London hotel feedback

We stayed a couple of nights at the Radisson Blu last year with the Best of England tour. Our review is mixed, but that is usually the case.

The hotel has great public spaces - huge lobby, nice (but expensive) bar and restaurant spaces - and the staff was great. Our double room was small and what I described in my notes as "underfurnished." The bed was very small; there were small shelves acting as night stands; there was a desk, with one chair. The wardrobe was lighted, which was a nice touch, and there was a small fridge, also nice.

There was a Nespresso coffee maker, but only 2 pods, one of which was decaf. I asked the staff for more pods, and although I was assured we would get more, they never appeared. There was a kettle for tea, and glasses.

The breakfast was very good, with a large array of both hot and cold choices. I noted that the sausages were good, and plenty of fruit was available. Also eggs, cereals, breads, cold cuts and cheeses, sweets... Oddly enough, the tea was not good.

Although we were staying in London after the tour ended there, we did not opt to remain in this hotel. Although it was clean and well maintained, with a great breakfast, we found the price way out of line. The nightly rate without breakfast was double what we ended up paying for a large room at a Bloomsbury hotel we liked better, a hot breakfast included.

reviews were mixed about the age, physical conditions of the rooms and water temps of the shower.

We didn't have any problems with any of these. It just wasn't our cup of tea, so to speak.

London is expensive and Hotels are no exception.
We recently used the Premier Inn near Victoria Station and were happy with our stay. Price was excellent, still about $240 per night, but most hotels were MORE. Room was small, but adequate. Breakfast was pretty good as well as one dinner we had in the restaurant. You do have to pay extra for meals, but the prices are low. Food is good.

We had no problems with no hot water or unclean rooms.

Last visit ( November 24 ) enjoyed a lenghty stay at the Club Quaters Lincoln Fields in Holborn.

Take a look at reviews to see if it meets your criteria. Places like Sir John Sloanes Museum and Huntertarian museum were close by. The Club quarters website refers to it as Clubquarter Covent Garden Holburn.

5 minute stroll to the Holborn tube station.

We have stayed at the Radisson Blu Hotel S. Ken and would describe it exactly as Jane did.
Good points:
*good breakfast (of course many hotel in London have this)
*good location for visiting the museums within walking distance (The V&A Museum, Natural History, etc.)
*located across the street from a major tube station, Gloucester Road (Piccadilly, Circle, District lines all come through) so getting to and from Heathrow on the tube is a breeze.
Bad points:
It's a HUGE hotel; easy to get lost in. The hallways are extremely narrow and long, winding around one corner, then around the next. It would be a nightmare to exit in the middle of the night if there were a fire.
We only found one elevator which was the size of two phone booths. Four people, max, and every time we wanted to use it, the maid's cart was on it. Not a problem to use the staircase if you can find it.

The South Kensington area is a bit busy....touristy, traffic, crowds on the sidewalks.

If you are looking at this hotel for a stay before or after your tour, I might suggest you choose somewhere else, just to give you another neighborhood to explore. I also did not particularly like this hotel, in view of what else you could have for the same price in London.

Agree with geovagriffith; the Premier Inn near Victoria Station is a good hotel in a good location. You can't go wrong with any of the Premier Inns in London. Very popular on this forum is the one right behind the London Eye. Geovagriffith is right also about the price of London hotels...high. The trick is to book far ahead of time to get your best prices.

Back to the Radisson Blu S. Ken.....
We preferred a more quiet area with less traffic. The area Jane chose to move to, Bloomsbury, was a good choice. There you are right by the British Museum but it's a quieter neighborhood than S. Ken. Good tube stations in Bloomsbury for getting all around.

Good choice posted by Claudia, too.

What are the other two hotels you're considering?

I've stayed there twice, once for a week with a Road Scholar London tour and again on a Road Scholar tour. Both times I had a single room. The first time you opened the door and went up a short staircase to the bedroom and bathroom. It definitely looked like an old townhouses which has been reconfigured to be a hotel...which it is, lol. I think it is 10 town houses merged together. Any time you have a retrofitted old building you are going to have some odd spaces.

I agree with Jane's description.

IF you were going to do the RS London tour I would not hesitate to sign up for the tour and stay there. IF you were going on your own, I might stay elsewhere. On a tour you are going to be pretty busy and will not spend much time at your lodging!

I stayed there 33 years ago. I"m sure a lot has changed since then. LOL.

However, I know the neighborhood very well and it has a lot to offer with the Gloucester Road tube station across the street.

My wife and I have stayed there 5 or 6 times and will be staying there again in December. To me the pros are its access to Heathrow, location by Gloucester Rd. tube station, the staff, and the breakfast host Cecilia.

After our last visit in 2024 I left a less than stellar, somewhat scathing, TripAdvisor review. The furniture in room 408, the tub, and the sink all needed replacing, not to mention water marks on the ceiling, and issues with the window. Management response to my review was that a comprehensive upgrade was planned for the hotel 2025. It’s only because it’s supposedly been refurbished that we’re giving it one last chance.

The hotel actually has two elevators, one near the reception and the other at the far end of the building. They are small, but that’s not unexpected in Europe. While the hallways are narrow, that has never been an issue. Breakfast is fine and convenient when there’s inclement weather.