Radisson Blu Edwardian Vanderbilt Hotel, London

The Radisson Edwardian Vanderbilt Hotel is blocks away from the Victoria and Albert and Natural History Museums and a short walk to Harrods. The Glouster Road Tube stop is a block away, as is a grocery store, shopping mall, ATM and restaurants. Service at the hotel was excellent � one of the best stays I have had in London. Denver Mullican, New Orleans USA. Denver_mullican@prodigy.net

We stayed here for a week in March and could not have been happier. The entire staff was unusually helpful and friendly. They really made our time there a pleasure. The breakfast was just fabulous and something I will always miss. The afternoon tea was so good that we made a point of being there in time for tea. The rooms were large for London and very attractive. We we a bit apprehensive booking rooms so far away and so far in advance but we could not have been happier. When I go back to London I will definitely stay here again!

I've stayed here many times through the years, beginning before it became a Radisson property. It's location is great, and it was always a very pleasurable part of staying in London. But it isn't what it used to be. Recent renovations have changed the appearance, but it seems most all the work was done in the public areas. I didn't notice any real change in the room. It's very bright and glittery now, and less charming in my view, but I guess that's just a matter of preference. If you're lucky and get a room on the ground floor,by the way, it may be of good size and the water pressure okay. But stay away from the upper floors if you can, and if you're a non-smoker be sure to specify when you make your reservation. If you forget and can't get a non-smoking room, it will be awful! Because of the way the place is laid out, it can also be quite an experience maneuvering your bags through the heavy fire doors and on and off the tiny elevators if there's nobody around to help with them. The hotel is very clean and I've never had an uncomfortable bed, but on one memorable bank holiday nobody made the bed or changed the linens for three days. I think it's fair to say that I just don't know from one time to the next whether my stay will be pleasant or not. So I'm thinking that next time as long as I'm staying at an American hotel anyway, I'll stay at the Holiday Inn down the street. It'll be a lot less expensive and at least I know what I'll be getting.

Great location, close to tube, stores,pubs,Kensington Gardens. Good room for a triple. Fantastic breakfast buffet with polite, efficient servers. Lifts were out in our part of hotel which was once a ,Vanderbilt home, so we climbed many flights of stairs. I'd return for sure.

We had reservations with friends for the Radisson Vanderbilt hotel in August 2005. The Radisson Vanderbilt Hotel is a beautifully converted row of old London houses located outside the main tourist area. The lobby is small but grand. There is a rich feel as it is very elegantly decorated. Unfortunately we were NOT greeted with welcoming, warm-hearted professional staff. Just as our friends were about to receive their room key, the staff realized we were together so they ushered us into a seating area to tell us there were no rooms available. They proceeded to lie about construction and remodeling going on, so they had to transfer us to another hotel. Even though our friends made their reservations months ago, and we just made our reservations the day before, they said they did not have rooms available. As they quickly escorted us out to cabs, I asked to speak to the manager. The two desks clerks just looked at me blankly, and mumbled there wasn�t a manager. The original desk clerk came back in and I explained to him that I knew they lied and there wasn�t any remodeling or construction going on, And because of a sign posted in the lobby, my best guess was they gave our rooms away to a Tour Group. The clerk did not deny lying, but assured me the other hotel staff would accommodate us for our inconvenience. Honestly, it felt like we were being discriminated against because we didn�t look like upper-class royalty. Though they said they were upgrading our hotel, they did not. We were taken to the Radisson Berkshire, and dropped off in some alley with graffiti on the walls. This was NO upgrade. After much discussion with this staff, we were moved again. As you can imagine, this hotel group proved to be dishonest and unwilling to accommodate us for our trouble. We will never stay at another Radisson.

London is wonderful and Kensington is a great location, BUT we had a very difficult 2 nights at the Vanderbilt and I would never stay there again. First, this hotel is actually several historic townhouses linked together. Quite lovely from the street, but very little of the beauty or grace of the original homes is evident inside. Standard hotel decor. Plus, the linking of these properties results in a difficult floorplan. There was no doorman to greet us or assist with luggage, so we lugged it up the 5 or 6 steps ourselves. There is some sort of lift to the side... not sure if that is for wheelchairs or luggage, and no one was there to show us how to use it. Following check-in, we proceeded through a bizarre series of hallways and doors to the lift, took it to the appropriate floor and had to take several more stairs. Finally made it to the room. When I went into the loo, found that someone (previous guest? the maid?) had left a little present for us floating in the toilet, and the flusher did not work. We called to ask that it be fixed. A few minutes later the front desk let us know that maintenance was gone for the day, so they moved us to a new room. AGAIN through the bizarre series of hallways and doors, but the new room was actually prettier and had a view. However, one of the beds had a mattress which perhaps should have been on display at the museum down the street. It was an old fashioned springs-only mattress with no foam or stuffing, and the springs had "sprung" or broken or something... At any rate, I can't imagine that anyone could have slept on that mattress. After much "discussion" the staff did replace the mattress and the rest of our visit was uneventful. The hotel is supposed to have wireless internet, and I was able to access it for about an hour. Then it was down. There are two slow (i.e. dial-up) computers on the first floor, available without charge. Although the location was excellent, there are hundreds of other hotels in London which would be better choices than the Vanderbilt. It did NOT meet with my high expectations for a Radisson property. Stay away.

the rooms are teeny tiny but when all you plan is sleep before you explore it doesn't matter. The breakfast buffet is pretty good and can be a part of the package. The hotel is located in lovely Kensington making it easy to get around town either by the tube or taxi. The prices are great relative to everything else in london. They also provide the internet for free in the lobby which is also a real plus when you can pay up to $20 a day at hotels around the world. But not all rooms have hook ups which is a little archaic.

Located very near Downtown London, but just far enough way to be out of the hustle and bustle that is every night in such a fantastic city. We stayed in the "family size" room. It was small, as is most every hotel room in London. Still, the service was excellent. The marble bathroom was small but nice with its great water pressure and hot towel rack. There is a tube stop and grocery store within a block -- a must with more than a week stay. Get an unlimited tube pass or you will spend a fortune in taxis. Also, the food is double or more what it is in the United States at every restaurant. Getting some snacks from the grocery is a must.