Hilton London Metropole
The Hilton London Metropole is located close to Paddington station and next to the tubestation Edgware Road, which is served by the Bakersfield Line and Circle, District Line and Hammersmith Line. The A 40 could also be easily accessed from the hotel.
The hotel is huge and consists of three different buildings. There is the east wing, which is right at the corner of Edgware and Harrow Road, the tower wing, which is the tallest part of the hotel building with 23 floors and the west wing with 14 floors. The exterior of the hotel is not very nice and especially the tower is quite ugly.
The lobby and the main entrance are in the east wing building. There is one entrance from the corner Edgware Road and Harrow and one directly opposite. There a 7 desks to check in and check out guests and one desk of the concierge. Depending on the time of the day all 7 desks are staffed. In addition to the five regular desk are two special desks serving Hilton HHonors elite members.
The check in area is on most times during the day quite busy and noisy, which given the size of the hotel is not really a surprise.
To reach the room one has to walk to either a so-to-say second lobby called “Tower Lobby” if you are staying the east wing or tower building or even further to the “West Wing Lobby”.
The above mentioned Tower Lobby hosts also the taxi stand and a number of chairs and desks and free Wi-Fi.
The hotel offers different room categories divided into “Hilton Guestroom”; “Deluxe”, “Superior” and “Executive”. Suites come as “King Suite”, “Studio Suite”, “Octagon Suite” and “Presidential Suite”.
“Hilton Guestrooms” are between 18 and 23 square metre and offer a minibar, tea and coffee facilities, iron and ironing board and have a desk. These rooms are available with a king size bed, a queen size bed or with twin beds. There are also Familiy rooms which come with triple beds or with one queen bed and one single bed. These rooms do not offer bathrobes and slippers.
“Deluxe” rooms are also between 18 and 23 square metres and mostly located on higher floors. The amenities are similar to those in “Hilton Guestrooms” but also include bathrobes and slippers. These rooms are available with a king size bed, a queen size bed or with two single beds (twin beds).
“Superior” Rooms are larger and offer 30 to 34 square metres and have a slight different room design with a more modern and appearance. These rooms have also larger windows. The amenities are the same as in the Deluxe room. These rooms are available with a king size bed or a queen size. There are also Familiy rooms which come with two queen beds and one sofa bed for up to four adults or two adults and up to three children.
“Executive Rooms” are located close to the executive lounge and offer 22 to 28 square metres. The design is using brighter colours than the “Superior” Rooms and the furnishing is of higher quality than those in the “Deluxe” rooms. These rooms are available with a king size bed or twin beds.
The “King Suite” is between 48 and 52 square metres and offer a separate living and sleeping area. Using a light brown colour scheme and calms tones, the design is modern with reminiscent to the 80ies which seems a bout outdated. Like all suites, the suite offers access to the executive lounge. The suite offers a king bed with the option for an additional rollaway bed.
The “Studio Suite” offers 55 square metres in an apartment stye layout with a separate living room with a kitchen and a bed room. The design of the “Studio Suite” is similar to the “Superior Rooms”. The suite offers a king bed with the option for an additional rollaway bed.
There is only one “Octagon Suite” in the hotel offering 67 square metres in an unique octagon layout with a separate living room. The design is similar to those of “Executive Rooms” and this suite is located above the executive lounge. The suite offers a king bed with the option for an additional rollaway bed.
The only “Presidential Suite” offers 90 square metres with a dedicated dining, living and sleeping room. The design is not the most modern one. The suite offers a king bed with the option for an additional rollaway bed.
The hotel offers a number of food outlets.
There is ”Fiamma Restaurant”, which is located on the ground floor.
It is open for breakfast from 06:30 to 10:30 on weekdays and 06:30 to 11:30 on weekends. Breakfast is served as English breakfast buffet. Available are hot dishes like baked tomatoes, baked beans, sausages, ham, and eggs sunny side up, scrambled and boiled eggs. There is no cooking station for made to order dishes like omelets. Available are also cucumber and paprika, tomatoes, olives, salmon, ham and salami, jam and comfiture, fresh fruit and cereals. A variety of rolls and bread as well as different types of
pastries, doughnuts and muffins is also available. Juices (orange, grapefruit, pineapple and apple) are available on the buffet while coffee and tea is served by staff.
The restaurant serves also lunch and dinner and is open again from 12:00 on weekdays and 13:00 on weekends until 22:30 in the evening. The food offering are mostly international and Mediterranean dished ranging from fish over pizza to pasta and grills.
