S!

I was looking for a Hilton in London and found a wonderful rate (around $110 US per night). No single here. It is a double double bedded room with a sofa bed. Check the internet (www.hilton.com) if you are interested. <BR> <BR>I had no idea London hotels were more expensive than those in New York City. It seemed that the discount rates at most good hotels were 275-400 pounds. Yipes. <BR> <BR>Does anyone know how far the hotel is from the "center" of London? Is there easy tube access? I would also be interested if anyone has stayed at the hotel in the past. Rants? Raves? Reccommendations? Thanks.

s!

Sorry. I forgot to mention the name of the hotel. Duh! It is the Hilton London Olympia.

Sandy

Hi, I stayed there a couple of years ago in Feb. There is a metro station right next door but it was one of those "special" ones that was only operational during special events. Maybe someone whose been there lately can comment on whether it is open now all the time. It was quite a walk to the next closest metro and we sometimes took a bus down to the stop. <BR> <BR>It was a typical Hilton . . . our room was very cold but they provided us with an electric heater. If you go in the winter, be sure to ask for one early, as others did not get them. Lots of tour groups use this hotel. <BR> <BR>London is great no matter where you stay! <BR> <BR>Sandy

s!

Thank you Sandy. I will call right away about the heater. My husband hates being really cold. I will also pack our long underwear.

s!

Any other comments regarding the Hilton London Olympia?

jeff

I stayed at the Olympia Hilton from September 12 through the 17th. It was fine. I never ate dinner in the restaurant but breakfast was fine and included (with omlette station; bacon; etc). The first room was small but didn't have a sofa so you may have a bigger room. The room needed minor repairs (a drip behind the wall) so they upgraded us to a full suite. The hotel was clean. <BR> <BR>We have friends in London so ate dinner elsewhere. But the bar was fine when we got back. <BR> <BR>As to location, it was a little more than a ten minute walk to Kensington High Street. There is a movie theatre, a Safeway, and many stores on the way there. The Olympia station was a 2 minute walk but it was only a shuttle to Earls Court and to Kensington High Street (but convenient cause at Earls Court, you can go almost anywhere in London). <BR> <BR>We stayed at the Olympia because my wife had business in Olympia/Hammersmith and the hotel was very convenient. Also, cabs are always passing in front. When my wife went to work, I would walk to the internet cafe, and five minutes more to the Starbucks (you can't take the NYer out of NY). <BR> <BR>Any other questions, you can email me.

Joe

Jeff, <BR> <BR>... or out of Seattle?

Noway Thankyou

Let me get this straight. There is this great deal on a hotel in London. The only nearby transport only runs sometimes, but you can take a bus to a tube stop, or there are lots of cabs nearby, so I can easily respend the savings I got on the "great deal." The hotel is filled with tour groups. The hotel is cold but a few people will be lucky enough to get a heater and I may be one of them if lucky enough. Some of the rooms need repairs and if the hotel is full they won't be able to move me to another one, I'll just have to put up with the leaks, etc. Now tell me again why this is such a great deal?

s!

I still can't justify spending $300 a night on a hotel just to be in the center of town! Even a extra $20 bucks a day for a cab doesn't seem like much. The cold room does raise questions... but I have never been "shy" about getting good service and comfortable accomodations. 10 minutes to a tube stop isn't far. My husband and are young and quite fit.

Maria

Message: A reply to "Noway Thankyou": <BR> <BR>Thanks for a great post (still laughing). I have visited London many times and you just described a typical accomodation. The standard of hotel rooms in this great city leaves a lot to be desired but I guess it's part of the city's charm. I have stayed in hotel rooms without doorknobs or with only cold water or flooding every time you take a shower or toilets that wont flush until the third time or... I could go on forever. These rooms have cost around $100 and for that price, this is often what you get (sometimes you may get lucky so it's a bit like gambling). Still I love going there again and again. Hotels in London are very expensive. So when going there, dont forget to bring a sense of humor and be prepared for anything and everything. <BR> <BR>Maria <BR> <BR>PS. There is another Hilton in London, The London Hilton, situated by Hyde Park. But $110 won't get a room there, it's much more expensive. But you can always visit Trader Vic's in the basement for a drink. They are great! <BR> <BR>

jeff

1. I love London and don't take this the wrong way... <BR> <BR>2. Hotels are very strange. For a Hilton not to have adequate heat or door knobs is unusual in American cities. How do hotels get away with this??? This is not to say that NY hotels do not have their faults. The most expensive hotels in NYC like the new "W" chain (owned by Starwood/Westin/Sheridan)are wonderful/trendy hotels with trendy bars and restaurants but are small rooms for the money. Also, with all of Manhattan becoming more expensive and chains tucking hotels on side streets in non hotel areas, you have to be more careful as to where you stay. But things like heat and air conditioning are staples of American hotels like Hilton and I wouldn't even think of asking. It is lke asking Hertz for automatic transmission, in NY you wouldn't think of even asking.

Rose

Hi S! I love this thread. NOWAY identified some issues that I say but chose to keep silent on, but I will let you know that there are some reasonable *WARM* hotels in the Bloomsbury district that are close to the tube. If you con't mind the hotel feel, check out the Imperial at www.imperialhotels.co.uk they run a string of hotels in London with the Imperial Hotel being the nicest of them. The Imperial is L94 about $150. The others are cheaper but not as nice. Most of them are located in Bloombury. <BR> <BR>There's lots of hotels in the Bloombury district, which is located around the British Museum. I've seen St. Margeret's posted here many times. Thy a search on 'Bloomsbury', or 'British Museum'. <BR> <BR>Please S! we don't want you to catch your death of cold!