Doubletree by Hilton London Ealing
The Hilton Doubletree Ealing is located in Ealing, close to Ealing Common station, which is served by the Central Line and the Piccadilly Line. There is a direct tube service from Central London whereas one has to change trains at Acton Town if traveling to Ealing from London Heathrow.
The hotel is situated in a residential area, but Ealing Broadway with shops and restaurants is just a one stop ride by tube or a 15 to 20 minutes walk.
The hotel has been renovated in 2013 at the time when it joined the Doubletree chain. It is L shaped and has five floors.
The ground floor is divided into different areas, which are all open-plan and only divided by arranged bookshelves but not by walls. The main check-in area is set back from the main entrance and has three terminals to check in and out guests, one of them is a dedicated Hilton HHonors desks. The desks are usually staffed with two agents, with all three terminals manned in peak times.
To the left is the W5 Grill & Bar with an open seating followed by the main restaurant.
To the right hand side are sofas and armchairs and the elevator to the rooms.
The gym is also located on the ground floor behind the lobby.
The lobby is a bit dark as natural light comes only from the windows at the bar and the rear entrance door. Nevertheless with the use of warm colours with a mostly light and dark brown colour scheme give a cosy impression. Personally I would have chosen a slightly brighter brown colour scheme.
The brown colour scheme is used throughout the ground floor and also in variations in the floors where the guest rooms are located.
The hotel offers rooms in different categories.
The regular guest room is quite small but like all rooms newly renovated. It comes with a walk in shower, an iPod docking station and a Nespresso coffee machine. WiFi has to be paid in these rooms unless you are at least Hilton HHonors Gold member. There is a desk with an ergonomic chair.
The deluxe guest room is slightly larger and offers in addition to the facilities of the regular room free WiFi and complimentary mineral water. Deluxe room offer the Sweet Dreams by Doubletree Bed. Deluxe rooms come with a King bed, a Queen bed or twin beds.
The hotel also offers a number of junior suites.
The junior suite offers in addition to the facilities of the deluxe room bathrobes and upgraded bathroom amenities. The suite has also a seating area and is either available with a king or queen bed.
Depending on the occupancy and the time of check in, an upgrade from regular to deluxe for a HHonors Diamond Member will be done, but one should not rely on it.
The W5 Grill & Bar uses the same colour scheme as the lobby. It is open for breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea and dinner. It consists of two parts. There is an open lounge area right at the entrance to the restaurant / bar, which is not separated by doors from the main lobby while the main restaurant is further to the left.
Breakfast is served from 06:30 to 10:00 on weekdays and 06:30 to 11:00 on weekends as buffet. The selection on the buffet consists of hash brown, sausages, bacon, mushroom, grilled tomatoes, cereals, fresh fruit, jam, cheese, bread and pastries. Different juices are also available. Coffee and tea is served by staff; cappuccino, latte macchiato and espresso are available on request but have to be paid separately and are not part of the beverage selection of the breakfast buffet.
The Grill serves steaks, salads and burgers and other grilled specialties. In summer a small the outdoor terrace is available
Cocktails and small dishes are served in the bar in a relaxed lounge area which also serves coffee and tea throughout the day.
The price for a menu is okay, slightly above what you are paying in the nearby restaurants, but the quality is also good.
The gym is small and offers steppers, two treadmills among machines for body training. Water and towels are provided by the hotels. The machines are new and in good condition.
Stays March 26, 2015
direct linkt to hotel Doubletree by Hilton London Ealing
Arrival Date: March 26, 2015
Departure Date: March 27, 2015
Room type booked: Queen Guest Room
Rate Plan: Cash and Points (Category 4)
Room Number: 527
Room Rate: 32.00 GBP + 12000 HHonors Points
Status of Guest Program: Diamond
I arrived at the hotel by tube from London Heathrow after a short three minute walk from Ealing Common tube station.
