SportsTech

Amen. I've never stayed in the Trafalgar, so can't compare it, but I've stayed in most of the other downtown Hiltons and the Park Lane is the best of the lot IMO. It's also about 3 minutes from the Picadilly line (that goes to Heathrow), so very convenient that way.

cjd

Disagree with this comment. London can be extremely hot in the summer, in the 80's and 90's and it's no fun in a hotel room without air con. I know from experience. That's why I always go for hotel with air con, wherever possible. Unfortunately in the UK that's not always possible. My favourite in London is the London Hilton on Park Lane, especially if you can get access to the Executive lounge.

DCA_DR

DCA_MRS and I just stayed at Paddington. Loved it. Club for breakfast was better than I eat at home (*slap*) and not bad for cheese/appies at night. Always open for drinks and internet access. the Heathrow Express was a breeze, and we did the ENTIRE trip with NO taxi and NO rental car. I highly, highly recommend this property!

UAL_Rulez

I just booked the Metropole for the February London Do. The Executive King for GBP135 seemed a better deal than a non-Executive room for 10 quid/night less. Is this correct? I assume as a Silver I should probably pay for the Exec room if I want it, an upgrade is unlikely.

srodr

Just a quick question...

I noticed that at some of the London Hiltons you can book King, Queen, or Twin, but at the Kensington I only see Twin and Double rooms. Does "Double" actually indicate a standard double bed, which if I'm not mistaken is the kind that is only slightly wider than a single bed? That sounds a little small for 2 people.

JDiver

Not if they are small people... We have generally had twins, iirc, and perhaps a queen? at the Kensington. And we have had "upgrades" - to "suites", which are basically one bedroom with one attached room set up as an office. I think the hotel is such a gut for staff passing through some of them have no idea a suite isn't really so much a suite as a bedroom and an office.

But, we have had some great rates (for London) at the Kensington, it is great walking up to Kensington (St.), accessing the tube (even with rollaboard luggage, but I'd not try it with big bags) and with a few local restaurants and shops for foodstuffs.

If the price is right, we do stay at the Hilton Paddington - staff can be distracted, but we've had some great stays, with upgrades and access to the basement lounge.

nwhsd

My recent 3 night stay at the Metropole was very nice. We had a very difficult check in experience due to the ongoing engineering work that was being done on the bathroom sink when were arrived. We checked in and went to the room and the sink had the drain removed and some faucet work was apparently underway. Subsequently, I was assigned a staff member from the Guest Relations desk who set off to fix the problem. After 2 hours waiting in the Executive lounge, a new room was available. Later that night we found multiple fruit baskets and bottles of water in the room along with a personalized note from the staff member.
We had a Deluxe Family room, it was appointed adequately, clean and at the end of the west wing floor plan. Overall the stay was fine with no other issues.

The hotel is very large and can be very busy, causing waitimes for elevators and other items to be a bit bothersome. Our stay coincided with the arrival of 350 US marching band teenagers for a New Year's Day parade. Needless to say, when they were in the lobby it was very noisy and busy.

The location was very good, convenient to both Edgware Road tube locations and Paddington Station within 5 minutes walk. We did the Family pass underground tickets every day and had a blast getting around the town. There are plenty of stores in the area for food stuff and eating.

^

GadgetFreak

We stayed at the Metropole for two nights at the beginning of an RTW in early December. I was very, very pleased. The staff was great. In particular the concierge service, particularly the person who I think is the head concierge was a real life saver in helping us with a problem that threatened our whole trip due to something important being forgotten (my wifes medicine). He helped us find an appropriate place to get a replacement in rapid time and saved the day. But they were great all around. I found the staff as a whole friendly and interested in making our stay the best it can be. Im pretty high on the place. We had stayed at the Connaught the previous trip to London and the staff at the Metropole gives up nothing to them in my opinion. Im planning on going there for my next trip to London, which Im hoping will be for the February Do.

srodr

Sorry, I don't quite understand your answer... Are the "double" beds here the size of a queen or much smaller? And is that really the largest bed they have or should I call ahead to request a king or queen?

cjd

This can be awkward to answer, because hotels use different terminology for their beds. In general in the UK, a single bed is 3ft wide. Twin beds usually consist of two of these seperate single beds. A double bed is usually 4ft 6ins wide and can accommodate two people, albeit not very comfortably. A King bed is 5 ft wide and a SuperKing bed is 6ft wide, although hotels still tend to call these 6ft beds King beds. Sometimes hotels zip 2 singles together to make a 6ft bed and still call them a King bed. I also think that some UK hotels sometimes call 5ft wide beds, Queen beds. So it is often difficult to know what you're booking! You're probably more confused now and I usually am until I walk in the room and see what's there. I would think that the Kensington Hilton has twins( 2 single beds) and doubles(4ft 6ins) but can't be certain - it might be worth contacting them if you think a double may be too small. Others in the forum may have more info on bed sizes.

SkiAdcock

I had a crap queen (more like an American full) at the Kensington 'bout a year ago (and the smallest bathroom/shower ever), but my last stay in Nov '05 I got a good room (had bathtub) & I think the queen was more like American queen/comfy. Think I had the smaller queen at the Olympia the night before. Cheers.

srodr

OK, thanks for the info. This hotel only lists Twin or Double rooms; no Queen, King, or any other choices. But with 600 rooms, I can´t imagine that they really only have 2 bedding choices. And the photos of the rooms on their site clearly show that they have beds that are larger than a Double.

I booked a Double Executive room and requested a King in the comments area. I suppose I should email or call them and make sure they take notice of my request.

6andy6

Stayed hre- very good (if busy) hotel with great access to the tube and mainline (Heathrow Express) stations. Stayed in Club Room and it was very large and one of the best rooms I've stayed at in London although view wa snothing to worte home about (but not a concern overall as oyu can get worse). Club Lounge in basement was great (although unattended on weekends) with a good afternoon tea with cakes, scones and cream. At that time we were able to take breakfast in the main restaurant if we wanted however I think this may have changed.

awcrounse

I want to use HHonors points for a room for 3 adults in the begining of March. When I try to book an award stay, it wont let me with 3 adults listed. Even at hotels that offer two double beds or triples, such as the Metropole. When I book under two adults no problem. I have HH Gold status, but I don't want to rely on the chance of getting an upgraded room when I get there. If it doesn't happen I dont want to sleep on the floor. Should I call the HHonors desk or the hotels directly?

Thanks

MindaHilton

I work in a Hilton hotel. Hhonors stay rooms are booked for 2 adults only. You are going to have to book a room with 2 beds, if you tell the hotel or the Hhonors desk they will charge you for the 3rd person. Also if you do not tell the hotel and they find out you have a 3rd person they do have the right to bill you for that 3rd person.