We stayed as tourists who wanted to be in Kensington.  The Crowne Plaza is across the street from the Gloucester Tube Station, which is a straight shot on the Piccadilly Line from Heathrow.  We choose it because the rooms are bigger and the air conditioning more reliable than others in the immediate vicinity according to reviews.  Also because we had award nights to use.  We started with a couple of paid nights in an Executive King with a view of the garden and kept the same room and Club privileges for free on our award nights.  The Club is small and nothing special but it makes breakfast easy and it is a nice place to rest with drinks coming in from sightseeing.  You are not going to make a meal of the snacks.  Location is the reason to stay there, if you want a traditional London neighborhood experience.  Trees, gardens, flowers, architecture of the white terraced houses.  The hotel is just across from a Waitrose grocery and a multitude of cafes, pubs, tea and coffee places, pizza. Easily walkable to the Victoria and Albert and other main museums. You can Uber to Westminster and other sites affordably.  This Crowne Plaza is a good solid representative of the brand, recent decorating, well run, modern.  Nothing wrong with it at all, and the location is great.