pauleeepaul

Yes agreed. Convenient to transport/shopping, with a lounge and decent rooms/facilities.

basictraveler

Hi!

I’m planning a trip to London with my parents (our first time!). Since there are 3 of us, the cheapest ones are DoubleTree Angel Kings Cross and Hampton Inn Waterloo, both for 60,000 points/night. I’m a Diamond member and so is my dad.

It seems like HI is in a much central location for tourists, but it’s a room with 1 queen and 1 sofa bed, while DT is 2 beds (which I would prefer). Plus the rooms at DT seem newly refurbished, and the breakfast at DT seems to have a nicer selection based on photos I saw, and the executive lounge for evening snacks. However, I don’t love the location as much, and we might run into problems with them not allowing all 3 of us to have free breakfast (we have had mixed experiences from hotels about this. Some were fine since both me and my dad have status but some were more difficult).

I’m quite interested in the Hilton Metropole since it looks nicely refurbished and the breakfast at the restaurant looks great. However, their 2 beds rate is a lot higher. I’m thinking about booking a 1 queen room and hoping to get an upgrade….

Many thanks!!!!

dlaue

We will be staying there in two weeks. Anything in particular you are interested in?

corporate-wage-slave

The Hampton Waterloo is the much newer property, and better placed transport wise, quite a lot of places are walkable going over the bridges of the Thames. The DT Islington is less well located, though by no means terrible. Did you look at the nearby Islngton Hilton, which is the better property? The Metropole is newly refitted and has by a country mile the best breakfast options, and the better lounge, I'm not surprised it is more expensive choice. If you are going to / from Heathrow it's better located, and is well placed anyway, particularly if you try a few of the bus routes (e.g. to Oxford Street). The other advantage of the Metropole is that it is huge, so you may have a better set of options, it's about 3 times bigger than the other two places. Islington - people live there, so for meals out and shops there are many places within easy reach. It may boil do to a choice of "go cheap or go big". None of these 3 locations are terrible, so you're not in danger of making a big mistake.

basictraveler

Thank you! The Islington Hilton seems very nice but their 3-people room rate is quite high Hampton Waterloo and DT Islington are the only ones that offer 3-people rate for 60,000 points. The other ones start at 120,000 and up. I really like Metropole and since they're so big like you said, chances of getting an upgrade would be very likely. Their queen room (for 2 people) rate is only 50,000 right now...

Dr Jabadski

Cool, have a great trip, thank you for asking.

I stayed at Hilton Paddington 8-10 times between 2015 and 2019, haven’t been back since a few months prior to COVID. I’m now curious about: COVID and mask procedures at LHR and in London, possible Heathrow Express changes, breakfast (for Diamonds) in restaurant or lounge or (as in the past) either, room condition, if it’s warm AC function and reliability, elevator reliability, lounge open/closed/offerings. (I’ve experienced no AC during a very warm stay and 1 or even 2 of the main elevators being out of service for several days.)

Thanks again.

ken7

Hi all, I'm traveling to London for a few nights with my wife, who hasn't been. Which would you recommend for a first-timer? Conrad St. James, Canopy or Bankside? We'll probably see a couple of the touristy things but she mostly likes to walk around, pub hop, shop at boutiques etc.

jzafar

I highly recommend the Conrad. It's in a very nice and safe area (Westminster). Right across from the St. James' tube stop.

corporate-wage-slave

Your post suggests that location is the most important factor. They all have merits, but the Conrad does come across as special. Canopy would be an option if much cheaper than the Conrad but while a good value choice it's not especially luxurious. Bankside is very good but it's a bit out of the centre and ultimately it's a Hilton rather than top tier. The other options to consider are Park Lane, room with a view, or LX if the Mayfair location is something you would value, inside rooms don't have a nice view though, Trafalgar and Waldorf Hilton for location. Waldorf has quite a bit of character to it.

jzafar

I made a points reservation last week for Trafalgar and there was no fee noted. I have never paid for taxes or fees on a points' stay anywhere. I've been checking every now then to see if other properties open up with a lower point charge and am now seeing several hundred pounds' charge included with using the points. Is this something new? I noticed "pay by points and money" box is checkmarked. If I uncheck, the price only shows in pounds and points is removed.

ken7

Thanks! This was my hunch and I was just looking for someone to push me over the edge.

jzafar

She'll not want to leave!! I love this hotel!!!

ken7

I'm planning to book with points and it looks like the Waldorf, Conrad and Park Lane are all available for the same rate during my stay (but it would be a standard room at each, so maybe not a good view from the Park Lane). Any last minute recommendation between those three based on what I've mentioned above?

The _Banking_Scot

Hi,

I think you will need to select special rates then tick ' use points' to display the points needed.

If you select points and money , a sliding scale will appear . Initially it will be 0 points and all cash then as the slider is moved to the right points will go up and cash will go down.

Is this what you are seeing?

Regards

TBS

The _Banking_Scot

Hi,

Any status with Hilton?

I did enjoy , my 2 stays at the Conrad last year with Westminster Abbey, Green park , the churchill war rooms and Buckingham palace.
Not a great fan of the park lane room bathroom ( small, awkward to get into the bath/shower , steamed up quickly) though the room was nice with great views

Regards

TBS