Langham Hotel, London

...most enjoyable stay at the Langham Hilton. One of the flagship hotels of the European branch of the Hilton group, I had read several reviews of this hotel and - these being fairly negative - entered the portals with my eyes wide open. I was expecting poor, arrogant service. Wrong - the service was helpful, friendly and efficient. I was expecting tiny rooms. Wrong, again! Read on!

So - Why visit the Langham?

There are ...
...marble bathroom with monogrammed fluffy Langham Hilton bathrobes and slippers, an excellent bath and shower and fully supplied with lovely "Penhaligon" toiletries.

And then more stairs, leading to a private drawing room with setee, table, another minibar, colour TV with SKY channels, and - up a few more steps - a writing desk with writing paper, envelopes, a high-speed internet connection and one of several telephones.
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I have just returned from a most enjoyable stay at the Langham Hilton. One of the flagship hotels of the European branch of the Hilton group, I had read several reviews of this hotel and - these being fairly negative - entered the portals with my eyes wide open. I was expecting poor, arrogant service. Wrong - the service was helpful, friendly and efficient. I was expecting tiny rooms. Wrong, again! Read on!

So - Why visit the Langham?

There are several answers. Firstly, it benefits from a truly great location, conveniently located close to Oxford Street and Regent Street in London; it's extremely central. Secondly, it's a simply magnificent hotel which treats one like a real guest - and that is incredibly important to me; I've read some very poor reviews of this place and now - having actually stayed there in late 2002 - I see no great reason to criticise it. It's time to set the record straight.

Opened in 1865 by the Prince of Wales, it was the first of London's "Grand Hotels"; the first hotel to feature hydraulic lifts (or ascending rooms, as they were quaintly called) and hot-and-cold running water (as it's still called) in guest rooms. People far more famous than I have stayed there and they are honoured by brass plaques outside the best suites, each of which are individually named. Badly bombed in World War II, it was used for office space by the BBC until being refurbished in 1991. I think it is now a very fine hotel. I have to say that we enjoyed our stay immensely. Our complaints are minor.

Myths

Myth: The staff are unfriendly.
Reality: The staff were friendly to us, and very helpful. Some of the customers were unacceptably rude to the staff. There's a difference.

Myth: The rooms are tiny.
Reality: All London Hotel rooms are "small". Ours was fine. Very comfortable and very cosy.

Myth: It's horribly haunted.
Reality: Well, of course it isn't, and I regret mentioning this to Amanda in the first place. She retired early to our suite leaving myself and Josh's Godfather in the Chukka Bar. No ghosts - but she was unnecessarily "spooked". My fault entirely. You'll be quite safe!

Arrival

We arrived by taxi. Ignore what anyone else says - you won't be looked down upon for arriving by tube at Oxford Circus (5 mins away) and turning up on foot but, with baby Josh in a pram and a suitcase, the London Cab was the only practical way to travel. More expensive than a London Transport Travel Card, but also far more convenient. Splash out!

You'll be greeted by a pair of very smart doormen. Resplendent in black uniforms, top hats and dripping in gold braid, they are friendly and will open the door of your taxi on arrival, welcome you without being obsequious, and competently arrange your cab on departure. No snobbery here - just very good - and very friendly service.

Reception

So you've arrived. I was a little disorientated. What I thought was South was North. What does it matter? You are greeted by a most spectacular, floodlit frontage with a polite, inobtrusive and friendly welcome from the staff. You enter via a few red-carpeted steps and are suddenly in a truly 5-star oasis. Turn right and you're at reception.

Is it just me?

...or do rude people wind you up too?

I'll digress, if I may. The last time I stayed in a top-class hotel, we were given a duplex-suite which was already booked out. We entered the room and Amanda - eagle-eyed girl that she is - noticed some baggage "in situ" in the room. I thought nothing of it, and climbed the stairs towards the bedroom. Half-way up, it became apparent that the owners of the baggage were also in the room and - shall we say - enjoying the delights of the King Size Bed. We retreated, made light of it and managed to get a room change with minimum fuss. Nobody was upset. It was a well-handled comedy moment.

As we queued to check in at the Langham, I got a sense of deja vu. Almost. There was a long queue. I was about to be welcomed and then the rudest woman I have yet met claimed that she had been similarly double-booked and - wait for it - THREW the keys at the receptionist. OK - so this is a 5 star hotel and these things shouldn't happen, but hang on. Get a life! Accidents happen and it sure as hell wasn't this poor girl's fault. I'd simply say that the manners of the receptionist were impeccable in comparison to those of the "guest". Rude? I should say so! Everybody deserves respect and it would help if people took the time to apportion blame to those responsible rather than harangue unfortunate front-line staff. And NO - it is NOT their job to put up with this kind of ignorance. Not in my view, at any rate. End of rant.

We got to reception and our booking was acknowledged. The receptionist disappeared to the back office and returned with our key card. As an Hilton Hhonors Gold VIP Member, I get an upgraded room subject to availability. The Hhonors scheme is well worth joining. We were given a keycard. We had room 844 written on it. Off we went to find a lift. There were several - remember, this was the first London hotel to feature hydraulic "Ascending rooms". Or elevators. And they're very efficient.

