teemuflyer

FYI.. it is against the FT rules to cross-post the same question on two different threads. I'm sure you weren't aware, but it does cause more potential work for the MODS and people trying to answer your questions..

joesph

Land-of-Miles

I would compare Covent Garden more to Greenwich Village in NYC than Times Square and the Trafalgar, Waldorf, and DT Soho/Carnaby Street are all really on the edge of this area. London Bridge isn't really comparable as a location I think as its more comparable to say the Wall Street/Downtown area in NYC (as is perhaps the Hilton CW, DT Tower of London, Bankside etc.). All are slightly off beam for the West End. Hyde Park corner is a reasonable proxy for Columbus Circle/Upper West side.

It is pretty difficult to pick any relatively central London location that is much more than a £10 uber ride from wherever you need to be in Central London. The juxatpositioning of London Bridge and the West End is the thing that makes it hardest to give a recommendation, if the OP had just said West End its easier. My thought was that Westminster was a good option almost half way between the two locations and with fairly easy access to both.

I have stayed at the Trafalgar quite a bit although less in the last couple of years. It is a good option in a sort of W ish way but the noise penetration on the lower floors is a problem for me if you get a room overlooking the square or the rear where the early morning bin collections take place.

I personally for non work stays go with a blend of location and ease of travel (and I like to avoid the tube where possible). The Waldorf is a better option for easy walk into Covent Garden but there isn't much in it. The DT Courthouse is similarly located on the other side.

layz

Does anybody know what is happening in this hotel for breakfast at the moment. The website just says
I would assume that the contingency plan is up and running by now.

chrism20

There is a review on Tripadvisor from just after the closure late last month saying that breakfast was temporarily in a conference room and was poor. There have been a few reviews since though which have said breakfast was good (along with a few saying it was poor) but no mention of where it was served etc.

alounger

It's back to being served in the restaurant. It's back to being more of a standard Hilton breakfast range rather than the Italian style before. So bad luck if you like roast potatoes for breakfast.

The Jamie's Italian signs have been removed but everything else is still the same. It also looked closed last night so think it's only opening for breakfast.

Land-of-Miles

It had gone downhill slightly before it ended its tenure as Jamies Italian, the sausages became poorer as did the breads etc. I also hated the contrived attempt at brown sauce. The Bankside breakfast was better even when Tower Bridge was under the Jamies Banner.

DavefromSt.Vital

Was back for a quick last-minute two night stay a few weeks ago. Booked on points and as a Diamond was upgraded from a King Deluxe to a King Executive. While the room was not huge, the view from the --10 drop was superb as it centered on St. Paul's with the Shard to the left and the Gherkin and the Walkie Talkie to the right. Going down to the executive lounge was the same as always; multiple hot and cold items with lots of Cava and other beverages to pour your own. I appreciate the fact that there is a multi-voltage outlet in both the main area and the bathroom.

Two problems: (i) The temperature in the room bounced between 22 and 23 Celsius the entire stay. Not ideal when the humidity is high. The heat was not bad outside so it should have been able to go below that. The hallways were even hotter. Maintenance took a look at it and they simply set the thermostat to -4. No effect.

(ii) The new restaurant, "The Kitchen", appears to be a work in progress. The breakfast buffet is huge like before but one morning the omelette chef overcooked all the omelettes. Also, while most of the food from the limited room service menu was good, my son's margherita pizza had a few tiny blobs of cheese floating in an ocean of sauce. Not our preferred sauce to cheese ratio!

I don't know if the restaurant is open beyond room service. I poked my head around the corner from the elevators and saw that the door was half open with no customers inside.

Overall a really good stay with a couple of very fixable problems.

sarahluv

if you even stay again, pizza pilgrims across the road does some of the best pizza in london

DavefromSt.Vital

Actually, Pizza Pilgrims was the original plan, however we did not realize that they closed at 10:00 p.m. on a Sunday and we arrived at 10:02. Room service was still open at the time.

teemuflyer

Intrigued by your comment, went to look them up on the ol' interwebs. Not having tried their pizza myself, I was a little surprised that they had 11 outlets which to me indicates a mini-chain and surprised that they have such good quality control to make it so good. But good to know that this pizzeria is so close for a late night snack, if not on Sundays..

sarahluv

Franco Manca is also a "mini chain" and does equally good pizzas. We are a bit spoilt in London. The two burger places near the hotel (Patty and Bun and Honest) are also "mini chains" and also excellent.

wizla

I’m not really a fan of pizza yet I feel intrigued to try this.

DavefromSt.Vital

Honest closes at 10:00 p.m. on a Sunday as well.(we checked)

Didn't attempt Patty and Bun that night. Good thing - closes at 9:30 p.m. on a Sunday.

sarahluv

tbf to me, you didn't mention the time of your order in the post I read.