earlyriser

Thanks very much both. I am a bit of a gym rat so you may have convinced me.

wizla

I've stay at both and I prefer the Waldorf.....the gym is far superior and full service whilst the Conrad is a little room with a couple of treadmills/ cross trainers etc.
The Waldorf also has a sauna and pool but make sure you fill your water bottle up before you go to the pool as no water fountain poolside.
Another thing to consider is the lounge, apparently the canapés at Conrad are now very poor so I hear, that said my last few trips to the Waldorf lounge for canapés have been rather disappointing too.

ocprodigy

Had a one night stay last week and wasn't a fan of the new setup at all with canapés. Essentially limits you to one of each, and if you enjoy something you can't just grab some more.

It's like a taster selection basically.

Abidjan

I have had no problems with ordering additional canapes. Did they refuse?

simonsmith

We had a delightful stay 2 weeks ago. Upgraded to a Superior Deluxe and we were allowed to use the Executive Lounge while waiting for our train after check out. Staff were all lovely. The rooms are not large but are well equipped. We had to remind them of some pre-ordered items twice, but they did eventually come. Evening food offerings in the Lounge are surprisingly mean and certainly nothing like the Conrad Bangkok. Breakfast was OK. Its the staff that make it special.

shawbridge

I had a very nice stay at the Conrad a couple of weeks ago. Maybe we were there at the same time simonsmith. No problems with the lounge, which is pleasant.. I usually get fried eggs for breakfast. Worked fine. Met someone for breakfast on at least one of the days. I see what you mean about the canapes -- they bring them to you so you'd have to ask for more rather than just walking up and getting more. Not a big problem.
I've stayed at the Waldorf and prefer the Conrad by a lot. Agree that the Conrad gym is small but is perfectly adequate for my abs/core exercise regimen. And it is usually pretty empty. I agree that the staff is very good and always helpful.

ocprodigy

Didn't realise you could! Sounds like its my bad on that part. Just didn't feel comfortable asking for more of a particular type, much prefer being able to pick as I want I guess...

Richmond_Surrey

That's why they save money on new model ;-) Some people won't bother asking.

waterandwoods

Thinking of booking three rooms at this hotel with points. A couple of questions...

Will the hotel have an issue with a small child sharing a room with two adults? Either kid (ages 1 & 4) can easily fit in a king size bed with two adults and wouldn't even need a rollaway or anything (they always seem to end up there at home anyway!). It makes sense to me to put one kid in each room, as long the hotel doesn't have a problem with that.

Breakfast for golds, in the restaurant -- is it a buffet? Is it possible to order room service instead? (Prefer to avoid taking the kids to a restaurant whenever possible).

Is there another well-located Hilton in London that might be better for families? Waldorf Hilton is not available on points (for a reasonable rate) for our dates. We are celebrating my parents' 40th wedding anniversary as well as a couple of birthdays on the trip so prefer to make it a 'special' stay, but also want to balance family needs.

9volt

I've stayed here twice. Once when my son was 18 months and again when he was 2.5 years old. Both times, he shared the king size bed with my wife and I. For the initial booking online, I only specified 2 adults and 0 children. When I showed up with my son, it was a non-issue, and they even offered a crib, but we declined.

Can't speak for the breakfast option for Golds. We were there as Diamonds.

As far as Hiltons better for families, I'd say the Hilton Hyde Park. There is a great playground in Hyde Park, called Diana's Memorial Playground, and Hilton Hyde Park is right across the street from it. Also, it's right next to an underground station with a lift, so it's convenient for strollers. The St. James station across from the Conrad does not have a lift.

BotB

If I read your question correctly (apologies if I have understood it wrong) you are asking if 4 people can sleep in the same room (one on a roll away bed) and the other child in the bed with the two adults? I believe this may be a challenge for you in London in many hotels and certainly in the Conrad, as I believe (worth checking with the hotel though) the maximum occupancy for any room in the Conrad is 3 people due to fire regulations. So, if that is what you were asking the answer would be no. Of course there is no issue with having two rooms and then having one adult with each child in each room or having 3 people in one room (whether with a roll away bed or not). The rooms in the Conrad are reasonable sized (for Europe and London) but it would be quite tight to have a roll away bed in some of them so be aware of that.

