teemuflyer

Still, quite the repertoire! BTW, thanks for sharing so many insights here, and on the BA threads. Always helpful info!

corporate-wage-slave

I wouldn't say that "early / late" is a gimmick, but in a way it is: if they have a room available then you can have it, and you can kind of tell from room rates / availability as to whether they are full or not. I would have thought that if you arrive around 1 or 2pm they will have something for you.

I think Nor1 earn points. You best book the room on the main screen if you want it and feel it's worth something to you, since Nor1 is a bit hit and miss, but if you pay the room rate then they will give you at least that sort. As a Diamond they are quite good with upgrades on the whole. I have had both the Queen Deluxe with balcony and the Queen Suite with balcony. The balcony, once unlocked (you have to sign a disclaimer, it's probably more to do with kids falling off) does give views of the aircraft coming in over the dock to land at LCY, which I found interesting, though of course there aren't so many aircraft these days. But if you pay for a balcony/water view then you best add that you want that in the booking notes, so they don't upgrade you to a "City View" suite. Some of these rooms are over the kitchen so you if the wind is from the south you may get some cooking smells coming through the window at meal times, but westerlies are fine.

pauleeepaul

Enjoy but don't gloat

DeeGee26.2

To be honest, it's a bit of a shame. My kids are 11 and 5, and they love hotels, especially Holiday Inns and Hiltons (more so if they have a pool). For his seventh birthday, I took my son to the Sheraton in Poznan, upgraded to Executive, and he loved being able to go down the corridor to the lounge to get a drink from the fridge and play chess, and the little endless pool on the top floor. But I think all the plastic, and Covid mitigation, and not being sure what's open and not will confuse especially the little one, so I'll save up my points from this stay and use them later in the year.

I reckon it's going to be easy to qualify for Gold this year, so I'll give it a go and treat them later on.

DeeGee26.2

So, what I did was go on and have a look at the current selling rate for the upgraded rooms, and at the public rate they were a little more than I wanted to pay. *But* I found that the rate for the room I'd booked had come down by a tenner a night - to the same rate as the Hampton, so I changed my booking to that and figured that as I had such a good deal I'd bid for a space-available Nor1 booking, as if I were to be successful it would be a particularly good deal, ad if not, nothing ventured, nothing gained.

Of course, Sod's law now dictates that the Nor1 upgrades are now not available on the app for this amended booking!

[EDIT] Although it *was* available on the website, so I've bid for a water view Deluxe room.

RAPC

I would like to offer a word of caution about this property just in case you have any issues with dates changing or Government restrictions being imposed.

Last year I had two reservations for the property during the summer. The hotel closed during the first lockdown, but hasn’t reopened since. One of the reservations was a pre-paid rate and the other was a flexible reservation.

The pre-paid reservation was promised to be refunded by the hotel, who then spent about a month updating me about refunding it soon. They then disappeared, stating no staff were working. Hilton instead after a number of months put it right for me separate to the hotel, but did promise that the hotel is still obliged to refund when it reopens. (I hold out no hope though)

The flexible reservation was cancelled automatically as well by Hilton. Then a few months later, despite the hotel being closed and allegedly unstaffed, the hotel charged me the full amount of the stay via a machine at the property. Hilton corporate got nowhere with tracking down anyone at the property, nor did I via the hotel owners who rather curtly told me to pound sand and wait for the hotel to reopen. In the end I did a credit card chargeback, which the hotel again (without any staff) responded to and tried to get my card issuer to deny it. Fortunately the card company sided with me and it was refunded.

I have stayed here a couple of times and it is ok. However the way they have been deceitful and blanket refused to make any refunds or even communicate with guests is pretty shocking, Hopefully it won’t happen to anyone else, but I wanted to flag it up just in case.

Ikaz

I am happy to answer any questions about the Hampton Park Royal, I have been staying there recently.
Regarding their Covid offering, the restaurant and bar are open for takeaway. I have not tried the food as their are plenty of options that deliver to the hotel.
They have one of the most complete breakfast offerings I have seen in the last 6 months, with continental and cooked options. You can wither have it in a plastic tub/paper bag or on a plate to take to the room.
The hotel is fairly new but not the most sound proof, which is my only concern with the place.
It is right next to an underground station and there is a CoOp a couple of minutes walk away, so the location can be convenient. If driving it has an underground car park with plenty of electric charging points.
Not much in terms of elite recognition, but the upgrades are not very interesting anyway.
Rates are currently under Ł60 most nights, which is good, but I am guessing that there are plenty of options within that price range currently.

ekwang

Thanks for pointing me in that direction. Any particular property that you might recommend? Back before the pandemic, December 2019, I stayed at The Trafalgar and frankly, for the money I paid for staying Christmas, it wasn't quite worth it. The on-property restaurant left a lot to be desired as did the quality of the room. I mean, even a mainline Hilton property here in the US had nicer accommodations and room. Thanks for your input!

