The Westminster London, Curio Collection by Hilton
 

Stayed one night in the Doubletree Westminster last week, and we were not very impressed.

Location. The hotel is close to Westminster Abbey and the Houses of Parliament, but the surrounding streets are pretty dead: a business area with very few restaurants. The entrance has a distinct "back alley" feel to it. The Tate Britain is very close, though. During the day, there were two to three taxis waiting in front of the hotel (convenient).

Elite treatment. We received the complimentary water and the free breakfast (although it showed up as 42 pounds on the bill before we complained), but nothing else. The room was a nice corner room with a nice view towards the south, but not an upgrade.

Amenities. The in-room amenities were extremely basic: no sewing kit, no shoehorn, no slippers, low-quality bathroom amenities.

Breakfast. The breakfast was the low point. Continental breakfast for 16 pounds with a decent cereal selection, but almost nothing beyond that: cheese in plastic wrap. The hot breakfast (for 21.50 pounds) was OK (but that is expected in any half-decent hotel in the UK).

iMac. As mentioned by others in the MINT thread, the former MINT hotels offer free wifi and an iMac in the room. Nice touch, but rarely necessary (I am mostly travelling with my own computer).

All in all, I don't think that this property ranks very highly among the Hilton properties in London. I'd rather stay at the Hilton Tower Bridge.

Just had a one-night stay at this property myself.

Agree entirely about location - it's just under a mile from Westminster but the area immediately round the hotel has nothing much going for it. A couple of taxis waiting outside in the morning as you mention, which is definitely handy. The lobby is perfectly nicely done but they forgot to give me the DT signature warm cookie at check-in! :eek:

I was apparently upgraded from a Queen to a Queen Deluxe - not sure there was much difference although had complimentary water & fruit too. The room was identical to the photo for the standard Queen room at http://doubletree1.hilton.com/en_US/...ommodations.do The room descriptions all sound pretty similar too.

Noticed in the little guide that apparently quite a few other amenity items were available on request from the front desk.

Room service was delivered on time and pretty good quantity. Not overly warm though.

I also spotted some cold meat/yoghurts/pastries in the continental selection. Order at table for the hot breakfast, pretty quick service, not bad flavour.

And yes, had a fruit machine in the room as per usual ex-Mint setup ;-) Internet was nice and easy to connect to, no codes required.

One other point - it was only a walk-in shower (albeit with a pretty good water pressure) - no bath. From the descriptions on their site I don't think any of the rooms have baths (even the suite description referred to a shower).

Won't be rushing back.

I stayed here last summer before it joined Hilton and want to add my thoughts for anyone considering it in the future. My wife and I loved this hotel - admittedly it was not a Hilton at that point but I assume much of our experience would not be affected by the change. The location was a little quiet at night, but we were there during the riots so that was a MAJOR plus. Putting that aside, we liked the location as first time visitors. As relatively young and fit people we walked up to Parliament, etc quite easily. The tube is not too bad of a walk in the other direction as well. If you are looking for nightlife, this is not the place. But for a touring trip or for families, I think the location can be quite good.

The service was also terrific. My wife took ill one day as she was pregnant during the trip and the hotel was responsive and kind. The IMAC was an interesting/cool touch and the room was quite nice. We chose the hotel b/c of good TA reviews and an exceptionally low rate available through an OTA and we were extremely pleased.

Review and pics of the Doubletree Westminster London, UK
 

I like this hotel, not my favourite in London but very nice indeed.

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8284/7...ac48ccd8_z.jpg
room from entrance by BA_pics, on Flickr

SWMBO and I stayed during the Olympics here on points after booking fairly last minute (two weeks beforehand)…

A great stay and I would come back and stay again as well as recommend it to anyone.

The main points:

-the hotel is not as convenient as some other central London tourist location Hiltons but is still very reasonable as it is just a few hundred meters from Big Ben, houses of parliament and Westminster Abbey. ^

-there is no executive lounge but they do give a couple of drink vouchers for the main bar area in the hotel which looked very nice but was empty except for staff (I am guessing that everyone was downtown enjoying the city or Olympics)

-Breakfast as a diamond was full breakfast (not just continental as the coupon indicated)…I even asked to be sure at the restaurant and they confirmed that they only offer a full buffet service and no separate distinction. ^ This was great news and the breakfast was great, even though it was exceptionally busy, they always were topping up the items and cleaning up so well done to the staff.

-diamonds (and I guess anyone getting an exec room) has a free minibar…replenished each day for both drinks and snacks. Very nice. ^ There was both alcoholic and non alcoholic drinks and brand name crisps and chocolate.

-we had booked the exec room with points so I don't know if they would have upgraded us to the exec floor if we had booked a standard room or not. There were suites in the hotel but we did not get upgraded (however, I did not check to see if these were available on the day…we were there for the Olympics and had booked at the last minute so were just happy to get free nights :)

-The wireless internet as well as the iMac wired internet worked great

-The hotel is in good condition and there are quite nice lobby, bar and room areas. ^

-I would suggest using St. James's Park tube station to get to the hotel as Westminster is far bigger and busier so easier to get lost or take the wrong exit. The distances were about equal to both stations though.

-All the staff were exceptionally friendly and helpful.

-the window opened ^ which we find important and the street was fairly quiet as no bar nearby (mostly residential or offices)

It was quite the international meeting at breakfast during our stay and fantastically interesting to people watch during our time in the city!

