More about InterContinental London
Amazing, renovated hotel
by TripAdvisor Member Worldsmum
We stayed at the newly renovated Intercontinental Park Lane while recently in London. The reviews on Trip Advisor did not reflect the quality of the hotel, because most reviews were posted prior to the renovation. It is a fabulous hotel in a very convenient location. There are buses past the hotel to all the places we wanted to see. We were able to walk to Buckingham Palace and see the changing of the guard. It was centrally located so that it was a short taxi ride to each tourist location we wanted to go to. The hotel was beautifully appointed, the beds very comfortable. Eating in the hotel was very very expensive. The are it was located in was safe and we walked from there even at night. It was a fabulous choice for us.
Absolutely perfect
by TripAdvisor Member nurseynursey
Just spent a weekend at the intercontinental, London. It was heaven. The staff in these hotels are always amazingly helpful and pleasant. Being under 30 people don't often feel that you should be entitled to a little bit or luxury or occasionally respect, but here is a true gem.
The location couldn't be better, with easy access to some serious shopping activity or a multitude of greenery all around. Can't ask for much more than that in the city.
The hotels just undergone a £80 million refurb and its doen it justice. Te rooms ahev a classic decor with a great contemporary feel including bose sound system and wall mounted bang-olfsen tv. We got upgraded to a superior room which had an enormous bed and loads of room to boot. Breakfast great with all you could want. I've heard that the restaurant theo randall is superb with innovative and exciting menus, but alas dit not manage to dine here on this occasion.
This is great for everyone who wants a little bit of heaven at a bit of a price. We got one night free which made it reasonable for us!!
If you are gonna stay here, join the 'priority club' scheme. Its free, and if you're like me and enjoy little thoughtful 'extras' its worth it!
Have fun x
disappointing
by TripAdvisor Member Shirley/John
Delighted by excellent experiences at many other Intercontinental hotels worldwide, including their creme de la creme hotels in Paris, Amsterdam and Hong Kong all of which possess a significant wow factor, we had been looking forward to the re-opening of the Intercontinental in London following its major refurbishment. As things turned out, our stay left us disappointed.
First impressions are vital in any walk of life but this hotel failed to make any initial impact on us whatsoever. Nothing can obviously be done about the exterior – an unimposing example of 1960-70 concrete and glass architecture - but once inside it is similarly underwhelming with the term plain being the most appropriate description of the public areas. The lobby area is relatively small for its class, plain in design and lacking ambience with a complete absence of any display of splendour normally associated with hotels in this sector of the market. This made it appear to be in a much lower league than the other Intercontinental Hotels in which we’ve stayed, despite being among the dearest, something which surprised us as we were expecting London to be one of the group’s flagships.
The bedroom was attractive enough with quality furnishings and fittings including an upscale sound system and LCD TV but not without its shortcomings. We had an executive room which came with excellent views of Aspley House and Hyde Park but it wasn’t particularly big and one side of the bed was very close to the wardrobe making it a bit of squeeze when hanging things up and when getting in and out of bed. There was only a single easy chair which meant that, with two of us in the room, we had to take it in turns to sit in comfort – not what we wanted after a hard day tramping around town!!! Also the desk was very small compared with other executive rooms which didn’t make it very easy for us to work through the pile of papers that we’d brought with us. Finally the bathroom was small and plain - not for those looking for a bit of luxury when performing their ablutions. When we mentioned these points to the receptionist when checking out, she suggested that we book a junior suite for our future stays. A fair point, perhaps, but on the other hand it would have been a reasonable expectation for rooms costing UK£300 per night to be of a sufficient standard to comfortably work and relax in.
The quality of food at dinner at Theo Randall’s was excellent as we would have expected – the calamari was the best we’d ever tasted - but like the lobby area, the décor was fairly plain so perhaps not ideal for those who enjoy dining in more lavish surroundings. When we first arrived at 7.30, there was a high staff to diner ratio which meant that our glasses were topped up by at least half a dozen different servers in the first 15 minutes but as the restaurant filled up they became less attentive though service levels remained excellent. Breakfast was served in the Cookbook Cafe which was plainly furnished like the other public areas of the hotel making it more like a burger bar in appearance. It was table service with limited variety and we ended up waiting over 30 minutes for it to be served. For its price – from memory we think that it was £25 each – and the small size of the portions, it must have been the worst value in town, which together with unprofessional service made a bad start to the day for us. We understand that there is to be a move towards a buffet style breakfasts in the near future which hopefully will bring about improvements.
