Hilton London Kensington, London

Our stay was very nice. The rooms are smaller than we are used to in the states, but are clean and comfortable. The service was good and friendly. We were close to the tube, the bus stop was just across the street, and the 24 hour tour bus stopped out front also. The only down side was the dinning and room service was a bit pricey, but we found plenty of take out, and a few nice pubs on Holland Street just a short walk to the east. And the Westfield Mall is by the tube station, we were told it is the largest mall in europe.

We stayed four nights. The concierge, food, cleanliness, staff and overall experience rivalled anything we have experienced in the States and actually exceeded. We paid a little more in per night rate to get into the executive lounge status, which gets you into a separate secure card access area. This allowed us to daily eat leisurely full breakfast as well as dinner appetizers, free cocktails and free wi fi. This more than paid for itself as the line for breakfast in the restaurant was long each day. All the staff was excellent and the location is near shopping. The bus stop directly across from the hotel gets you to the River Thames, London Eye, Westminister Abbey, Buckingham Palace area in 15 minutes and is cheap and clean. The location is also a 10-15 minute cab ride from Paddington train station where the Heathrow Express comes in from Heathrow. Overall, a great experience!!!!

We stayed at the Hilton Kensington from June 7-13, 2007. The hotel was more than I expected after hearing nightmare stories of European hotels. This was a great hotel! I would compare it to any other Hilton that I have stayed at in the states. Clean, roomy, great bathroom, great location, lots of amenities. The conceriege was wonderful and helpful each day. The location was great. The hotel is in a residential area with a park just across the street, so really there was no noise. I never heard anyone in the rooms next to me and I know someone was in there because we would see newspapers and the like, but the walls were soundproof because we never heard a peep from anyone. If I were going to complain about anything it would be the price of the breakfast. It equalled about $40 USD. I would have to eat a lot of food to get that much worth out of the breakfast. However there is a TESCO (grocery store) very close and the prices were normal. We stopped in the mornings and bought muffins and bagels for less than $1 USD. I would tell everyone to stay at this hotel.

The location of this hotel is wonderful with a bus stop right at the front door and a tube station just blocks away, the neighbour is wonderful lots of great shops to buy food and goodies. The room was small but nicely decorated, however the shower was awful, no pressure at all. We had breakfast only once in the hotel and it was nice but not worth the cost. Can't stress enough that the cost was very reasonable with the location so excellent.

My stay at this hotel was a great experience from beginning to end. It is a walk from the nearest tube station, but a beautiful one at that. Primarily we walked past homes and shops. On the journey, there is a Starbucks, Tesco (grocery store), and a few restaurants. This helped us in our stay and made the walk enjoyable too. Once we got to the hotel, there were no problems checking in. I found the desk staff to be pleasant and helpful, once we understood what each other was saying. The hotel has a travel desk that was helpful for us to get information from. In the main lobby, there is also a little shop that sells some souveniors and stamps, plus there were about 5 computers with access to the internet at an expensive price. Once we got to the room, I was continually pleased. Everything was clean, the flat screen tv was a perk, and bed was comfortable. The bathroom was also great. Honestly, I don't have a bad thing to say about this place. It seemed quiet to me and allowed for a lot of privacy. The buffet breakfast in the morning was not cheap, but well worth it. I'd recommend paying extra for it because there isn't a lot around for breakfast foods otherwise, plus it helped to get our day started off on a good foot. The food was good - we only had breakfast there. Go stay here. Yes, it's a little out of the way, but you won't be disappointed.

In evaluating a hotel "across the pond," it's important to recognize that U.S. hotel standards are not the norm in the world. By U.S. standards, the Kensington Hilton is just okay; small (pricey) rooms, minimal closet space, and chilly. I was there in February couldn't seem to get the room to warm enough in the evening (but hey, it's Britain, they're used to wearing woolies all the time). Also, it was noisy; lots of conversation along with doors opening and closing as people came back to their rooms late at night (again, this is Europe), and I could hear the closets next door opening and closing as the neighboring guests prepared to depart in the morning. Pluses: The hotel has ice machines (which is not the norm over there, and which was most welcome to this ice-loving American) and there was a bus stop right outside the door; very handy. The conscierge had all the maps I needed (the bus routes, the tube routes, and most of the main sights I wanted to visit) and was most accomodating about helping direct me to sites I wanted to visit as well as determine the best way to get there. There is also a pickup for "The Big Red Bus," one of the better double-decker tour buses; but be aware that the tour does not drop off at the hotel in the evening! The beds at the Kensington Hilton were generally comfortable and firm (no feather pillows, however) and the morning beverage station was far better than most; real creamer (the kind in little cups) and plenty of packets of coffee, quite decent teabags and even artificial sweetener. This was most welcome as few British B&B's or hotels provide anything but sugar. In closing, it was a nice place to stay, but nothing to write home about. I would certainly not be opposed to staying there again, finances permitting, but the adventurer in me will probably try a different venue in a different part of town next visit.

Always have recieved superior service from this location, staff friendly and knowledgable, and willing to go a bit out of their way in their concierge services. Hotel is otherwise standard, somewhat antiseptic business class hotel, restaraunt merely OK, but the neighborhood restaraunts, especially the Greek place accross the street, are quite good. Location somewhat marginal for the business traveller, as the tube stops are a kilometer or so away, and that can make hauling luggage a pain. Overall, a decent hotel that makes itself better due to the quality of it's staff and services for the business traveller.