DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel London - Islington {GBR}
Jun 1, 2014, 9:30 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Mar 2005
Posts: 380
DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel London - Islington {GBR}
I’m wanting to make a reservation at the Doubletree Islington, London, which is accepting reservations for Sept 1 and beyond. One of the rates provides the following notice:
“JURYSREWARDS RM ONLY ROOM ONLY REWARD ONLY BOOKABLE AT JURYS INN CONTACT CENTRE”
It will allow me to book it online at Hilton.com. Anyone have experience in booking this rate at some of the other Jurys Inn properties that are converting? Is it a legitimate rate that accumulates points?
“JURYSREWARDS RM ONLY ROOM ONLY REWARD ONLY BOOKABLE AT JURYS INN CONTACT CENTRE”
It will allow me to book it online at Hilton.com. Anyone have experience in booking this rate at some of the other Jurys Inn properties that are converting? Is it a legitimate rate that accumulates points?
Jan 8, 2015, 3:09 pm
#2
Join Date: Sep 2014
Location: London
Posts: 342
DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel London - Islington
I am very surprised that there's almost no discussion about this hotel in this forum and have decided to write of my stay. The overall experience is excellent so far and it is definitely the best hotel I have stayed recently.
This hotel is rebranded from a Jurys Inn not long ago and that's probably why there's little coverage of it here. Its location is not perfect but good enough - 5 minutes walk to Angel station (not so useful to me) and 15 minutes to Kings Cross. There are a couple of bus stops nearby too, with routes to Liverpool Street, Marble Arch and Paddington. The hotel features three types of rooms: guest, deluxe and executive. From the website descriptions I can hardly see any differences though, except that deluxe is slight larger (24 vs 21) and executive comes with lounge access.
I'm staying here for 4 nights with my Mum. I booked it fairly early via a third-party website. The advance rate plus the 241 promotions of that website reduced the rate to as low as Ł45, which is an amazing deal for a 4-star in London. After the reservation, I phoned HHonors to attach my HHonors number and emailed the hotel one week in advance. One representative replied right away saying they would see what gold upgrade arrangement they could make. One day prior to arrival I saw that my room had been upgraded from guest to deluxe already.
The front desks smile at every guest coming in. Upon check-in a nice guy called Rocham gave us a very warm and professional welcome. He checked if any upgrade was available for me but told me no luck. Surprisingly, we were granted executive lounge access without me asking although I was only gold member. And like any other UK Hilton hotels, full breakfast is offered at the restaurant. Honestly, free breakfast and lounge access is much more useful to me than a larger room so I was very happy with this outcome. We had a little discussion about Hilton's generous offerings to elite members as well. I have elite membership with Accor, IHG and Club Carlson as well and to me Hilton gold has the better perks than some of the top-tier membership levels of other schemes.
I am given a top-floor room away from the lift as documented in my preferences. The room is modern and clean, a standard Doubletree room so not too much to say about. Two bottles of water are placed in the room prior to arrival and restocked every day.
The breakfast offering is above average with everything you can expect from an English breakfast and a good selection of continental items too. I like the porridge by the way, which is not so often seen at other hotels.
The executive lounge is located on the ground floor and opens 24 hours. Another very surprising thing is that it offers hot food between 6 and 8 pm, although limited to only two choices. Yesterday was roast chicken wings and fried potato rice balls (very yummy), and today it changed to skewed pork with chilli plus some sort of baked tart with cheese. Desserts, fruits, snacks, alcohol and soft drinks are offered as well. If you don't fancy going out, you can actually have a nice dinner here for free!
I am very impressed by the quality of this hotel and its staff. If I need to stay in London in the future, I will definitely come back to this hotel again!
This hotel is rebranded from a Jurys Inn not long ago and that's probably why there's little coverage of it here. Its location is not perfect but good enough - 5 minutes walk to Angel station (not so useful to me) and 15 minutes to Kings Cross. There are a couple of bus stops nearby too, with routes to Liverpool Street, Marble Arch and Paddington. The hotel features three types of rooms: guest, deluxe and executive. From the website descriptions I can hardly see any differences though, except that deluxe is slight larger (24 vs 21) and executive comes with lounge access.
