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Review: The Waldorf Hilton Hotel London – Executive King

a building with awnings and a red telephone booth

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Review: The Waldorf Hilton Hotel London – Executive King

If you’re looking to catch a show in London’s West End – The Waldorf Hilton Hotel London has an ABSOLUTELY INCREDIBLE location. There’s easy access to the tube ( Covent Garden station), restaurants, theater, and more bars, pubs, and dance clubs than you can count. Sounds like a great place to spend a couple nights with the lady, right? The problem? I got Food poisoning. I don’t know where or when it happened ( Possibly the Shrimp on Swiss Biz), but it hit me hard upon waking up the first morning in London.  As a result, that great location wasn’t really enjoyed, BUT the king bed and handicapped bathroom came in very handy. Luckily I recovered enough to mosey around the hotel the 2nd morning, get some white toast from the club lounge, and at least attempt to enjoy the landmark hotel.

a lobby with a glass table and chandeliers

The Deets:

  • When: May 2017
  • Where: London
  • Loyalty: Hilton Honors
  • Status: Diamond
  • Rate: 36,500 pts + $114 per night ( 60k is a standard award)
  • Upgrade: Queen to Executive King
  • Perks: Free Wifi, Lounge Access

a white background with black text

I took advantage of mobile check-in

The hotel went through a significant renovation in 2015. As a grade 2 listed building I think they did a pretty good job of bringing the rooms up to date, and with a price point often between $200-300/night it’s competitively appointed.
a room with a computer desk and chair

My diamond status had secured us an upgrade from an entry level queen room to an Executive King with club access on the 2nd floor overlooking Aldwych street. This amounted to roughly a $180 a night upgrade. Considering we’d utilized cash+points and were paying roughly points + $114/night it was pretty good upgrade. Usually I don’t like handicap accessible rooms, but what was a slight complaint upon entering the room turned into a blessing when the food poisoning hit.

I spent a lot of time in this bathroom, unfortunately, and the added space was appreciated.  However, had I not been ill, I think I would have requested to move rooms for the second night. In order to make bathrooms wheelchair accessible they have to remove all of the barriers between the bath and the floor which makes flooding it inevitable.

It’s always perplexing to me as to why they don’t just make minibars free of charge if you have club access…

Food:

I had a tad bit of vanilla ice cream and some white toast – not really review worthy. HOWEVER…my girlfriend was able to indulge on some room service in between running in and out trying to figure out something to get me better 😉 Thanks beb =) She enjoyed the fish and chips quite a bit…I on the other hand had a popsicle from the corner store.

a tray with food on it

My popsicle and view for the stay 🙁

a hand holding a popsicle

Club Lounge:

My girlfriend had quite a few snacks there and I was able to get to it the second morning for breakfast. It’s quite small, though well appointed, and has enough breakfast options to actually be a real breakfast. No where near the offering at the JW Marriott Grosvenor House, but I’d say comparable size and offering to the Marriott Park Lane. Tip: The hotel is full of theaters goers so arrive early for the evening presentation because the lounge fills up quickly.

Gym:

The gym is managed by LA Fitness and it is a legitimate “membership gym” and hotel guests have access to it and the heated pool. If you’re a gym nut….this is by far the best hotel gym I’ve seen in London.

Overall: Would I choose this hotel over other London hotels?

London is one of my favorite cities and has a wealth of hotels redeemable with points.  That’s an amazing thing, but also creates a dilemma of choice: which is the best? I’ve stayed in 7 different hotels over the last few years and this location was amongst the best. I think I prefer it to the Conrad‘s location and most certainly to the Radisson Blu Edwardian. Is it as cool/hip as the London Edition? No. As posh as the Marriott Park Lane? Not even close. The room is appointed as well as the Grosvenor House, but can’t compete when it comes to club levels. I’d say it’s a push compared to the Intercontinental Park Lane, but it’s a hard comparison because only Royal Ambassadors are given club access there vs my Diamond status created a great perk.

If you’re looking for a nice hotel with some history that’s smack in the middle of the theatre district featuring updated rooms, a decent executive lounge, and pretty competitive pricing – you may have found your spot.

Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities.

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