Onwards and Upwards!

We found a lift. I'm sufficiently experienced to know that if your room number is 844, you press "8" in the lift. In no time we were there, on the eighth floor. A sign indicated that we should turn left to find room 844. We did. An entertaining tour of the eighth floor brought us back to where we'd started from and then...there was a door. We passed through and there was room 844. It had a brass plaque outside. "Gosh!" I showed Amanda the plaque - the "Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Suite". The suites are all named after famous people who have stayed here and - joy of joys - we had been upgraded. Does this explain the title of this review?

Our suite

I stuck my keycard in the door. It opened, revealing a staircase. We climbed up and on our left was a great bedroom. King size bed, later found to be very comfortable, with superb pillows, a warm and comforting duvet and an attractive bedspread matching the pastel wall decorations and Roman blinds. A proper cot (or "crib") for baby Josh was provided, as requested, and there were two armchairs, a table, a fruit bowl and an alchove with a wardrobe which lit up when the doors were opened. Minibar, SKY TV, trouser press, and - being a corner room - a pretty good view of London. On top of the fruit bowl was a personally-addressed welcome message from the Manager. A great welcome and a very nice touch.

Turning right, a landing leading to a marble bathroom with monogrammed fluffy Langham Hilton bathrobes and slippers, an excellent bath and shower and fully supplied with lovely "Penhaligon" toiletries.

And then more stairs, leading to a private drawing room with setee, table, another minibar, colour TV with SKY channels, and - up a few more steps - a writing desk with writing paper, envelopes, a high-speed internet connection and one of several telephones.

Look hard enough and you'll find a "Bose" radio / CD player, and I was delighted to put this to the test.

There was one thing missing. I couldn't quite believe that there were no tea / coffee making facilities in the room. Having spent UKP 21.80 in the bar on a fairly short "session", I fancied a hot drink in my room. I just didn't fancy spending UKP 13.00 on two hot chocolates. I'm not on a corporate account, and can quite happily boil a kettle. A small niggle.

Rooms - the bottom line

London hotel rooms are notoriously small. Ours (OK - we were upgraded) was more than adequate. Clean, tidy, very well presented, and extremely cosy and comfortable. Josh is now 14 months old and is getting pretty mobile. He loves opening cupboards and emptying them, which brings me onto my big terror.....

The Minibar...

Which had three faults.

Firstly, it's horrendously expensive (like most hotels, to be honest):
UKP 2.50 for a Mars Bar (guide price about UKP 0.37) gives you a taste, although this isn't an unusual situation, to be honest.

Touch - pay :
If you so much as move anything in the minibar, you're likely to be charged for it, electronically.

No, Josh, No.........D'oh"
Josh, I love you, but will you PLEASE stay away from the expensive cupboard? It's NOT funny to open it and pull things out. With a great effort, we kept him away.

Bars and Restaurants

As you arrive, facing you is the "Palm Court". Famed for its high teas, this looked really lovely. A working water-fountain surrounded by tables and with live piano music, this seemed to be a real oasis. Tempted to take high tea here, but it was booked out for a Bah-Mitzvah. Ah well.....

On your left is "Tsars' bar". Josh's Godmother is Russian and we know our Vodkas from previous experience in Moscow, St Petersburg and - well - anywhere we've been together. This bar, apparently serves over 100 varieties, together with Caviar (Ack! Hate it!), oysters and various other Russian-themed delicacies.

And then there's the "Chukka" bar. Pukka! We arrived back at the hotel, having eaten out. The food at the hotel's signature restaurant, "Memories", is, I'm sure, superb. We just fancied an Indian and paid the same for three as we would have done for one at the hotel. You don't need me to point that out, I'm sure! Anyway - back to the "Chukka". We were delighted to find that well-behaved children were welcome and sat down to enjoy a few drinks in very comfortable surroundings. In true hotel style, the prices were hardly "reasonable", but this was a most enjoyable place to spend a few hours in good company, and the service was excellent.

The fourth floor...

...Is half way up the building. Josh got a bit bored of the "Chukka" bar (he's got some learning to do). He ran out. Thankfully, he was followed by Amanda. The open door of an elegant elevator looked very welcoming. In he went. Thankfully, Amanda followed. Two Americans followed them both and hit the "4" button. Thus, Josh and Amanda got an impromptu trip to the fourth floor. I understand it was as good as any other. Above all else, this was a most child-friendly top-class hotel at which we all enjoyed staying.

The Langham has had some pretty poor reviews and I was pretty worried about my visit. Rest assured; it's luxurious, impeccably well-run, very child-friendly and you will - if you look hard enough - meet some famous people; we did. Be nice to the staff and they will, I assure you, be very nice to you. We had a superb time and I can highly recommend it.

There's a superb leisure centre with a 16m pool, gym and 7 Elizabeth Arden treatment rooms. We didn't get the chance to put these to the test. Maybe next time...

All in all, highly recommended.

All the best!

Andrew

 

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