I'm staying here for 4 nights with my Mum. I booked it fairly early via a third-party website. The advance rate plus the 241 promotions of that website reduced the rate to as low as Ł45, which is an amazing deal for a 4-star in London. After the reservation, I phoned HHonors to attach my HHonors number and emailed the hotel one week in advance. One representative replied right away saying they would see what gold upgrade arrangement they could make. One day prior to arrival I saw that my room had been upgraded from guest to deluxe already.
The front desks smile at every guest coming in. Upon check-in a nice guy called Rocham gave us a very warm and professional welcome. He checked if any upgrade was available for me but told me no luck. Surprisingly, we were granted executive lounge access without me asking although I was only gold member. And like any other UK Hilton hotels, full breakfast is offered at the restaurant. Honestly, free breakfast and lounge access is much more useful to me than a larger room so I was very happy with this outcome. We had a little discussion about Hilton's generous offerings to elite members as well. I have elite membership with Accor, IHG and Club Carlson as well and to me Hilton gold has the better perks than some of the top-tier membership levels of other schemes.
I am given a top-floor room away from the lift as documented in my preferences. The room is modern and clean, a standard Doubletree room so not too much to say about. Two bottles of water are placed in the room prior to arrival and restocked every day.
The breakfast offering is above average with everything you can expect from an English breakfast and a good selection of continental items too. I like the porridge by the way, which is not so often seen at other hotels.
The executive lounge is located on the ground floor and opens 24 hours. Another very surprising thing is that it offers hot food between 6 and 8 pm, although limited to only two choices. Yesterday was roast chicken wings and fried potato rice balls (very yummy), and today it changed to skewed pork with chilli plus some sort of baked tart with cheese. Desserts, fruits, snacks, alcohol and soft drinks are offered as well. If you don't fancy going out, you can actually have a nice dinner here for free!
I am very impressed by the quality of this hotel and its staff. If I need to stay in London in the future, I will definitely come back to this hotel again!
Last edited by strayersong; Jan 8, 2015 at 3:14 pm
Jan 8, 2015, 3:16 pm
#3
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 1999
Location: ORD/MDW
Programs: BA/AA/AS/B6/WN/ UA/HH/MR and more like 'em but most felicitously & importantly MUCCI
Posts: 19,719
Thanks for the report. There are several UK Doubletrees which are ex-Jurys or Mint properties and have retained lots of attributes of the ex-operators. Impressions of the Doubletree brand gathered in the US mean nothing in the UK; those Doubletrees are all over the place, and generally better appointed.
Jan 9, 2015, 11:05 am
#5
Join Date: Sep 2014
Location: London
Posts: 342
For the promotion, check the thread below. It's posted on another Flyertalk board so I guess it's fine to give the link here.
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/hotel...-up-135-a.html
Sep 25, 2016, 12:26 pm
#6
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Orange County and oftentimes London
Programs: Marriott Bonvoy, HH Diamond, AA EXP, VS Gold, BAEC Silver, Global Entry, UK RT
Posts: 539
Fourth stay of the month at this property. It is quite nice for the most part. Received Executive King upgrades every time. Breakfast is very nice in the restaurant and pretty substantial in the lounge; scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, breads, pastries, and the other usual continental breakfast fare. Evening offerings usually consist of a red/white wine selection, and Kronenbourg beer. Canapés have been hit or miss. Tonight it was mashed potatoes and beef stew; more like a main course lol. I am sitting in the bar/lounge area and it is very slow. No one came and acknowledged me. 15 minutes went by and I had to go to the bartender to place a drink and food order but since it was his first night he did not know how to do it so he had to find his colleague to help him. Very frustrating experience.
Last edited by fabulousflygirl; Sep 25, 2016 at 12:27 pm Reason: typo
May 14, 2017, 3:27 am
#7
Join Date: May 2013
Posts: 121
A little while ago I booked two paid stays at the Doubletree Islington to attend a gig at the Roundhouse and then #1 son's 30th which he has arranged at a venue close by. To be honest my first choice in Islington would have been the Hilton - a weekly stay for business for a year or so - but I had no HHonors points and the rates were very different.
