very good for a london hilton.

Hope you enjoy your stay.

Regards

TBS

obs

Stayed at the Hilton Croydon last week. As mentioned its a bit of a pain for connections and I personally would not use it.
The Hotel itself was Clean and tidy and had good facilties. I booked a standard room and was upgraded to a junior suite which was very large. The restaurant food was actually suprisingly good, however the hotel is near a lot of local eateries such as TGI fridays and Pizza hut. The leisure club us also worth a visit if you like fitness as its quite good.

xooz

Well... Hilton Euston is about as expected. Upgraded room (227), total room size looks to be about 27x12ft. Upgrade positioned me for no breakfast, but they did offer a bottle of wine (41% gone at this juncture). Somewhat makes up for no lounge.

Walk from Euston Square tube station was not bad, though it was sprinkling. About the distance you walk from Kensington Hilton to Sheperds Bush, with a better view. Seems to be a restaurant around the corner I will try shortly.

All in all (thus far) medium-ochre... would go to Kensington over Euston if I had to make a call this moment. Both pale in comparison to the Paddington room I had last night, but Paddington is rarely as cheap as either the Kensington or Euston. Kensington would win based primarily upon lounge access... with that taking some preference over proximity to city center in my opinion.

Ok, maybe that bottle is actually 53% empty....

diamondman2006

Nothing apparently on FT for a good while about this place so here goes.

Did an overnighter at Croydon last night. I'd previously checked with Tripadvisor and 95% of the reviews posted there were absolutely horrendous, so it was with trepidation when we arrived and checked in.

I needn't have worried, we had a very comfortable stay. Check-in was rapid, efficient and v. friendly. We were upgraded to a large 3rd floor room, which was fresh, spotlessly clean, with king sized bed, modern flat screen TV, complimentary fruit, wine, bathrobes etc. Large bathroom with modern fittings - no stains or cracks; I particularly liked the electric mirror which prevented it steaming up (only ever seen this before at Hilton Coventry). Excellent water pressure. The room was quiet and, outside in the corridor, no sign of any used trays piled up on the floor. Downstairs, the bar/lounge area had a sort of art deco feel to it. One or two chairs were a little worn perhaps, but no big deal. The bar staff were friendly, as indeed were all the staff there and the final nice surprise was no charge to park in the large car park (I thought they all charged at least £3 nowadays)! Breakfast was well up to usual standards. No executive lounge. The hotel was built in 1992. I didn't think it looked tired. All in all, good value for £74 IMO. I'd stay again.

It's nowhere near Central London and is in a rather ordinary suburban area on a main road. The station's not near either. If you're visiting people in south east London/Kent or have business in the area though, it's a good place to stay. Hope this helps.

Supersonic Flyer

Stayed for the fourth time at Hilton Croydon last weekend (friday and saturday) with a january sale offer for 28,50 GBP per night, breakfast included.
We arrived by train from LGW airport at 10am and had an early check-in without problems. Front desk personnel very friendly. We had a 3rd floor king bedroom. Room was clean, but without minibar (no refrigerator in the room). Other rooms have refrigerator (during my previuos two stays was empty, but useful to store my soft drinks bottles and some snacks). Standard TV, but no international channels. Bathroom clean with bathtube and shower. There is a gym and, if I remember correctly, also a pool. Breakfast is good, but be careful about large groups (both the days of my stays at 8am the rastaurant was full and we had a table in the bar).
The hotel is in the southern part of Croydon, close to a commercial center (Colomnades) with some food outlets (few restaurants, McDonald's, Pizza Hut). The are 2 bus lines running in the vicinity (2 minutes walk from the hotel). The most useful is the bus 119 to and from Broomley Park (last stop is in Croydon Colomnades, very close to the hotel). With the bus 119 (24 hour service, each 6 minutes during peak times, otherwise each 9-15 minutes) you can reach East Croydon rail station in 10-15 minutes and by train London Bridge station in about 10 minutes with no stop trains, or Victoria in about 20 minutes. Bus 119 stops also at South Croydon station (only 5 minutes bus ride, but very few trains) and on the journey to Broomley Park in at least other 2 rail station (consider at least 25-30 minutes bus ride, convenient only if you need to reach locations in south east London).
The other bus line is 289, with which you can reach some shopping centers in the vicinity of the hotel (IKEA), the Tram stop to Wimbledon Station, West Croydon station and Croydon City Center.
During each of my 4 stays I commuted to and from London without problems. Trains are available also very late at night and bus 119 offer a 24 hours service. An average trip from the hotel to Central London is about 40-45 minutes. In the morning the hotel offer also a free shuttle to Croydon Center and rail station, but the space is limited and you have to book it the day before. In Croydon some good restaurants, pubs and shops.
Obviously the hotel is not in the group of the best Hilton I visited, but I can say it offer an excellent value for money. Usually you can easily book a room from 50 to 70 GBP, much cheaper than other Hiltons in London. Unfortunately there are only standard rooms, no upgrades for Gold and Diamonds and no lounge.