I was welcomed at the hotel by the front desk agent who checked me in. The reservation was retrieved from the system and I showed given my ID to the agent who thanked me for being a loyal Hilton HHonors Diamond member. He confirmed, that I had booked a cash-and-points reservation but was sorry to inform me, that they were close to fully booked and for this reason could not offer an upgrade to a deluxe room. The hotel was solid booked and rates had increased significantly during the weeks before my stay, but there
were selling rooms of all categories at this time. He mentioned that I would get a small bottle of red wine as a compensation for the not-available upgrade. This was a nice touch and with at least one weeding I assume they were expecting to sell the bigger rooms. He also informed me about the time when breakfast is served and that I would receive a full warm breakfast as HHonors Diamond Members. I asked for a late check out at 13:00 and was also offered 14:00 if this would mean I did not have to rush, which was
a nice touch. I was addressed by name when it was appropriate.
My room was on the fifth floor which seems to be the dedicated HHonors floors.
The room was quite small. A short and small hallway leads from the entrance to the room. The closet was part of the hallway with limited room to store clothes. The In-room safe took additional space out of the available space for clothes and so did iron and ironing board.
The bathroom could be accessed from the hallway and was also small. A walk in shower with was on the right side while the sink was on the left side. A heated mirror covered the space behind the sink which also had enough space to store the usual utensil like toothbrush, razor, etc. Two towels of medium and large size were placed in a rack under the sink. There was no vanity mirror available and the hair-dryer was placed in one of the bedside tables. Bathroom amenities were available but I was disappointed to
see that they were not the Crabtree & Evelyn brand I am used to get in the US. The water pressure was okay though the water temperature was changing constantly between warm and hot and the glass panel was a bit too short to avoid water dripping on the floor.
The room was small. To the left was the bed along with two bedside tables. There were also two lamps on each side of the bed which was covered by a wooden frame with a beige leather part in the lower part. On one bedside table was the iPod docking station while on the left one was the phone. This was quite good as the desk was also on this side of the room facing the wall to the bathroom and therefore it was easy to reach the phone while working on the desk. The desk was large enough to work on it with a laptop
and also place papers and documents next to it. A desk lamp was available and two UK and one German / Europe plug. Next to the desk were a fridge and tea and coffee facilities / Nespresso machine.
Opposite the bed was a small bank with additional storage space and the 41 inch flat screen TV. Given the small rooms size, there was no other seating available than the desk chair.
They were four halogen spots at the ceiling, which is rarely seen in hotel rooms.
The space to store luggage was limited and this could be a problem if two people with two larger pieces of luggage stay in the room. I would suggest to book a Deluxe room as this offers a bit more space.
Two bottles of water were placed close to the Nespresso machine.
The WiFi worked, but I had some problem to reconnect the next day and also to connect a second device.
The room was in good condition but there were a few scratches at the connecting door and at the lower part of the wall in the small hallway and at the wall, but nothing serious. The room was also clean and there were no hidden dust in corners or parts of the rooms, which are not easy to reach during regular housekeeping service.
The room uses a warm colour scheme similar to these in the public area of the hotel. A combination of dark and light brown colour gave the room a warm and cosy appearance. The lighting was good and all light could be switched on and off from the bed. There was also a central switch at the entrance where the room key had to be placed.
Air condition worked without drought and was controlled electronically.
I could hear some noise from the street in front of the hotel. The room to the back might be quieter but the view towards the park in front of the hotel is nicer.
The amenity of a small bottle of wine (0,375 litres) and four pralines were delivered round about two hours after I checked in. A real turn down service was not offered but I was asked in the evening if I need new water bottles or anything else.
The mattress was okay and I had a good night sleep. It was not too soft but also not too hard.
I had breakfast in the restaurant the selection and the quality of the food was good. The buffet was restocked frequently but at some time there were not plates and bowls available any more. A larger group of some 20 persons has had breakfast at the same time and they left all at once, which meant staff was busy clearing the tables and missed that crockery was no longer available on the buffet. But this could happen and I would not say that the restaurant was understaffed. Staff was friendly, though lacking a
bit of organisation.
Check out was quick. I was addressed by name and I was asked if everything was okay during my stay. The folio was not correct, but I did not notice it immediately. Before I could contact the hotel, the amount in dispute was released and credited to my credit card. Points showed up for the cash part of the booking on my HHonors account.
Overall I would stay there again. The hotel is close to the airport, but not an airport hotel and the city of London is easy to reach by public transportation while the rates at this hotel are not as high as in central London.
The room are renovated, though the standard rooms are small and okay for a short stay or if travelling light, but not for a longer stay. Staff was also very friendly.
I would stay there again, depending on my plans for London and where I need to be.
