Opinions on these London Hiltons? (using HH points)
 

First time to London in November for 4 nights. Want to use my HHonors points. Looking for a good location & nice hotel (will need to sleep 3 in one room - probably with a rollaway). Hilton has availability at: Paddington, Park Lane, Green Park & Mews. Any insight?<BR> <BR>FYI, I did also try the Hyde Park & Trafalgar properties, but neither had availability. I didn't try any of the other London properties as the locations didn't seem as good as these others.<BR> <BR>Thanks so much for your insight.

Jodie,<BR>Just went through the same exercise for May. Book as soon as you can. I called for availability like you did, performed some checks and when I called back a week later, most were booked for the times I needed. Ended up at the Paddington property which was not my first choice, but the more I have looked into this property, the better it is becoming for us. It is new remodeled and connected with the tube. It will give us easy access to flights as we are flying to Frankfurt after 5 days in London. <BR><BR>Do a search at the the top for Hilton London. There are several threads available.

I think the Park Lane is the best location. I had a huge room, large bath and view of the Park, great access to everything. This hotel has lots of rooms so availability should have a chance of working out. I would pay to stay somewhere before I stayed at Paddington. Mews is okay, small though, but still well located. Good Luck

Liz,<BR>Have you stayed at Paddington Hilton before? Can you elaborate more on your statement

Jodie, I have stayed at the Green Park many times-great hotel on half moon street,walking distance to many sights and the theatre district. The Hilton in Paddington would be my last choice-the other three are located in Mayfair which is a much nicer area. Have a wonderful time!

Green Park or Park Lane are equally good and in excellent locations. Book either of these NOW (!) - because points availability is often limited.<BR><BR>Paddington has been upgraded - But it is still in Paddington which is not a good area for sights or amenities - or even just walking around. It would definitely be my LAST choice - but unless you work fast my bet is it would be the only one available. Paddington is convenient for the LHR express - but that is not enough to make me want to stay there.

RE my comments on Paddington...I guess I think location in London is very critical to a wonderful trip. I would probably call the Hiltons in Mayfair, make friends with the reservations manager, and beg for a cancellation, then call back every few days to check on how I was doing. I have done this at the Vail Marriott which is another tightie when it comes to FF points and it has worked out very well. If you can make a friend in the hotel it could happen for you. We enjoyed 5 amazing days in London in the end of January...just a thought, be sure to book restaurants before you arrive, try lunch at Langham's Bistro, specify DOWNSTAIRS...a very happening place.

too bad the Langham Hilton is not on the list... very nice hotel.

PS to the above, just reread and seeing this is your first time to London. Staying at the Park Lane will save you a ton of time and money on the tube or in taxis, you can walk to almost every main London attraction right from there. Really, call the hotel and see if you can't get someone inside the process to help you. It is worth it, calls are quite inexpensive these days.

Liz,<BR>Any thoughts on the Hilton Olympia on Kensington High St? They just had a cancellation and is less points.<BR><BR>

Ken High Street is a great location. never stayed at that hotel though.<BR><BR>P. P.

Steve,<BR>Have not stayed there, I agree better than Paddington though. I guess you are going with your kids, right, what ages.

Steve,<BR>I just hopped on the Hilton website and must say, didn't like the looks of the property. Spring for the extra points and go for one of the three in Mayfair, trust us all on this one.

Steve, after more thought: you really must go for the Park Lane Hilton. They have really big rooms and big bathrooms. If 3 people are sharing a single room, this is the property for you to enjoy and feel comfortable. Also London in November is very dark, pitch dark by 4PM, and the sun comes up very late as well. Thus you will end up spending some time in your hotel room morning and evening, even if you head out to dinner or the theatre at night. Make it as pleasant as possible for yourself. Hope this helps, this is a wonderful city at any time.

