Hilton Waldorf Hotel London

I was able to stay in this hotel using Hilton points. At the time we took that trip the rates were between 250-400 USD per night; however, the online rates as of today are from 135 USD. At that price this hotel would definitely be categorized as affordable luxury.

The rooms are a little small but it is an older building. The rooms are comfortable, clean, and with all amenities. The hotel staff is very accomodating and have lots of insider tips and information for dining, shows, and other entertainment.

If you are in the Hilton Honors program you may also take advantage of the Honors Lounge. The lounge serves breakfast, snacks and beverages (including alcohol) all day until about 10:00pm. There is no additional charge for the use of the lounge for Honors members - nice perk!

The location of this hotel can't be beat: in the West End, right in the middle of the theater district. It is easy walking distance to most sites and many restaurants and pubs.

Overall, a great hotel with a great location.

The hotel is in an awesome location...if you want to see a theater show. Many of which are right around the corner or within a 5 minute walk. The closest underground station is good hike away, so we made full use of the bus system, which has numerous stops and a dozen or so bus routes in the block around the hotel.

The hotel has a beautiful exterior, which belies its modern contemporary interior . The staff was very friendly and helpful and our room was ready even though it was only 10am!!The room was spacious, and the bathroom was huge! Flat screen TV (although it was kind of small, considering its distance away from the bed), plenty of lighting, very comfortable bed. Big closets and in room safe, blow dryer, coffee maker, etc. Another convenience was that some of the electrical outlets were American plugs (just remember its 220V over there), I plugged my computer and camera charger in without an adapter. (I had one just in case, though!)Room temperature was easily controlled, lots of bright natural light through the windows, but curtains and blinds kept out the light at night.

Used the Executive lounge every day for breakfast in the morning, afternoon tea, and cocktails at night :) the staff was extremely friendly and courteous. Newspapers (including USA today) from all over Europe, and nice TVs to keep you posted on local news, weather, etc. Did not get a chance to use any of the restaurants, but did look into the bar one night and it looked very nice.

The only drawback to the hotel was that hallway noise was easily heard in the room. Every door that shut and every person that walked by (especially if they were talking)sounded as if they were walking through the room. The other slight drawback (and this depends on how you interpret it) was location. It is in the theater district (albeit on the fringe, we could have walked to the Lion King, Dirty Dancing, etc. Many other shows you will have to use a cab to get to them (numerous cabs in front of hotel) However, the hotel is really a good 7-10 minute hike to a good tube station. Buses were great, plentiful, and easy to use...but they cannot get through the morning/afternoon rush hour. This is not the hotel's fault, just circumstance. If you are visiting to see the palaces , churches, museums, etc., there are other Hilton Hotels closer and more convenient. And one last thing, I promise. Would not recommend this hotel to families traveling with small children. There is not much to keep them occupied.

All in all, staying at the Waldorf was a wonderful experience and I would highly recommend staying there. Wonderful business hotel and for honeymooners/couples.

I must say that I owe my entire Waldorf Hotel stay to my best friend Scott. If it were not for him, there is no way that I could have afforded to retreat to the lap of luxury after endless days of hoofing the streets of London to see an endless amount of historic sites!

Having said that, the Waldorf Hilton is situated in the theater district on Aldwych. The hotel was built in 1908 and has a gorgeous exterior to match. However, the inside is very comtemporary and almost no stitch of the early 20th century is visible. As far as transportation goes, if you are interested in utilizing the bus system you are in luck. Many buses having stopping points either in front of the hotel or just down the street. If you would like to use the tube, it is a bit of a walk to the stations surrounding the area. If you have a heavy wallet, the staff can arrange for car service or hail you a cab.

When we arrived, the doorman came out and helped us out of our taxi and took our luggage away for us. The front desk staff was very curteous as well as the executive lounge staff whom we delt with extensively. Our room was actually available earlier than we had been promised which was nice. They will hold your luggage for you if you arrive prior to check in as well. Once we reached our room, it was spacious and comfortable. Our room was kept clean by the housekeeping service and they provided some pretty nice chocolate with our turn-down service. Closets were spacious and everything we needed (an iron, hair dryer, safe, plush hangers, and an umbrella) was all provided for.

We also were granted access to the executive lounge. The lounge was quite nice for a variety of reasons...the first being breakfast! Breakfast consisted of eggs, bacon, smoked salmon, white fish, sausage, fruit, cerela, croissants, bread, yogurt, etc. They also provide many different newspapers and magazines. The second reason was afternoon tea! That time was reserved for having tea or coffee, scones with clotted cream and preserves, tea sandwiches and pastries. The final reason is cocktail time. They have an open bar stocked with beer, vodka, coca-cola, water and hot appetizers are served. We cannot express how thankful we were to have access to the exectuive lounge! It saved us so much money!

We did not have any issues during our stay and were quite satisfied with our experience at the Waldorf Hilton. I'd imagine if you were accustomed to this caliber of hotel, you would not find this information too exciting. But for us, it was the Hilton Honor Points rags-to-riches fantasy come true...just wish the interior of the hotel matched the exterior.

*Note to reader: we did not visit the gym nor the restaurants within the hotel.