The _Banking_Scot

Hi,

The hilton bankside gets good reviews at least pre covid. Hopefully the lounges will return to at least some level of service post covid but it is uncertain at this time.

Conrad st james is also apparently good and I liked the Hilton tower bridge
These have their own threads here on the hilton forum as well as other london Hiltons
Regards
Tbs

pauleeepaul

Over the years I have stayed a few times at Xmas at the Hilton Park Lane, which is a fine 4 star property, with a decent lounge, that is well situated to the Winter Wonderland in the park if that is your thing. 1 km north- and just down the block from where i lived in 2012-2013- is the Doubletree Marble Arch, which is more modestly priced than PL- and more 2-3 star- but nicer than the HHP IMO. The Conrad, Trafalgar, and Waldorf round out my favourite London HH properties. Have not yet tried the LXR, but was there when it was a Millenium and it was ok not great.

DELee

Relevant thread: DISCUSSION for Hilton Honors Hotels in or near London, United Kingdom {GBR}

David

pazza2000

Yeh the Trafalgar isn’t great! Do the nearby and similarly priced Conrad or Waldorf, or if happy to move just a little out the Bankside as recommended above.

southlondonphil

Doubletree Tower of London is close to the eponymous tower and bridge and has, in the 'normal times', a nice view from its rooftop terrace bar. It's in the 'City' financial district though so quiet in the evenings and some distance from the usual Central London sightseeing haunts, though a Riverbus trip from Tower Pier to Embankment Pier is a scenic way to get to Trafalgar Square in about 30 minutes

ekwang

Thanks to everybody for the candid thoughts! I'll definitely look at the HPL property. And I'll look at some of the ones off the beaten path from where I plan to be as well. I'm not sure how the Trafalgar made into the Hilton portfolio to be honest: It really doesn't seem to be a qaulity establishment as most of their mainline properties are IMHO. Or perhaps their Curio collection is supposed to be that different from everything else. Again, thanks!

kilo

I penned this at the end of 2020 but didn’t end up posting so I guess the information here might be dated.

In 2020, after about 3 months of strict lockdown – (a period in which I was confined to 2 miles of my home - work and supermarket) followed by another 2 months of limited lockdown. I was really ready to ‘get out’. So with low London hotel rates albeit with reduced service I thought what a good time to visit some London hotels that I had never stayed in. I decided to do a mini-wizla – I booked a handful of one night stays. All were paid stays. All rates were sub Ł100 except the Conrad St.James.

I chose some of the Hilton forum favourites and others I thought I should try.

1. Hilton London Metropole

2. Hilton London Bankside

3. Hart Shoreditch hotel

4. Hilton London Tower bridge

5. Hilton London Islington

6. Conrad London St James


The first hotel I visited was the the London Metropole. I remember being surprised at the number of people in the hotel lobby,, especially after coming out of lockdown in a quiet small town/ city. Having said that at the time I had not realized how big the hotel was.

In terms of upgrades (standard rooms booked as a Diamond) – I did not request upgrades for any of the stays. I was given suite upgrades at Bankside and Conrad St. James - One bedroom suite and junior suite respectively. I might have got some faux upgrades at other properties but no suites

All hotels except The Hart have executive lounges. The Conrad was the only hotel which had an open lounge. You could only get soft drinks, water or coffee there. All the lounge hotels had replacement ‘happy hour’ which varied in terms of their quality or generosity. At he Metropole you could get a soda / water at the bar anytime after of the day. At the Angel you helped yourself to items at the hotel grab and go. I think the Conrad offered the best happy hour. Certainly in the nicest atmosphere.

The Hart does not have a lounge but they still offered drink vouchers.

Breakfast was in the restaurant in all hotels except the Angel where you just helped yourself at the hotel shop. The Hart and The Conrad had an A la-carte menus. At the Hilton London Tower bridge there were 3 breakfast options – full, continental and vegetarian and it was brought to you. There was no Menu or buffet. Breakfast was somewhat chaotic at the Metropole, I guess because the hotel was probably quite fully booked.

I asked for a late check out at all hotels. I was granted a 4 pm check out at all hotels. Mostly on Sundays. All were granted without fuss or the begrudging look you sometimes get when you ask for a late checkout. Actually at the Hart the trainee receptionist initially pushed back but the Manager immediately overruled her.

At the Bankside I was offered a Prosecco at the check in desk. Is this usual? Also the mini-bar contents were complimentary in the suite. I presume this has always been the case?

Overall I think I liked the Conrad and Bankside most. I also liked the Hart. The Angel had the feel of a HGI or a good Hampton rather than a Hilton. Maybe it was in part because it was very quiet when I visited.