The London (July 2018) – Spacious Accommodations
My spouse and I spent two nights at The London on a weekend
in late July 2018. A few months prior, we booked our stay online using the
Hilton Honors website. Because the property offered a significantly discounted
pre-paid rate (an unbelievable $202 per night for a suite!), we booked a
non-refundable and non-cancellable stay. Note that this property is slated to
become a Conrad hotel, the most luxurious brand in the Hilton portfolio.
The London is located in Midtown on West 54th
Street, just a few blocks south of Central Park, in the building that once
housed the RIHGA Royal (a JW Marriott hotel). Many shops and restaurants are
located steps from the hotel. One of the many nice features of the hotel
location is its position adjacent to fractional 6 ½ Avenue, a pedestrian
passageway that leads mid-block between 7th and 6th
Avenues from West 51st to West 57th Street, passing through
privately-owned office buildings (with public spaces/lobbies) and allowing
walkers to cross the streets at crosswalks (which have stop signs and a traffic
light for drivers).
The London offers 500 rooms on 54 floors. (Be sure to use
the correct set of elevator banks, depending on your floor number, because not
all elevators stop at all floors.) The street level of the hotel offers the
reception desk, concierge, bellman, a huge white brick fireplace (now
non-functional but attractive nonetheless), and the door to the hotel
bar/restaurant. We encountered a small issue upon check-in, and a front-desk
representative offered us two drink coupons to use at the hotel’s London Bar,
which also offers food. Because we are Hilton HHonors Diamond members, we
received an invitation to eat buffet breakfast in the bar; however, the offer
covers only $30 toward the $36 per person buffet. (We did not eat breakfast at
the hotel, so we cannot comment on it.) Room service, a 24-hour fitness center,
and meeting and event space is onsite. Although there is no seating/waiting
area in the lobby area, a second-floor mezzanine offers space.
We stayed in London Suite 1212, a 500-square foot suite that
offered an entryway/foyer (which was just large enough for a piece of furniture
that held the weighted mini-bar, ice bucket, and safe. (We were told to take
two VOS waters as our Hilton HHonors welcome amenity, which we were charged for
and then credited back.) The spacious living area held a large desk and chair,
a curved sofa that fit perfectly into the window nook, round coffee table (that
could reportedly be raised to dining height, although we didn’t try it), tiny side
table, modern leather lounge chair, and a wall-mounted flat screen TV. Mirrored
French doors separated the living room from the bedroom. An electronic switch
operates window sheers and blackout curtains in both the living room and in the
bedroom. The bedroom was smaller than the living room, offering a king-size bed
with just enough room for a small nightstand on each side. A flat-screen TV
mounted telescopically to the wall and a padded chest/bench at the foot of the
bed completed the look. (The chest held one of those tiny tabletop ironing
boards and an iron; however, the board did not contain any padding, so that
when we ironed our clothes, it left metal marks on them. We tried using a towel
as a buffer, but that proved ineffective for the heat to transfer through. If
your results are similar to ours, we recommend wearing your clothes wrinkled
instead!) A walk-in closet/luggage room led to the long, narrow white tiled bathroom.
The closet area held a unique free-standing organizational rack and a trouser
valet. Although the vanity was long and there was space for dual sinks, it held
only one. Opposite the vanity was the longest, largest glass shower we have
ever seen, split into two parts with a different type of shower head at each
end (one rainfall, one regular) and a mirror between. (The trade-off for the
double shower is the elimination of a bathtub.) The toilet was located in an
alcove at the far end of the room (it is not separated from the rest of the
bathroom by a door). Wi-Fi is complimentary.
We loved our stay
at The London – the accommodations were spacious, and the hotel location is convenient
to tourist attractions. We have since tried to book another stay there, but we
found that the rates have tripled (the seasons switched from mid-summer to
mid-fall, so that might account for the difference).
