Hilton London Hyde Park
I was finally able to reasonably get back to London in March of 2022 based on their new rules at the time for fully vaccinated individuals, to attend some events for International Woman's Day with some institutions I belong to over there. It was a long trip and I was rate shopping hard core, and the first few days I found a great location and great price at the Hilton Hyde Park. Very close to where I wanted to be, and well, having an underground station in the building was a super bonus.Arrival
I took a rather long jump of flights across the USA to depart from JFK to Heathrow and then, due to a lovely strike by the workers of the subway system the day I landed, I was relegated to taking the express train to Paddington Station (this was in the end a blessing! The stairs in the underground are a huge pain with large bags and it was actually easily walkable from Paddington to the hotel.The 3D Room
So, on a subsequent visit, I chatted with the staff for a while, and I was able to acquire a direct park-facing room, the King Deluxe with a view. It was more spacious than the booked room, which was I think small with a brick wall view.
My 3rd time here, I have a larger room with a direct park view. Given the layout of the building, this is pretty big.
The Pre 3D Room
The room is a cute, cozy, quaint, but a quintessentially small European room. Fine for one person, and for two, well, if staying for a weekend I think your stuff will all stow away nicely and hidden. The view was kinda nice, not directly facing the park, but as the room was on Queensway (the side street) and had bay windows, Hyde Park was readily seen.Food and Drink
The onsite restaurant, Aubaine, styled after French countryside dining has great food, an amazingly beautiful bar and intimate lounge. They hit the spot with me on these!Now, it's been updated to a buffet with tons of offerings, that's included for Diamond members.
Event Spaces
There is an event room. I wasn't able to see it but it's there if one has that need. This hotel was not setup for that type of function though.Various Places
Not easily categorized pictures of areas around the hotel.
The park views have a premium
Nice to have my status recognized
Coffee, yes, Tea more of a focus
Big king bed, fits in the room with some imaginative bag and furniture placement
Excellent shower, and the bathroom did have good space in it, not the typical cramped, everything slammed into to fit type
Pretty vanity, standard Hilton bath amenities (don't take these with home in your bag, they leak when pressure lowers in a plane)
Better than a normal room, Nespresso system for your morning wakeup
My desk. It was functional and had the space I needed
While this was an upgrade from the room booked, there are not a lot of American sized rooms available
So much like an easy-going French location. The food also reflected this
No prices since the breakfast was included in my package (ok, by being a Diamond)
They do know how to cook here, so much yum this breakfast was
Beautiful space, just visually and proportion-wise about perfect
The comfort and intimacy in the lounge of the bar, this speaks to meI was famished, and I got a burger, but it did have French fries
Substantial tea offerings
I am never going to be a fan of eggs this way, but I'm not British either
I guess the tomatoes are really popular
I know, pretty weak selection on my part. I just wasn't hungry
Were the super motivated and competent staff is to be found
This is where I waited for cabs when going to someplace with a load of gear
Elevator lobby and stairs, segmented away by a room space that closed. The soft lighting and design are so boutique feeling
The elements of decor are consistent and very understated but elegant nonetheless
On the 1st floor (not 2nd floor, they measure differently in Europe) above the lobby are these beautiful seats. If they only served this area from the bar, it would be a spot not to leave
Summary
A very nice 4-star hotel. This is the type of place that one would bring their better half for a time away in London (a little "in the city" vacation) and enjoy the romance of the location and the intimacy of the rooms.The food and drink offerings are awesome and the location is very hard to beat when the underground service is running. Being on a major thoroughfare, there is a ton of bus service, and taxis abound. Think about purchasing a room with breakfast included.