Hilton London Tower Bridge, London

...London, however due to a Hilton 50% off promotion I made an exception so booked a stay at Hilton Tower Bridge. I booked my stay through the Hilton website and secured an Executive room with access to the Executive lounge that also included breakfast.

Arrival
The hotel does not have the benefit of an on-site parking, however it recommends the Q Park, which was apparently close by. The sat nav got me there easily, however it soon ...
...it was a very standard Hilton stay. The property was modern and clean in general and provided a comfortable stay. The dirty towel left an awful lot to be desired and would mean that I would not want to stay again. If their hygiene levels were of such a standard with towels I can only speculate on the potential for other areas to be lackadaisical.

If you want a hotel south of the river and you aren’t choosey then do consider it. If not ... more

Now as a rule I never stay south of the river when I visit London, however due to a Hilton 50% off promotion I made an exception so booked a stay at Hilton Tower Bridge. I booked my stay through the Hilton website and secured an Executive room with access to the Executive lounge that also included breakfast.

Arrival
The hotel does not have the benefit of an on-site parking, however it recommends the Q Park, which was apparently close by. The sat nav got me there easily, however it soon became apparent that the car park was actually quite a walk from the hotel. It took about fifteen minutes to walk and with your luggage in tow this was no mean feat! The only saving grace was that the parking was £10 per night compared to around £30-40 in west London. After our walk we eventually arrived at the hotel.

Check In
We approached the desk and began to check in when we were then advised that as executive guests we could check in at the executive lounge upstairs. We took the elevator to the top floor where the lounge is situated. As we arrived there was a backlog of guests waiting for their executive check in so we joined the queue. Not really the executive experience you would hope for and we would have preferred to have just got our key downstairs and be done with it! Eventually our turn came and we completed the paperwork and went off to our room.

The Room
The first room we went to was fine except it had a brilliant view of a building site with loud construction workers. I was not willing to pay a premium price for a premium room with that outside my window so asked for a room change. After much hassle they agreed to switch our room to one with a brilliant view of the city and the river.

The room was very modern as the hotel was only one year old and was very minimalist in it’s design. There was a king size bed, desk with broadband connection (£10 per 24hrs), seating area and 32” LCD TV. There was plenty of room and the bed was extremely comfortable. Altogether the room was put together really well.

The bathroom however gave a different insight. The design was flawless and was well kitted out with plenty of space, powerful shower and fantastic toiletries. It was only when I came out of the shower did I get annoyed. I pulled a fresh towel off the rack and went to dry myself. It was as I went to dry my face I noticed a rather ominous brown stain where it should have been white cotton. The towel had clearly been used and then not sent for cleaning. After one angry call to the manager did she appear with a bottle of wine, a sorry maid and a set of fresh towels. It could just have been fake tan but either way I was not willing to take any chances!

That night we both slept fine and woke up feeling refreshed.
Executive Lounge
As guests in an executive room we were given the privilege of access to the executive lounge. The lounge served breakfast in the morning, afternoon tea followed by alcoholic drinks and canapés in the evening. The spread certainly was impressive but the lounge was small. Considering the excellent views outside, the architect had failed to make use of windows to make a big impression. There was however an excellent balcony outside but on an October evening it was a little too cold to be out there for long. Considering the price difference between the standard and the executive room of £20, the extra money made up for the free drinks and food we received.

Restaurant/Bar
The hotel had a standard European restaurant and a lobby bar. I did not use either of these so cannot speak for them, however they did look very busy so would assume they were popular.

Facilities
The hotel caters for conference and banquets with the function rooms and also has an on site gym. Again I did not experience any of these aspects so I cannot comment on them.

Breakfast
The lounge provided a full continental spread with a full English table service. The food was of a good standard and the tea, coffee and toast all hot for a change! The service was good and we did not feel rushed.

Check out
As we had booked on a promotional rate we were offered a late check out so didn’t actually leave until 4pm. We settled our bill downstairs after the previous lounge delays and were on our way. Everything was taken care of as expected and off we went!

Summary
Overall it was a very standard Hilton stay. The property was modern and clean in general and provided a comfortable stay. The dirty towel left an awful lot to be desired and would mean that I would not want to stay again. If their hygiene levels were of such a standard with towels I can only speculate on the potential for other areas to be lackadaisical.

If you want a hotel south of the river and you aren’t choosey then do consider it. If not then there are much better properties to be found in the west end, where you can be assured of the quality!

Stay completed in October 2008. £95 for the night. Booked at Hilton.com
 

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