Darlington Hyde Park
Hotel
by hayward68Hotel
It's located on Sussex Gardens which is a street filled with hotels. About a 5 to 10 minute walk to Paddington Station so handy if arriving from Heathrow and taking the Heathrow Express.
My room was on the 1st floor though actually it was half a floor up, which meant I took my suitcase up one flight on the lift, down the end of the hall and down half a flight of stairs. Realized later that I could have done past the lift, through the doors and drag suitcase up half a flight of stairs. The hotel takes up two Victorian townhouses which is why some rooms are not on the same level as the elevator.
However, my room was a decent size for a single and the bathroom was quite nice. What was great about the bathroom is that, although it only had a shower stall, there was a large ledge most of the way around the room which allowed me to spread my stuff out, always a plus. The towels could be hung over the heater, doubling as a towel warmer or drying rack if doing some laundry.
My room was a bit different in that you opened the door into a hallway which the bathroom was off of to the right, then at the end of this small hallway was another door leading to the room. It's a fire door so must remain closed. And the room and bathroom were bright as there were lots of windows, 3 in the bedroom alone.
The bed was a small single, a TV supplied along with tea and coffee making facilities, and biscuits!
The hotel was a lounge in the reception room if you feel like hanging out there and reading a paper, someone was doing this while I checked out.
Access to the hotel is either by your hotel room key (like a credit card) or by buzzer. When you first arrive you must buzz reception to get in until you receive your room key.
A great feature to this hotel is the rooms all come with a small refridgerator which makes it easier to eat cheaply in the city. I had a long bus ride the following day so was able to stock up on food and store them until I left for the bus.
Breakfast is included and is available in the basement of the hotel but this room is bright as there is a skylight. There's a buffet and a hot cooked breakfast is available as well. I helped myself to juice and buns until my breakfast arrived.
I managed to get a price of ?55 for my single room, rack rate is ?95, from www.londontown.com