Friday night was the first of these stays and the first at this hotel. Location is good, an easy walk from Kings Cross and a couple of minutes to Angel tube station and the delights of Islington. (We can recommend CraftCo for beer, and the Delhi Grill on Chapel Market for food. If feeling a little more flush with cash and time, Gallipoli for mezze and the Pig and Butcher for gastropubiness are easily accessible).
For me the lobby felt a little unbalanced. It's bright and spacious to the right, but feels cramped where the desks are as immediately to to the left is the restaurant. Check in was swift and efficient, but lacked any reference to status. Not that I'm obsessed, but it is unusual. May be down to the fact that I had booked an Executive Room to get lounge access, for at the time of booking I didn't think I would renew my Diamond status.
We were given a room on the 5th floor and told to access it by the lift close by the Executive lounge. This access feels a bit awkward as it is through what looks to be a hotel service areas and a conference centre facility. There is a small fitness centre on the way.
The room was fine. After my recent experiences of a weekly stay at a Hampton Inn in Amsterdam, the biscuits and water in the room and the fact the toiletries aren't fixed to the wall felt luxurious
. Our view was over an inner courtyard, but to be honest I'm not sure any other view would have been more appealing. The only let down in the room was the duvet which had all the fluffiness of a Tunnocks wafer.
After a trip out for an early dinner we then sampled the Executive Lounge for an hour or so. Red and white wine, a bottled beer and soft drinks for the thirsty, and a couple of hot offerings (fish balls and a potato thing) for the hungry. Snacks included Walkers crisps, peanut M&Ms, mixed nuts and help yourself cookies. I have to admit I quite like Doubltree Exec lounges, in my experience they are unpretentious, rarely crowded and don't attract the ravenous hordes.
We had breakfast in the restaurant and the next morning. Food offerings were the usual Hilton options, and were good and hot. Service and coffee were not great. We repaired to the Exec lounge to try the coffee there and have a look at the breakfast options, which were the usual hot and cold buffet options with the added benefit of a proper toaster.
All in all for the right price it's a good offering and - duvet aside - of comparable quality to the Hilton nearby. I've no problem I'm being headed here in a fortnight.
Friday night was the first of these stays and the first at this hotel. Location is good, an easy walk from Kings Cross and a couple of minutes to Angel tube station and the delights of Islington. (We can recommend CraftCo for beer, and the Delhi Grill on Chapel Market for food. If feeling a little more flush with cash and time, Gallipoli for mezze and the Pig and Butcher for gastropubiness are easily accessible).
For me the lobby felt a little unbalanced. It's bright and spacious to the right, but feels cramped where the desks are as immediately to to the left is the restaurant. Check in was swift and efficient, but lacked any reference to status. Not that I'm obsessed, but it is unusual. May be down to the fact that I had booked an Executive Room to get lounge access, for at the time of booking I didn't think I would renew my Diamond status.
We were given a room on the 5th floor and told to access it by the lift close by the Executive lounge. This access feels a bit awkward as it is through what looks to be a hotel service areas and a conference centre facility. There is a small fitness centre on the way.
The room was fine. After my recent experiences of a weekly stay at a Hampton Inn in Amsterdam, the biscuits and water in the room and the fact the toiletries aren't fixed to the wall felt luxurious
. Our view was over an inner courtyard, but to be honest I'm not sure any other view would have been more appealing. The only let down in the room was the duvet which had all the fluffiness of a Tunnocks wafer.After a trip out for an early dinner we then sampled the Executive Lounge for an hour or so. Red and white wine, a bottled beer and soft drinks for the thirsty, and a couple of hot offerings (fish balls and a potato thing) for the hungry. Snacks included Walkers crisps, peanut M&Ms, mixed nuts and help yourself cookies. I have to admit I quite like Doubltree Exec lounges, in my experience they are unpretentious, rarely crowded and don't attract the ravenous hordes.
We had breakfast in the restaurant and the next morning. Food offerings were the usual Hilton options, and were good and hot. Service and coffee were not great. We repaired to the Exec lounge to try the coffee there and have a look at the breakfast options, which were the usual hot and cold buffet options with the added benefit of a proper toaster.
All in all for the right price it's a good offering and - duvet aside - of comparable quality to the Hilton nearby. I've no problem I'm being headed here in a fortnight.
