london

Pattie,
My wife and I used Hilton points to stay in London during our honeymoon a few years ago. We stayed at the Hilton Trafalgar, right on Trafalgar Square. Here are my thoughts: The good: 1. You're right on Trafalgar Square! For walking around London and connecting to sites, it couldn't be beat. 2. The staff were extremely nice. They even decorated our room in rose petals when we arrived. Always willing to help with a problem or to get us a taxi,etc. Nice people. The less than good: 1. It was too modern for our tastes. The entry is through a nightclub/bar. There was no real lobby, just a check-in podium adjoining a room of techno music and partiers. Although, to their credit, the club music and people noise never affected us in our room, but the entrance atmosphere is not what we expected. 2. The rooms were also modern. Nice, spacious, but basically no furniture beyond a bed and desk. I like to unpack and put my clothes in drawers. Well, there were no drawers. I ended up dressing each day from my suitcase which I kept on a shelf in the closet. If the modern, sleek look is something you'd like, it might be a good choice. Personally if given the choice again, we'd have chosen one of the more traditional properties instead. (As an example, in Edinburgh we stayed in the Hilton Caledonian. Now that's luxury!)

All of those areas are well within the Usual Suspects range for a London visit, but each covers a broad area. Soho is full of bars and cafes and people, perhaps more than a bit too full and noisy. It's also near the not-terribly-large Chinatown. Hyde Park is quite large, so knowing which side of the park a hotel is on would be important. Ditto Westminster, which is one of London's borough, and a city in its own right. The way to see London is on foot and via the Underground. I.e., take the Tube, get out, walk, take the Tube someplace else, walk, rinse and repeat. So, I would recommend pointing something like Google Maps at the address of each hotel you are considering and checking what's next door and in the neighborhood.

My husband and I used our Hilton hotel points at the Doubletree Hotel, Westminister. We were there in July, 2012 for ten nights. We were right on the Thames. We could look out our window, to the left and see the river. We walked along the river everyday. It was a SHORT walk to Westminister Abbey, Parliament, Horseguards Parade, Big Ben, Westminister Pier, etc. We picked up the double decker buses right by Big Ben. We could walk so many places or get on the buses and go everywhere. The Doubletree was a nice hotel with breakfast included with our points.