The breakfast in the restaurant is indeed a buffet, you can also order items as well. (not sure about cost situation though for Golds for ordered items). You could ask the hotel if the same benefit offered to diamonds (room delivered breakfast for £ 5) applies?

Regarding better for family Hilton chain hotels in London, my thoughts would be to consider the DoubleTree Tower of London or the Hilton Canary Wharf as they can be better value for points but still have decent facilities and treat HHonor members good.

Hope that helps, enjoy your trip, congrats to your parents on their 40th!

waterandwoods

Great information, thank you. I will check out Hilton Hyde Park as a possibility.

Thank you so much! There would just be two adults in each room, so I am hoping to just stick one kid in each room with them. I'm tempted to cram more people in the rooms to save points/money but I figured that's frowned upon! Thanks for the info about breakfast and alternate properties!

BotB

Stayed here on points and cash rate (new rules pricing) and found it decent value for 32k points and IIRC £ 120 cash (nearly the same as before) for one night stay on a Friday night.

Excellent staff throughout, improved even from my previous stays ^ (in all areas except one the concierge...I'll come to that later).

Ended up checking in very early (around 09:30 AM) and really just wanted to leave my bag so I could explore one of my favourite cities, check in staff very helpful and friendly, room not yet ready but could get access to lounge if I had wanted (which has a shower and would have been fine for a few hours to be honest). Obviously could leave my bag and also do check in without issue. Told cleaning would make it a priority to get my room done (although I had stated I would be fine until at least 13:00 so no hurry) A nice touch given the hotel was very full. ^ Bag was in room when I did get back around 15:00 and I had been upgraded from a basic room here to a quieter slightly larger room facing the internal courtyard. (room 442 for those interested, very quiet if that is important with still some daylight through windows if desired).

I had used the Hilton app to order a different bathroom amenity (my wife loves the Shanghai Tang brand) and asked for this to be put in the room. (it was ignored and is my only complaint, although not a complaint at all really). I simply phoned the front desk and asked to have some brought to the room and it was delivered about 20 minutes later ^

Water is still too soft but I am used to it here and don't find it too much of an issue if you know about it. The shower here did not leak outside the shower door so not sure if they have generally gone around and sorted out the seals on the bottom of the doors or if this room is simply better than some others where the water leaks out into the main area of the bathroom.

I was out at the BA FT DO so didn't end up in the lounge at all this stay. I ate breakfast the next morning in the restaurant and received very good service I must say from all members of staff. ^^ I was told that I could take anything from the buffet and also order an omelette without extra cost but any other made to order items would be charged. (good to know, not great but acceptable and the buffet was great).

Great cappuccinos here and easy to order more, delivered quite quickly. ^

All too soon it as time to check out again and I still very much like the Conrad, especially for 'normal' rooms and London value for money. I'd happily stay again and recommend it.

fre_82

Here you go:

I really didn't have any issues with the lounge offerings. Afternoon tea was very good and the evening offerings we ok.

Breakfast in the restaurant was a bit of a disappointment for me. I prefer the breakfast of the Bankside Hilton over the Conrad's.

chistery

I had a one night stay recently. I agree with the other comments about the afternoon tea being worth a visit. The evening setup having to ask for capapes just puts me off, so the hotel is probably onto a good thing here as people eat less.

I did make a request for foam pillows via the app before I arrived, which wasn't honoured. I requested them again a few hours after I checked in, and a further two hours later ended up phoning and they arrived shortly after.

I did receive a welcome gift of some fruit and water, but then I noticed the envelope with it was addressed to someone else, so I probably wasn't meant to get anything.

All the staff I talked to were really nice. Decent room, comfy bed and lovely shower. Nice enough place to stay. I'd stay again if I had a decent room rate.