May 14, 2017, 8:19 am
#8
Join Date: Jun 2013
Location: norwich, uk
Programs: hhonors diamond
Posts: 5,397
A little while ago I booked two paid stays at the Doubletree Islington to attend a gig at the Roundhouse and then #1 son's 30th which he has arranged at a venue close by. To be honest my first choice in Islington would have been the Hilton - a weekly stay for business for a year or so - but I had no HHonors points and the rates were very different.
Friday night was the first of these stays and the first at this hotel. Location is good, an easy walk from Kings Cross and a couple of minutes to Angel tube station and the delights of Islington. (We can recommend CraftCo for beer, and the Delhi Grill on Chapel Market for food. If feeling a little more flush with cash and time, Gallipoli for mezze and the Pig and Butcher for gastropubiness are easily accessible).
For me the lobby felt a little unbalanced. It's bright and spacious to the right, but feels cramped where the desks are as immediately to to the left is the restaurant. Check in was swift and efficient, but lacked any reference to status. Not that I'm obsessed, but it is unusual. May be down to the fact that I had booked an Executive Room to get lounge access, for at the time of booking I didn't think I would renew my Diamond status.
We were given a room on the 5th floor and told to access it by the lift close by the Executive lounge. This access feels a bit awkward as it is through what looks to be a hotel service areas and a conference centre facility. There is a small fitness centre on the way.
The room was fine. After my recent experiences of a weekly stay at a Hampton Inn in Amsterdam, the biscuits and water in the room and the fact the toiletries aren't fixed to the wall felt luxurious. Our view was over an inner courtyard, but to be honest I'm not sure any other view would have been more appealing. The only let down in the room was the duvet which had all the fluffiness of a Tunnocks wafer.
After a trip out for an early dinner we then sampled the Executive Lounge for an hour or so. Red and white wine, a bottled beer and soft drinks for the thirsty, and a couple of hot offerings (fish balls and a potato thing) for the hungry. Snacks included Walkers crisps, peanut M&Ms, mixed nuts and help yourself cookies. I have to admit I quite like Doubltree Exec lounges, in my experience they are unpretentious, rarely crowded and don't attract the ravenous hordes.
We had breakfast in the restaurant and the next morning. Food offerings were the usual Hilton options, and were good and hot. Service and coffee were not great. We repaired to the Exec lounge to try the coffee there and have a look at the breakfast options, which were the usual hot and cold buffet options with the added benefit of a proper toaster.
All in all for the right price it's a good offering and - duvet aside - of comparable quality to the Hilton nearby. I've no problem I'm being headed here in a fortnight.
Friday night was the first of these stays and the first at this hotel. Location is good, an easy walk from Kings Cross and a couple of minutes to Angel tube station and the delights of Islington. (We can recommend CraftCo for beer, and the Delhi Grill on Chapel Market for food. If feeling a little more flush with cash and time, Gallipoli for mezze and the Pig and Butcher for gastropubiness are easily accessible).
For me the lobby felt a little unbalanced. It's bright and spacious to the right, but feels cramped where the desks are as immediately to to the left is the restaurant. Check in was swift and efficient, but lacked any reference to status. Not that I'm obsessed, but it is unusual. May be down to the fact that I had booked an Executive Room to get lounge access, for at the time of booking I didn't think I would renew my Diamond status.
We were given a room on the 5th floor and told to access it by the lift close by the Executive lounge. This access feels a bit awkward as it is through what looks to be a hotel service areas and a conference centre facility. There is a small fitness centre on the way.
The room was fine. After my recent experiences of a weekly stay at a Hampton Inn in Amsterdam, the biscuits and water in the room and the fact the toiletries aren't fixed to the wall felt luxurious
. Our view was over an inner courtyard, but to be honest I'm not sure any other view would have been more appealing. The only let down in the room was the duvet which had all the fluffiness of a Tunnocks wafer.After a trip out for an early dinner we then sampled the Executive Lounge for an hour or so. Red and white wine, a bottled beer and soft drinks for the thirsty, and a couple of hot offerings (fish balls and a potato thing) for the hungry. Snacks included Walkers crisps, peanut M&Ms, mixed nuts and help yourself cookies. I have to admit I quite like Doubltree Exec lounges, in my experience they are unpretentious, rarely crowded and don't attract the ravenous hordes.