Next to “Fiamma” is the “Sports Bar” serving classic burgers, pizza and appetizers if it comes to food and cocktails and premium draughts beers if it comes to beverages. Soft drinks and a selection of open wines are also available. The screens are mostly turned on and show sport events which means the place can often be busy if major sports events are shown.
Sports Bar is open from 12:00 to 23:00 on weekdays and 13:00 to 23:00 on weekends.
The lounge bar “”EDG Bar & Lounge” is close to the check in desks and offers sofas and armchairs in addition to a bar. It is open to the lobby and therefore the area could be noisy and busy with guest passing by on their way to their rooms or the meeting rooms. It is open daily from 07:00 to 02:00. Available are mostly beverages and also afternoon tea is served.
Also on the ground floor next to the check in desk is “Chocolate Corner” which is open from 06:30 to 18:00 on weekdays and 07:30 to 18:00 on weekend.
Located on the top floor of the tower is the restaurant and bar “Minako at the Met”. It serves a modern Asian fusion menu in the restaurant and fresh made cocktails in the bar, both offerings view over London towards Oxford Street, Marble Arch and Hyde Park.
The restaurant and bar are open from 18:00 to 23:00 on all days except Sundays.
The hotel offers a gym and wellness area on the second floor of the east wing. There is a small gym with three treadmills, bikes, steppers, a rowing machine and also machines for body training as well as weights and aerobic equipment. It is quite small and cramped and the machines are not new and the area appears a bit run down. Towels are provided by the hotel.
The pool is medium sized and 12.5 metres long and approximately 4 metres in wide. There are also a steam room and a sauna. Locker rooms and showers are available.
The gym and pool is open all days from 06:00 to 23:00 and quite often very busy.
The executive lounge is located on the second floor of the east wing. It is open from 07:00 to 23:00 on weekday and till 21:00 on weekends. The lounge is not very big compared to the size and quite often very busy. A continental breakfast is served from 07:00 to 10:30 on weekdays and till 11:00 on weekends in a more relaxed atmosphere than in the restaurant. If one is not too hungry, the offerings are okay.
Afternoon tea is available from 15:00 till 18:00 all days during which sandwiches and cakes are available. The evening reception with a selection of canapés and alcoholic beverages is held from 18:00 till 20:30 on weekdays and till 20:00 on weekends.
Refreshments, i.e. non-alcoholic beverages and coffee / tea, are offered throughout the day. Children under the age of 16 are not allowed into the lounge after 17:00, but this policy is not enforced from my point of view.
The hotel offers a business centre on weekdays from 07:00 till 19:00 in the tower wing.
The hotel has also 17 multifunctional meeting rooms, 4 boardrooms, each for 16 delegates and 40 conference rooms for individual use. It also a three major conference suites for 800 to 1600 delegates and offers pillar free space up to 4100 square metres and can set up banquets for up to 2000 people and has a reception area in the west wing.
stays November 07, 2014
direct linkt to hotel:
Hilton London Metropole
Executive Club
Arrival Date: November 07, 2014
Departure Date: November 09, 2014
Room type booked: Standard (got Superior)
Rate Plan: Cash and Points
Room Number: 996
Room Rate: 20000 HHonors Points + 55.85 GBP / night
Status of Guest Program: Diamond
I arrived in the hotel around 16:15 by walking ten minutes from Paddington station.
The lobby was very busy and long lines had formed at the regular check in desks and two guest queued at the HHonors desk. Five agents were serving the regular line while two desks were serving Hilton HHonors members. Despite only two guests ahead of me, it took close to 15 minutes before it was my turn. In one case it seems one guest was paying separately for more than one room while the other agent was quite slow and explained everything in great details. As it was my turn, I was welcomed in the hotel and after
retrieving the booking thanked for being a loyal HHonors Diamond Member. The agent mentioned that I was staying for one night, which was not quite correct, as I had made two separate bookings at separate times and requested them to be merged prior to my arrival at the hotel but did not get a reply. She was able to assign me the same room for both nights but not able to program the key for both nights and asked me to see the front desk or the lounge agent on Saturday morning. This happened frequently if one does
not book both nights together in so far I more or less expected it. She also verified my ID and put a hold on my credit card for each of my two nights separately. I was also informed by her about breakfast times and that I could have breakfast either in the lounge, where a small continental breakfast would be served, of at Flammia restaurant, where a full English breakfast would be available. Overall it took close to ten minutes before all formalities were finished.