The best thing about the London Intercontinental is its location. Situated directly opposite two Royal Parks on the junction of Park Lane with Piccadilly, it is prime real estate within easy reach of the attractions of the Mayfair, West End, Knightsbridge and Kensington with the tube and bus stops nearby for those not wanting to walk or catch a cab. All in all, however, we have stayed at far better hotels in central London in the same price range or less and our advice to anyone valuing decent sized bedrooms and bathrooms in opulent surroundings is to check out other hotels before making a booking.
Top Class service even though it's not quite finished!
by TripAdvisor Member JAT74L
We had booked two nights in a Royal Park Exec room but on arrival at 1430 the room type was unavailable. We were offered a holding room on the 8th floor which was quite pleasant but a bit on the small side and were advised that we would be contacted when our own room was ready but after waiting 4 hours we decided just to stay put and move next day. The hotel does not yet have it's full room inventory and they seem to be constantly juggling things.
We used both an "Inner Court" and "Royal Park Executive" room during our two night stay and found both to have extremely comfortable beds and amenities such as B&O TV and BOSE wave radio/cd. The Exec room was larger with an armoir and marble floored entrance area. The bathrooms contained Elemis toiletries and the exec room hard a large "rain" shower over the bath rather than a separate cubicle.
Breakfast was included in our rate so we took this in the "Cookbook" Cafe one morning and had room service the next. Both were well presented and offered high quality items (eggs are cooked to order in the cafe) although I don't think I would stomach paying £67 for room service breakfast (for 2) had it not been included.
The public areas of the hotel are very well appointed with lots of nice flowers. The bar area offers a sudued atmosphere in which to enjoy some of it's extensive offerings.
We felt very well looked after at the Hotel and were sent a bottle of chilled Champagne on the Sat night (for the inconvienience). The staff are competent, proffesional and extremely courteous so we're looking forward to a return visit when the Spa & Lounge facilities are ready.
Nearly Perfect
by TripAdvisor Member Chicagoanatheart
Stayed in a Royal Park Room for 3 nights.
Pros: Flat screen tv, Marble bathroom with rain shower, unbelievable view of the Duke of Wellington's house & Hyde Park, well appointed furnishings and comfortable bed.
Negatives: Room on the smaller side and the service was not necessarily exceptional.
Overall I highly recommend this hotel for anyone making a visit to London. Its no Dorchester, but still way above places like the Hilton or Sheraton on Park Lane.
MIxed reviews
by TripAdvisor Member askare
Staff was very friendly and helpful especially in the lobby food area and rooms were quite spacious. In May 2007 when I stayed at the Intercontinenal in London I had a Jr. suite in which the air circulation system in the bedroom was not wokring. When the maitainance man arrived, tool belt full, he spent 10 minutes inspecting the system before telling me he would send someone else up to check it. No one arrived but as it was late I left it till the next moring when I spoke with the front desk about the problem. They said it would be "Taken care of" but during the three nights not a breath of air emerged from the vents. No contact of any kind was made and when I checked out and told the front desk the system was not working, they thanked me for the info. They had no record of a previous contact from me.
Finally, in spite of advertisements, beware of the Italian restaurant at the hotel. When it is empty on a Friday night at 10:00, enough said.
A superb hotel
by TripAdvisor Member Kingtimber
We only stayed one night - but thought the hotel was superb. Staff friendly and attentive - room spotless; and all the benefits of my Platinum status in Priority Club were honoured and more. Highly recommended, with one small exception - the breakfast is very expensive, but plenty of places nearby to fulfill your early morning eating!
Beautiful hotel, superb service
by TripAdvisor Member crazyfish
I'm sure the reviewer who said to ignore the comments made before the refurb was correct ... we stayed here this weekend (2/3 Jun) and the hotel was exceptional. We had a Mayfair Room which was very spacious with a B&O flat screen TV and a Bose sound system, the bed was sooooo comfortable and the pillows were amazing. The bathroom was quite small but beautifully decorated and equipped - big bath and a massive shower head which was like standing under a waterfall :o)
The staff were extremely polite and attentive, and anticipated our every needs. The complimentary fruit and drink was a lovely touch on the first night (PriorityClub Ambassador) and we felt like valued guests even in such a large hotel.
The location was also spot on, right outside Hyde Park Corner tube station with plenty of buses passing right outside if that's your preferred method of transport. I would not hesitate for one second to book again as we had a fabulous stay. Well done Intercontinental!
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