wizla

Just noticed this pop up whilst doing a London search, opens January 2020.

https://hamptoninn3.hilton.com/en/ho...AHX/index.html

pauleeepaul

Nice one thanks. I have business a little west of Ealing and the more HH options the better.

craigthemif

That area is seeing a lot of development with Crossrail eventually coming...

corporate-wage-slave

I had my first visit here recently and I thought I would share some comments. I stayed during the Covid-19 pandemic, when London was in Tier 2, with significant restrictions on activities so some aspects of this review may not be relevant.



Location and transport
The hotel is under 10 minutes walk from West Ealing rail station, perhaps 15 minutes from Ealing Broadway rail and tube. This is relevant because TfL Rail uses these stations between Heathrow and Paddington. Consequently if you are looking for a cheaper hotel still within easy access of central London and/or Heathrow then this is a good option. Terminal 5 is 20 minutes away from West Ealing station, Terminal 2 is 15 minutes, Paddington 12 minutes. There are 4 trains an hour to Paddington, 2 trains an hour to Heathrow. Note that the TfL Journey Planner is not currently giving accurate information for the Heathrow-Ealing legs, but the National Rail Journey Planner does have this information under the station name of "Heathrow Terminal 5 (Rail Station Only)". Oyster and contactless credit cards work on this service. The other option is to take the Piccadilly Line to Northfields and the bus from there. I got from Oxford Circus to the hotel in 40 minutes. Currently it's £6 to/from Heathrow, £2.80 to/from Central London tube stations off peak.

From West Ealing turn right out of the station towards the unmissable "Depositary and Furniture J. Sanders Warehouse", continue down Drayton Green Road until you get to Uxbridge Road, where you turn left at Corals betting shop. Continue down Uxbridge Road, which ends up at Ealing Broadway, the hotel is opposite Ealing Fire Station. From the hotel, if going to West Ealing turn left, Ealing Broadway turn right.

Both stations are part of the ongoing Crossrail/Elizabeth Line development, and some details will change over time. The service frequency is likely to be increased at some point, and provide more direct access to central London and elsewhere. West Ealing station's entrance will be moved slightly in this process, to the north side of the tracks.

Neighbourhood
The area is safe to walk around, there is a police station by the hotel. The shops at the West Ealing end are a mixture of small trader shops, but there is a Tesco Express and a Co-op foodstore close to the hotel. Ealing Broadway is a big shopping centre area with many brand stores and supermarkets. There is a wide selection of restaurants and cafés at both ends, with a lot of Indian subcontinent and Persian restaurants. There are also Greek places and a few pubs too. For breakfast the avocado toast and flat-white brigade will find Café Zee towards Ealing Broadway.

Hotel Reception
In common with other new build Hamptons, the public areas are comfortable and inviting, doubtless trying to encourage people out of the rooms and spending money at the bar. I did have some problems checking in, but after a lot of investigation by the Hilton team I think it was a genuine one-off computer fault. In normal circumstances I'm fairly sure online check-in and the digital key would work fine. The reception is by the bar area and there are a variety of seating areas around the bar and further from it. All my interactions with the hotel staff were friendly, professional and helpful.



There is a specific work area in the reception zone, if not quite in tune with the aims of social distancing.




Breakfast room
This is in the basement, but it was not in service during my visit, since breakfast was a bag-to-go served over the bar by reception. The staff were very happy to make up the porridge and provide hot drinks. I'm not sure if this was official policy but they also offered evening meal paninis instead of the breakfast bag. The downstairs area looked well appointed with tables of different types and sizes.



Gym
Also in the basement and reasonably comprehensive given that the hotel isn't that big.





Rooms
New build Hamptons in the UK follow a near identical standard, with the minimum divergence other than in the choice of wall art. where there may be some nod to the locality. I booked aa Queen Room, but the computer allocated me a King, room 713 in my case. On floors 7 and 8 the area on the left don't have rooms but you can see how the layout works on the lower floors. There are some big differences in room sizing.



