The Waldorf Hilton, London — Hotel in London

Have to say this was probably one of the worst Hilton properties I've stayed in. (other than the NEC)

Paid £300 for a superior queen room for a Saturday night.

Upon check in, the guy at the desk really couldn't be bothered.

Wasn't acknowledged as a GOLD HH Member, mumbled about being upgraded to an Executive Queen but he made no mention of the Executive Lounge, where it was and the opening times. He also never mentioned breakfast, where it was or the times it was served. In fact, other than mumbling and giving us our room cards he didn't say anything at all. Not the service I usually receive at a Hilton.

Once we got to the room, it was an accessible room, not a problem for us. It was nice and spacious, the bathroom was large and spacious, but I have no idea how anyone with mobility issues would actually use it. There was nowhere to hang or put a towel when in the shower, other than on the towel rail the otherside of the bathroom, some 8-10 foot away. There was also nowhere in the shower to put any toiletries / shampoo, etc other than on the floor.

The windows were absolutely FILTHY. I don't think they've been cleaned for YEARS. And there is no excuse not to clean them. They all open inwards into the room. (see photos) The lighting in the room was dire! The light next to the dressing table and infront of the mirror was old, stained and fitted with an old fluorescent fitting not suitable for getting ready. My wife really struggled to find anywhere in the room to do her makeup, you couldn't even use the natural light from the windows as they were so dirty ( you can see in the picture a small clean bit to the left, What made it even more perculiar was the vanity mirror was half covered by the TV!

The following morning after a late night out with friends, we arose late and I called reception to ask when breakfast was being served. I was told 10am, it was 10 past. Damn! As I went to hang up she said "oh wait, no it's 11 as it's a weekend!".

We promptly went to breakfast, which is set in a lovely grand hall. The food selection was superb, however the service was lacking.

We were shown to a table for 2 and bought cutlery, which contained NO spoons. The table had no condiments (salt / pepper) and looking around it seemed to be hit and miss as to whether you got a table with such basics. We were not asked if we'd like tea / coffee. I had to find someone to ask. When the Tea arrived, again there were no spoons so I had to flag someone down to get us one.

I have to say, the uniforms that the staff wear are not flattering at all, and do nothing, think Victorian chamber maids. It does nothing for the venue.

Again, on checkout I made a point of handing my keys in rather than using the drop box, and was not asked how our stay was.

The only saving grace was the Executive Lounge which we managed to pop into before our night out. The staff here were very welcoming and attentive. Free flowing drinks and a small plate of Canapés were brought to the table along with a very nice selection of nibbles.

All in all, I've stayed in far better premier inn's and I would expect much better from a Hilton.

Update to Hiltons reply. No one has contacted my directly. I will...

Read on to the end as this has again become a great hotel since my original review posted below.

From almost two years ago: Was a good hotel but apart from the public areas it is failing fast. Trading on past glory ? Perhaps. Have been staying here at least twice a year for the last ten years or so and it has declined significantly. I've belonged to the Hilton club(Homage) which initially bought certain benefits to regular guests including occasional free rooms, but the last few times when staying you are, as a member, treated as if you are a 'Woucher' cut price user. Given rooms are tatty and small and require more maintenance ( this of course is mainly a failing of the Homage' team/ set up) Hot water often runs out in the morning. If you use a complimentary voucher for the so called famous afternoon tea you are seated to one side away from the main tables and given a cut down version ( Again a failing of Homage 'club' ). Frankly I would rather use one of the budget large chain hotels, one of which is located in Drury Lane - great location. Godfrey's bar is good but of course you do not need to be resident to use it. There are much better places to stay. Edit: I thought long and hard about posting this somewhat down beat review but I am a firm believer that if something is not right it should be pointed out. This I have done previously when checking out but frankly apart from a ' oh, I'm sorry, have a good day - next!' I didn't get anywhere. I noticed the response from customer service below and responded immediately. I suspect their timely reply looks good to readers but to date no contact from them. Why am I not surprised. Service really is becoming a rarity. I would mention again, Good Godfrey's bar and staff are very good and mention should also be made of the doormen who are great. Customer service team........not so it appears

• Further edit * I have eventually received communication from the management apologising for the lack of response from their team along with an offer to attempt to rectify past issues. For this I am grateful and I very much look forward to an imminent revisit.

Latest Edit Revisited in March '24, and I am pleased to say things have improved considerably. There must have been a regime change as all staff were impeccable in their attention and our room was as expected from a top older hotel. Remember this is an old hotel so there are little quirks to the building but enjoy them. Executive lounge was very good if your budget can extend to this. This time use of Hilton Homage membership was not used so cannot comment on the benefits, if any, of joining again. I suspect it is not worth it if you want to have the full experience of what The Waldorf has to offer. It is so refreshing that The Waldorf has once again returned to where it should be for service and a gentle luxury. Would I stay here...

7 weeks ago my room at the Hilton Waldorf in London was robbed just hours after checking into the hotel. I had traveled all night from the US with my 2 daughters. Upon check-in the staff member “upgraded” our room to the executive level for an additional charge. I agreed because the room was ready then and we would have to wait 2 hours for the standard room to be ready. We were all exhausted from traveling and had an event to attend that evening so I agreed. We were in our room for a few hours then left for about 4 hours. While we were gone a man entered our room and stole my wallet with credit cards, cash, drivers license and medical id cards. Video footage showed a man with a hat blocking his face easily enter our room. He was in our room for less than 2 minutes. He somehow knew exactly which bag to look for which had my wallet, as if he saw me put it into my bag. Before leaving the room I had wrapped the wallet in a wool scarf and shoved it all the way to the bottom of the bag and placed all sorts of toiletries on top of it, including a ziplock bag of vitamins, a hairbrush, face lotion, etc. No other bags/suitcases in the room were disheveled. Upon discovering our belongings missing I contacted security at the hotel immediately and then had to call the police and wait for them to arrive to do a full investigation and interview. They arrived the next morning. During the investigation the police watched the video of the man entering and leaving the room within 2 minutes. This all seemed very suspicious. As you can imagine this event was quite traumatizing and caused a crippling amount of anxiety for a mother of two throughout the night. I didn’t sleep at all. I had saved up and planned for this trip for years. I had splurged and paid more than I normally would for this hotel because I was traveling alone with my daughters and wanted the added security the Hilton Waldorf should have provided. This severely impacted our trip. I spent the whole next day canceling all credit cards, contacting the consulate trying to get a temporary drivers license since I was supposed to rent a car, being interviewed by the police and the hotel security and deciding whether or not to pack up and just go all the way back home after just arriving. I am very surprised the Hilton has not offered any type of restitution for this happening on their property. I had to fill out an incident report through the hotels claims dept hoping to recoup a portion of the cost of our trip, especially the hotel room charge considering what had happened. I still after 7 weeks back and forth with the hotels claims department have not received any type of reimbursement. Even though a monetary reimbursement could never make up for how scary this was and the negative impact it had on our trip, it’s the least a hotel of this caliber can do to try to make up for it. 10 out of 10 DO...