After experimenting several different location in North and Central London I would like to stay in the West area near Mayfair. Thanks to January Sale the Hilton Park Lane was a good value even if I would prefer the Four Seasons or Dorchester which are very closes, but the experience was pleasant and the suite we had were very nice.
Location is a bit far from city center – more or less a 30 minutes-walk – but perfect to explore Mayfair and Knightsbridge where you can find both lot of luxury shops and museums. I highly regret the absence of any SPA or pool, with one of these it could be more than a simple business hotel ; actually the building looks like a Sovietic Center from outside and is fortunately well-designed inside.
Regarding the rooms you can select a room with view either on Hyde Park, Mayfair or Park Lane. Access to Executive Lounge is always a must-have when you stay in a Hilton property, don’t miss it and take an Executive Room or higher !
The Hilton Park Lane opened in 1963 and is actually THE Hilton in London, despite many other openings many years ago. It is composed of 450 guest rooms and suites. We booked a Park Lane Suite – 60 sqm – with views over Hyde Park and North London at 780 GBP/night with an Instant Upgrade option taken on Hilton website.
Living
Certainly the worst building in this London area: very old-fashion concrete with 28 storeys and so cheap entrance… Fortunately inside the design is far better and allows you feel more luxury !
Indeed the lobby is quite exclusive and reminds me the Paris George V lobby ; corridors are also well-designed as well as the overall furnitures in beige and green tones everywhere in the building.
Room
Upon check-in we were given a Park Lane Suite at 22nd floor overlooking Hyde Park ; unfortunately all balconies are forbidden in all rooms so you can’t go out.
The suite is large – 60sqm – with separate living-room and bathroom opened on bedroom as you can see on pictures. Furnitures are all good in beige and green tones except the wooden floor, very used.
We liked the bathroom and its Crabtree & Evelyin products in XL size ; the huge shower and the bathtube were very appreciable after long walking-days.
Dining
There are 2 different restaurants in this hotel, one gastronomic – The Galvin – at the top floor with 360] views over London and one more casual at ground floor where breakfast is served. We tried only the second one which was very nice with a buffet still attractive, as always with Hilton.
If you plan to have dinner at Galvin, you should book lot in advance as it seems to be a very trendy place.
Level of exigency
Well, it could be better… The first test point in this hotel category is always upon check-in: if they take you to your suite, it’s a good start ; but unfortunately not this time.
For the rest all staff people were fine and polite just as expected for Hilton but not so luxury ; I definitely wanted more.
Stay from March 12th to 14th 2011