We had breakfast in the restaurant and the next morning. Food offerings were the usual Hilton options, and were good and hot. Service and coffee were not great. We repaired to the Exec lounge to try the coffee there and have a look at the breakfast options, which were the usual hot and cold buffet options with the added benefit of a proper toaster.
All in all for the right price it's a good offering and - duvet aside - of comparable quality to the Hilton nearby. I've no problem I'm being headed here in a fortnight.
May 29, 2017, 6:00 am
#9
Join Date: May 2013
Posts: 121
We did the second of the stays here at the weekend. It reinforced the notion that this is a fine place to stay, and considerably cheaper than the nearby Hilton. I ended up booking three rooms for family, and everyone in the party received the Diamond benefits of Executive Lounge access and breakfast in the restaurant. I should also receive the points from all three.
May 29, 2017, 10:15 am
#10
Join Date: Mar 2016
Location: UK
Programs: SPG Platinum, Hilton Diamond, IHG Platinum
Posts: 172
I agree, it is a good hotel and definitely cheaper than the other. I think that the exec lounge is a bit of an afterthought being tucked away right at the back of the business/conference centre, but overall the place is hard to fault, and the staff are great. It also has the added bonus of being just 100m from the office of one of my biggest clients.
May 30, 2017, 11:58 pm
#11
Join Date: Dec 2015
Location: Tampa
Programs: Hilton Gold
Posts: 155
Doubletree Islington - advice on room selection
Doing online check in for doubletree Islington. Only one or two rooms available on each floor for selection, right next to the elevator. Rooms 160 or 161. I dont want either. Do you think something better will be available if i wait till i get to the hotel tomorrow. Booked and paid for two bed executive room.
Not happy right now with whats available. Thanks everyone.
Not happy right now with whats available. Thanks everyone.
May 31, 2017, 12:20 am
#12
Suspended
Join Date: Apr 2017
Programs: HH-D; MR-P/LTP; SPG-P
Posts: 849
Have you tried calling the hotel and speaking with rooms manager?
Doing online check in for doubletree Islington. Only one or two rooms available on each floor for selection, right next to the elevator. Rooms 160 or 161. I dont want either. Do you think something better will be available if i wait till i get to the hotel tomorrow. Booked and paid for two bed executive room.
Not happy right now with whats available. Thanks everyone.
Not happy right now with whats available. Thanks everyone.
May 31, 2017, 3:45 am
#13
Join Date: May 2012
Location: AMS
Programs: BA KL LH Hilton Marriott
Posts: 1,230
Online check in is really a waste of time anyway, the chance that they change a room you have purposely chosen (and wanted) is very real. By the same means, the chance that different rooms are available at the desk is also quite real.
May 31, 2017, 6:52 am
#14
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Somewhere in Europe
Posts: 3,362
Yep for this one I'd definitely call the hotel.
They only have 43 exec rooms in total so the chances are there is only around ten two bedded execs in total which may suggest from what the OP has written that they can see the whole inventory available for that category.
They only have 43 exec rooms in total so the chances are there is only around ten two bedded execs in total which may suggest from what the OP has written that they can see the whole inventory available for that category.
May 31, 2017, 7:18 am
#15
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: Manchester, England
Programs: Bonvoy LT Plat, HH Diamond, IHG Plat, BMI Gold (RIP)
Posts: 8,018
I stay at the DT Islington a bit and the room choice the day before are almost always based on your booked room type and are very limited.
About 50% of the time I am upgraded late on the evening prior, and the remaining 50% of the time early afternoon on the day of arrival. In both cases the room selection opens right up and gives a lot of choice.
If you are not arriving until the afternoon, I would play a waiting game. I certainly never check in early online here since I wised up to the timings for the inventory and upgrades to be manually processed.
About 50% of the time I am upgraded late on the evening prior, and the remaining 50% of the time early afternoon on the day of arrival. In both cases the room selection opens right up and gives a lot of choice.
If you are not arriving until the afternoon, I would play a waiting game. I certainly never check in early online here since I wised up to the timings for the inventory and upgrades to be manually processed.