The floor plan

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7131/7...688479c1_z.jpg
floor plan 11th floor by BA_pics, on Flickr

Entrance area with small wardrobe for ironing facilities

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8430/7...2bf2cff7_z.jpg
Entrance by BA_pics, on Flickr

NIce size bed with duvet was very comfortable

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8287/7...8272da8e_z.jpg
King Bed by BA_pics, on Flickr

The work desk and much flaunted iMac that is also doubles as the TV

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7120/7...f49c428e_z.jpg
Computer desk by BA_pics, on Flickr

There were two small bottle of water each day as well as some fruit

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8281/7...36aab77f_z.jpg
diamond welcome by BA_pics, on Flickr

The main wardrobe has a small safe

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7131/7...7b58da03_z.jpg
wardrobe and safe by BA_pics, on Flickr

The minibar below the built in wardrobe area

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8289/7...8433747f_z.jpg
minibar by BA_pics, on Flickr

Minibar contents free for diamonds

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7126/7...118ece76_z.jpg
mini bar contents by BA_pics, on Flickr

Funky side drawer on work desk with tea service built in

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7246/7...92672b9f_z.jpg
tea service by BA_pics, on Flickr

electronic climate controls

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7273/7...4c64e8cf_z.jpg
climate control by BA_pics, on Flickr

Iron in small side wardrobe in entrance

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8426/7...d0e8db5b_z.jpg
iron facility by BA_pics, on Flickr

really small but nice bathroom…not for two people at one time unless it is your first year together :)

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8291/7...61fa0ea1_z.jpg
compact but nice bathroom by BA_pics, on Flickr

Review of recent stay part -2- due to limitations on pics and emoticons!

large shower and great hot water pressure

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7256/7...cb2c8cdc_z.jpg
shower by BA_pics, on Flickr

towels, amenities behind the toilet

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8434/7...f27e1319_z.jpg
bath amenities by BA_pics, on Flickr

Close up of the small amenities for those interested

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8426/7...ea5434c7_z.jpg
close up by BA_pics, on Flickr

View to the Thames river from the window of the room (about 100m away!)

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7106/7...5578cded_z.jpg
view from room to Thames by BA_pics, on Flickr

Office building next door to hotel so do need to close the curtain at night!

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7265/7...a0e9ea37_z.jpg
office building opposite by BA_pics, on Flickr

View from floor to ceiling windows near elevator on 11th floor

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7115/7...02dcced6_z.jpg
view from window 2 by BA_pics, on Flickr

EDIT: I forgot to add that there were bathrobes in the room (2 of them ^) but no slippers unfortunately :(

Hope this is of use and interest to those considering alternative options for London hotels. We found it very nice and friendly and convenient enough for most tourist stops.

[QUOTE=BotB;19078101]Review of recent stay part -2- due to limitations on pics and emoticons!

Great review and pics...thanks for sharing!

Great pics - looks like they've improved the benefits since I stayed there - no complementary minibar or drinks vouchers at that time, but it was only a month or so after it became a DoubleTree.

Checked in mid afternoon and told that there were no rooms available for upgrade. Pulled out the screen shot I had printed an hour or so before and just handed it over. A manager was called over and an upgrade had mysteriously been made available - why do they do that? :mad:

Given one bf voucer (apparently only per stay?) and two drinks vouchers. Room turned out be a suite on the 13th floor with views over a building site. Mini bar in room with price list - very expensive.

As my wife was staying I let her have room service bf as I was going to a conference. The bill showed charges for first bf and just £5 for second.

First night we ate at the Marquis of Granby which is a short walk. There is a dining room upstairs - food was good, good value and pretty good service. Dinner in the City Cafe was OK but service was poor - no bread and wrong wine delivered. Also almost three times the price of the Marquis.

Had two Mac TV's but only one worked. Bed was pretty comfortable and the noise level was fine. Had no issue getting a taxi in the morning - there seemed to be a steady stream arriving and departing.

Check out - I mentioned that I had taken a drink from the mini bar and was told that the mini bar was free - so why the expensive price list?

I would stay here again if I could get a cheap weekend rate especially if upgraded to a suite.

Westminster DT is my second favorite Hilton in London. Kensington is my
favorite because people I know are in Kensington and Central Tube line
is a fast trip to Holborn. No lounge but 2nd floor bar is good. Diamond
room upgrades are good with usually a Thames view (good for jogging too).
There are lots of good restaurants in the area. One needs to go toward
Tate Briton and Pimlico/Victoiria.

Doubletree by Hilton Hotel Westminster (formerly Mint Hotel)
 

Westminster DT now has an exec lounge . Open weekdays I think. Free drinks and a couple of trays of hot snacks. Level one just opposite the bar area. Key entry.

Correct. Open M-F for breakfast and Su-Th evening reception which includes bottled beer and some awful wine. On the weekend breakfast is free in the lobby restaurant and they provided 2 free drink coupons per day (Fri+Sat) in the 2nd floor lounge.

Are you still allowed the option of the lobby restaurant on weekdays as well or is it now limited to the Exec Lounge?

Has anyone stayed here recently? Booked 2 rooms in March. Does anyone know if they have connecting rooms, also are they still doing free mini bar for diamonds?

TT

Techtraveler -- have you completed your stay at this location? What's your take if so?

Anything new to report as I too may be staying there in a few weeks time.

thanks in advance. MrShoes

Not Yet, scheduled to be there next week. I will try to update soon after.

TT