Review: Hilton Green Park London

A few weeks ago, I flew over to London for the weekend with some friends to see Les Miserables. The big debate of the weekend was where to stay; rates at the two Hyatt properties were insane, and the Starwood hotels were really no better.

I did the absurd thing of spending 60,000 Hilton HHonors points a night at the Hilton Green Park, which I later ended up getting a partial refund of.

The Hilton Green Park is located directly on the Picadilly line, which goes right to the airport. If you haven’t taken the Underground from Heathrow airport to central London before, you can read my experience here. From the Green Park stop, the hotel is two blocks away.

As far as location, the Hilton Green Park really is in a phenomenal spot – it’s about a 10 minute walk from Picadilly Circus itself, a 5 minute walk to Buckingham Palace and a 2 minute walk to the Green Park Underground, which services tons of prime location stops. If you’re looking to see a show in the West End, it’s a great location.

Approaching the hotel, it blends into the block and looks as if it’s part of a row of houses, making it quite un-hotel like. You actually might not notice that it’s a hotel until you get closer to the front door.

Walking through the lobby, it’s basic and no frills. Checking in, I was thanked for being a Hilton Gold member, a status I get from the American Express Platinum Card. I was “upgraded” from a single room, to a double room. My room was on the first floor, so I took the elevator up one floor, and my room was just across the way.

Opening the door, my first impression was that the room was extraordinarily out dated. The carpet had a large stain on the floor, and you had to step up a few stairs to get to the bedroom portion of the room.

To the left was a desk and television, and a large arm chair in the middle of the room (which I probably could have done without because it took up so much room in this small space).

The bed was on the other side, and noticeably, there was no electrical outlet near the bed, which is a huge annoyance of mine. Now, let me chat a quick bit about the comfort of the bad, or, rather, lack thereof. This bed was terrible – it was hard as a rock, and hardly had any give to it. It was a good thing I was tired from the jet lag because otherwise it would have been very difficult to fall asleep in.

The room as a whole was noticeably small. I know European hotels traditionally have much smaller rooms than those in the United States, but this one was really small. Going back down the stairs, the bathroom was on the left. Featuring a sink, a toilet and the tub, it was again noticeably small like the bedroom. The bath had a large side to it, making it difficult to get in and out.

Breakfast was included as a Hilton Gold member, and while I didn’t take any pictures, it was v very unmemorable. The breakfast buffet had the English basics, but lacked really any true variety and breadth. I did appreciate that breakfast went until 11am, which is great for lazy travelers like myself who like to sleep in. 🙂

My Take

Overall, location is the big winner for this property. Everything else seems on the downside – the rooms are small, breakfast basic, and hotel severely outdated. It’s not worth the standard 60,000 Hilton Honors points I paid, though if you value a prime location, you may find this property more appealing.