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ARCHIVE THREADS for DISCUSSION for Hilton HHonors Hotels in or near London, United Kingdom (to 2015), and (2016 to 2019)

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dcstudent

Hello folks. Looking for London advice. My wife and I are treating my parents to a 5 night trip to London in October (well...hopefully...my dad has Parkinsons and mentioned at Christmas that he wanted to see London while he still can...he already tires easily...has mobility issues...anywho apologize for the TMI). Would prefer to get both rooms on points but if none of these are decent options I can do points for one and cash for another at the Conrad. I'm Diamond fwiw, my mom and dad are nada.

Anywho, long story short, options we've looked at for which we have enough points for 2 rooms @ 5 nights (he doesn't need an accessible room):
Metropole (worried about taxis giving us trouble to/from HEX at Paddington)
Paddington (gets bad reviews here, but we only need clean/comfy beds...and attached to the HEX...won't be hanging out at the hotel)
Hilton Euston
Doubletree West End
Doubletree Hyde Park
Doubletree Tower London
Hilton or Doubletree Islington
Hilton Olympia
Hilton Kensington

Tube not the most important consideration as we'll need to take cabs as he cannot risk standing in the tube for any distance and again he tires easily. He'll try to force himself but that only takes more energy and makes his tremors worse. Many/Some affordable restaurants (aka middle class family out for dinner) in a few blocks walk max would be a plus.

Thanks for any help!

Bartolo

There was a good discussion recently on London hotels on this forum. Would be helpful to you.

Several of the places you mention I would not consider central. Not by a long shot (i.e., Islington, Tower Bridge, Olympia). It really depends on what you want to do. If museums and theatre, try to stay near the west end. Lots of restaurant choices.

You don’t mention The Trafalgar.. I had a great stay there. Very comfortable.

corporate-wage-slave

Forget Olympia and Kensington, they're too far out of the centre of things. He will be exhausted before he gets to anywhere. Islington isn't much better either, well it does have some good restaurant options not too far away. Euston is nearer in, but it still seems to me to be next to nothing.

Because of the minimum fare, and if looks visibly "senior citizen" there won't be a problem getting a black taxi from Paddington to Metropole. Don't get a cab or private hire / Uber etc, with one important exception: you may find a driver who will be happy to do several trips for you spread over a few days and will take the rough with the smooth. So both Metropole and Paddington would seem to work for you, Metropole West Wing would be my preference, and it's well located overall. I personally haven't had a bad experience at Paddington, though I do think it is somewhat overpriced whenever I look at booking there.

Of the others, have a good consideration of DT Hyde Park. it is central, there will be places he can get to on the doorstep, notably the park itself, and plenty of restaurants nearby.

DT Marble Arch (which I don't think I've stayed at yet) is extremely well placed, he'll be able to get to Oxford Street's shops on his own steam. It's location is fantastic, and less than 10 minutes by taxi from Paddington.

Experiment - while you are there - with him on the London buses. He will always be able to get a seat and he may enjoy it.

dcstudent

Thanks for the insight!

dcstudent

Wow, thanks for all the information! We'll aim for the Metropole or Hyde Park. Looks like a ton of restaurants (chinese, indian, italian, malaysian) within walking distance. Metropole, I can get king beds for 50K points per night.

Thanks for the bus idea, I'll have to get a TFL map online and start checking it out! When I'm in town for business I'm always on the Tube or a car and I'v never done the bus.

stc

Definitely NOT the DT West End. It is a terrible hotel with small rooms.

I would go with Paddington, Metropole, or maybe DT Tower of London. I think those have the best breakfast and the best rooms of the places you chose. Paddington has the advantage that there a number of shops in the station. Certainly if he was a train fan, that would be a big plus to Paddington. I said "only" maybe for the DT Tower of London is it will be harder to get to.

corporate-wage-slave

The tube map is a bit of tyranny actually, it's a beautiful bit of design that the bus alternatives, which are inevitably a bit messier, get overlooked even when they are quicker or cheaper. For the Metropole, there is an easy one to try out. Opposite the hotel, on the other side or Edgware Road, and only a short distance (by Costa coffee) is a bus stop. All the buses there go down to Marble Arch, where there are a number of things to do (Oxford Street shops including Selfridges, Marble Arch itself, Speakers' Corner, Tyburn Convent, Hyde Park, Animals in War Memorial). Some buses go on to Hyde Park Corner, which is the back of Buckingham Palace, Apsley House, Bomber Command memorial and much more.

There will be a bus every few minutes, it uses the same contactless / Oyster system as the tube, and there are seats near the door reserved for those who need them most. Often they are left open but a quick bit of friendly eye contact will normally get a seat. You're also allowed to talk to the natives on the bus (well, just a sentence or two!) whereas you will know that's quasi forbidden on the Tube.

Wozza2404

chrism20

I stayed at Hilton Euston early December. It has been refurbished in the last couple of years but to be honest whilst there was nothing materially wrong with the stay I don't think it's worth the amount of points (Or cash rates for that matter) it normally goes for.

pauleeepaul

DT Marble Arch is a charming hotel in a great location. But it is an older structure, with the lifts retrofitted (small and few) and other mobility challenges that IMO would make it less desirable for a guest with any mobility assistance requirements.

Biggdan

Turns out Doubletree Victoria would work if I stretched to 60,000 points per night. Anyone familiar with that property?

MoodyB

The location is very convenient, literally across the street from Victoria.
As long as your expectations are not too high, it's OK!

xooz

This is a helpful discussion as things change so much over time. In the list of "middle tier" hotels being discussed, do any of the hotels other than the Metropole, Kensington and maybe Doubletree West End have lounges? Those are what are currently noted in the Lounge summary thread/PDF file.

Bartolo

The staff were very kind when I had a problem, even though I wasn’t a guest (have HH status). That being said, the street is small and relatively quiet but depressing. Hotel common areas could use some freshening up. Staff were amazing — found me a lawyer nearby on a Saturday. It was so above and beyond I went back personally to thank them.

It's at the side of the train station with tube nearby. However, lots of construction in the area. FYI — Hamilton is playing nearby.