I think this is way too long. During my wait the lines have grown significantly. On the other hand, it was welcomed that she told me, what she was doing instead of quietly typing and swiping cards and printing papers like in other hotels. Nevertheless 25 minutes from entering the hotel till I was on my way to my room seems a very long time. She was friendly and check in was certainly a nice experience, but given the long lines and the waiting time, there should be done something to speed things up. A possible
solution could be to hand a letter explaining all benefits to the guests and ask them to see the lounge agent if there are further question. It would also be good to receive a map of the hotel given the size and different building. Explaining everything needs time and this was a major problem here. A colleague arriving while I was waiting in the lines had to wait nearly 45 minutes. As a HHonors Diamond Members this is not really acceptable.
My room was in the west wing. I had booked a room with two king size beds as these were the only room type available as Cash and Points Award. In so far I got a Superior Family Room.
The layout was the usual layout of an average hotel room. A small hallway leads from the entrance to the room. In the hallways was the entrance to the bathroom, which was well sized and offered a sink, a toilet and a bath. There was enough space to store items like toothbrush or razor next to the sink and two bottles of shampoo, bath gel, lotion and conditioner were offered. Four towels in small, medium and large sized were offered. Unfortunately there was no vanity mirror, only the standard mirror behind
the sink, which became steamed up after a hot shower.
At the bath was mould and the shower curtain was also in the need of a replacement as was the shower head. In so far, maintenance should replace them and do also some smaller maintenance works in the bathrooms.
The room offered a large window to Harrow Road and the flyover and also good views over London. The window was also very clean. The room itself features two queen beds on the right side with bedside table at each side and one shared bedside tables between both beds which also host the alarm clock. At each side of the bed was a reading lamp.
A lounge chair was placed in front of the window next to a table. Opposite the bed was a sideboard with drawers and the flat TV on top of it. Next to the window was the desk, large enough to work on it and it also offered international power outlets including European plugs and LAN. A desk lamp and a phone were placed on the desk. However, I disliked the mirror at the desk.
The minibar and tea and coffee facilities were part of the closet in the hallway which also host iron and ironing board and the safe. There was enough space to hang clothes for a business trip of a couple of days. The room used a dark colour scheme for the furniture and carpet and a light brown for the walls. This gave the room a dark but cosy appearance. There were halogen spots in the ceiling which added to the warm appearance of the room. During the day, the large window offered enough sunlight.
The furniture was in good condition with a few scratches.
I had breakfast in the restaurant on the first day as I was up quite early. The offerings were good and restocked frequently, the service was attentive but the restaurant became very busy during the 40 minutes I spend there and the noise level increased significantly. A few guests behaved also not very appropriate by talking very loud and taking rolls and pastries with their fingers and put them back in the basket. I do not blame the hotel, but certainly the other guests are also a factor if one is satisfied
with a stay in a hotel. In so far the size of the hotel could be a disadvantage. I like the offerings and the quality was okay though not outstanding (but honestly I did not expect this), but most certainly I would only go there early.
On the second day, I passed the restaurant, which was quite busy given that it was again early for a Sunday. The lounge was not that busy at this early hour (07:45), but the offerings were limited to scrambled eggs, sausages, bacon, cereals, fruit, bread and a small selection of pastries and juices.
During the afternoon different sandwiches and cakes are available for afternoon tea, which were restocked frequently.
The evening reception includes a red and white wine and Prosecco. As hot items different quiches were available and vegetables, cheese and bread / rolls as cold offerings on both days I had been there. I found the offerings, especially compared to other Hilton hotels, a bit limited and the quality was also a little bit disappointing. Service was a bit also slow.
The lounge was busy on Friday Evening, but coming early helped to secure a chair and a table.
The gym was busy and so was the pool, nevertheless I had not too much difficulties for a quick 40 minutes exercise on the treadmills but skipped pool given that it was very busy.
Check out was again slow and I had to wait 10 minutes before it was my turn. The check-out procedure however did not take that long and in three minutes the folio was printed and I was on my way to Paddington. However I had to request the stay to be credited as this did not happen automatically.
Overall it was an average stay. The check in procedure took too long and gym and pool are very small compared to the size of the hotel and therefore busy. The offerings in the lounge are also only average. The breakfast in the restaurant is okay, though also quite often very busy and especially noisy.
The room however was okay and except the bathroom in good shape. Would I stay there again. I do think so, as he hotel is quite often available as Cash and Points stay and does also offer during the weekend very competitive rates for a hotel in London. The hotel also offers easy access to Heathrow by Heathrow Express and also easy access to the London Underground Network and in so far even an alternative to an airport hotel. But it would not be my first choice if other options are available.