If I could, I would. The hotel is not available for my trip. Maybe I will try them direct and check that way. <BR><BR>No Kids, just me and the wife Liz

I was in London for a week in March and stayed at the Hilton London Metropole. It's down the street from the Hilton London Paddington. I originally had reservations at the Paddington, but it wasn't open at the time. The location is not dangerous at all! The hotel is across the street from Edgware Road tube station. There's a Starbucks across the street. The area is perfectly fine. The hotel was opened in 2000. Everything is great. Best service I ever had. If you stay here, make sure you get the Club Level rooms. They are spacious. You can get one with 2 queen beds.

I've stayed at the Hilton Olympia. This is a pretty basic hotel. Don't expect a fancy or luxurious Hilton with this hotel. The South Kensington area that the hotel is in is nice, but I felt a bit out of things being that far down Kensington High Street. Also, the nearest tube stop, Kensington (Olympia), is a small station that, as I recall, did not keep the same hours as most of the other stations. I remember having to walk further down to the Kensington High Street station once because the Olympia station was closed.

Good morning Steve!<BR>I thought you said you would have 3 in the room and need a rollaway....anyway do call the Park Lane directly and try to get someone there to help you. Edgware Road is not scary but pretty declasse. Good luck!

Steve,<BR>Reread, I see, I was confusing you with Jodie. Having lived in London and visited many times, I think you should personally contact all 3 Mayfair Hiltons until you get into one of them. I kept thinking you needed a big room. Okay, well you would be fine in Mews also. Edgware Road is just....trying to think of a US equivalent....like hanging around the 42nd Street Station in NYC for example....keep pushing for the better locations. You will certainly agree once you have been there!

Wow, thanks everyone! (OP here). Unfortunately, when I called Hilton back to reserve the Park Lane I got a different person who told me they would only accept 2 adults in the rooms there (and at all the other Hiltons). So many of you said the Park Lane has big rooms, it seems odd to me that I couldn't get a rollaway for 1 of us. <BR> <BR>Now I guess I will try my Marriott points. The County Hall and Park Lane both have availability and will accept 3 adults. Anyone stayed at the County Hall? I gather that the Park Lane is new. I'll probably post a separate Marriott message, too. I did search London+Marriott but got nothing. Again, thanks everyone.

Jodie: Park Lane Marriott is in a very good location - But definitely try for County Hall first. It is right on the river across from Big Ben, next to the London Eye, and walking distance to -- Westminster Abbey, Whitehall, Trafalgar Square and everything on the south Bank (Globe, Tate Modern, National Theatre, Queen Elizabeth Hall, OXO Tower, etc)

Just to bring closure to this one --<BR>I emailed the reservations manager at the Hilton Park Lane and was told they would accept 3 adults. So I called Hilton back and asked the woman to reserve the Park Lane. She got a "maximun exceeded" error, so she changed the number of adults to 2 and requested a rollaway (at no add'l cost). I plan to email the reservations mgr back to tell him/her thanks, and that we booked the hotel. Then I plan to email them again a few days before we arrive to make sure we get the rollaway we need, and to alert them that there will be 3 of us. Do you think that's a good idea, or will it just annoy the res mgr to get these emails?<BR>Thanks again to all of you for your help.<BR>

I don't know anything about HH points, but I have an opinion on everything else. Still don't know anything.

Jodie, I think you can always ask for the rollaway when you get there because they won't deliver it until you check in anyway. What I do think is important is to keep the name of the person you spoke to in case of any problem at check in time (oh, there is 3 of you...etc. etc.) I saw the new Marriott when I was there, all in fact, have stayed in most London Marriotts and I think while they are great too you are really set at the Park Lane Hilton. I personally prefer this address to the other side of the river (County Hall Marriott) because you are in Mayfair, close to Oxford Street, Hyde Park, Green Park, Buckingham Palace, Bond Street, Knightsbridge, etc. You can still walk -- or run in the morning as I do -- to all the other locations mentioned or catch a taxi or the tube. Besides, you can better use those Marriott points in more locations than the Hilton points. Ie. skiing, Marriott in Vail, etc. Hilton has fewer desirable locations, period. Save those Marriott points and have fun. <BR><BR>Steve&gt; never heard back from you, let me know what happened if you are out there!