The room wasn't massive in size but didn't feel cramped by London standards. There was a sofa area on the side, and a working chair with a fold down table below the large TV screen. The bathroom had a walk in shower with door, WC and sink. The toiletries are wall mounted. The shower had a hand head as well as one fixed overhead.







The room had a kettle and fridge from Smeg, a relatively high spec brand. There is a PC safe in the draw above the fridge, there is an iron and board, and a hairdryer. Tea and coffee supplies were available. I didn't test the wifi speed but it was fast.





The plugs are all UK style, plus USB. Plenty of them in the right places. The air conditioning was effective and very quiet on the lowest setting. The room itsellf was very well soundproofed. Those rooms overlooking Uxbridge Road will also be overlooking the fire station, I guess there is a risk of hearing the sirens at some point, but probably it will be the flashing blue lights that you would notice.

I didn't realise this until several hours after arrival, but my room had a clear line of sight of aircraft coming into 27L at Heathrow via the usual central London approach. As soon as Expertflyer displayed the aircraft over Kew Gardens then I could see the aircraft concerned. Otherwise my room overlooked Walpole Park and the residential area around it. Nevil Shute, the novelist and aeronautical engineer, was born in Somerset Road behind the hotel.

The windows don't open.

Rates
I paid £56 on a public rate. I can see this place will have to keep rates competitive since there are number of similar hotels nearby including a Premier Inn, Travelodge and an Ibis Suites. I can't see it being as cheap as the Heathrow DoubleTree but this Hampton is better placed for central London if making a brief visit. So it may be worth bearing this hotel in mind, also if you get caught in irrops a Heathrow.

Overall
I would stay again, I had a good and quiet sleep. I think there is an argument that it's neither fish nor fowl, it's a locational compromise option, but it's worth keeping this hotel in mind, it will be the perfect answer in certain scenarios.

Curly

Had a booking here for August 2022.

Received an email today to say the hotel is not now planning to open this year and my booking is cancelled

Offer of help to rebook at other local hotels

KYflyer

Booked 5 nights here for mid-September 2023 (Diamond) - received an email from manager a few days after I made an inquiry about dining that my reservation had been canceled - email stated: "Sumiksha Manda (manager) wrote: "Thank you for your loyalty to Hilton as one of our elite diamond members. Unfortunately, your booking has been forced through using the diamond guarantee rate plan and central reservations/diamond desk need to relocate you. We will report the issue on our side.
Please let us know if you required any further assistance on getting through the relevant parties."
Not sure what this means but Corporate Hilton refuses to address the issue or help me rebook at the same price at another Hilton in suburban London.
Has this happened to anyone else recently?

pauleeepaul

Ouch. Good luck. Did you speak to the Diamond Desk vs corporate Hilton? The whole idea of the Diamond guarantee is to force availability.

lcylocal

It seems to be closed (not sure why), seems they didn’t block Diamond Guarantee being used.

kkong42

What a strange and somewhat unhelpful message they have on their home page:

Hotel Status Update
Our property is currently open, however we are not accepting reservations until further notice.
For guests with existing reservations, please contact 1-800-HILTONS for the most up-to-date information regarding reservations.

chrism20

I think it’s been reserved by the government UFN

corporate-wage-slave

Correct. That hotel and a number of others in the area. HMG is trying to reduce the hotel exposure but that's easier said than done.

lcylocal

To be honest I think this is at the hotel’s door. I’ve seen at least one other hotel in this category regularly come up in my searches, and it’s never allowed Diamond Guarantee to be used. That suggests to me that the hotel made a mistake at their end on the system that they are now trying to divert to corporate.

pauleeepaul

Out of curiosity, why? Thx

corporate-wage-slave

Too many asylum seekers for alternative facilities. I doubt that any further discussion on this will be productive to travelling with Hilton. so I'm not delving into the details. But it's effectively a closed hotel.