London Hotels Insight provides up-to-date, independent advice for your perfect stay in London. We research guest feedback, meet management and identify hotels at the top of their game.

Red Carnation sews up TripAdvisor top 3 spots.

September 1, 2010
Hotel 41 London

Red Carnation Hotels – the company famous for its 12 service standards – continues to exert an iron grip over the leading London hotels according to the current TripAdvisor rankings.  It now has all of the top 3 spots. Number 3 is the group’s intimate Egerton House Hotel, which we visited last year when it [...]

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Peek behind the curtains at the Dorchester.

August 30, 2010
The Dorchester London

It’s almost your last chance to join a unique behind-the-scenes tour of the Dorchester Hotel taking place under the banner of Open House – London’s principal architectural showcase – on Sunday 19th September. The tour is completely free of charge and will show a fortunate few some of London’s finest rooms and suites.  It will [...]

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A biscuit tycoon’s hostel at Palmers Lodge.

August 27, 2010
Palmers Lodge hostel

We all know that London hotels can be expensive.  But you can also pick up a bargain at a London hostel, a high-quality B&B which loves to delight guests or even a value-for-money central London “military hotel”. I’m just back from staying at the Palmers Lodge hostel in Swiss Cottage.  It’s a Grade II listed [...]

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Best 3 London Hiltons in 2010 on TripAdvisor.

August 25, 2010
Trafalgar Hotel London

Our analysis last year on London’s best Hiltons got great feedback as a tool for Hilton loyalty card holders to help them decide which hotel to choose in London (there are after all currently 22 London Hiltons to select from!). Today, we’ll revisit this analysis to see which Hiltons are currently “top of the charts” [...]

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Travelodge turns 25!

August 23, 2010
Travelodge London

We love to celebrate special birthdays and occasions on this blog, as shown recently with features on the Goring’s 100th and Carnaby Street’s 50th.  So it is a pleasure to remind ourselves once again that this year marks a quarter century for the fast-expanding budget chain, Travelodge. The company was established in 1985 from very [...]

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London’s best-value cinema.

August 20, 2010
Prince Charles Cinema London

The Prince Charles cinema in Leicester Square is a London institution.  It may on first glance look slightly grubby and doesn’t immediately catch the eye.  But you’ll soon find that its slightly unkempt air is part of its charm. The cinema is also slightly hidden off the main Square and frequently missed by tourists.  But [...]

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The new Savoy Hotel: luxurious AND green?

August 18, 2010
Savoy London Hotel

As the clock continues to tick on the Savoy’s October 10 opening – after a delay that this blog was the first in the world to report –  anticipation is growing to see exactly what delights the Old Dame has in store. Most are expecting a certain decadence within the frame of an ultra luxurious [...]

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Base2stay London goes for zero emissions.

August 16, 2010
Electric car Base2stay

We have a passion for eco-friendly hotels on this blog, having sung the praises of various environmentally-aware London hotels including Rafayel on the Left Bank, the Cavendish, the Zetter and the Lancaster London. It is no coincidence that all the hotels mentioned above are well-regarded in general with consistently solid guest reviews.  There seems to [...]

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The Athenaeum to hire its own Mary Poppins!

August 13, 2010
Mary Poppins London

The Athenaeum is arguably London’s most family-friendly hotel for reasons that are well known.  One of its main draws is the Children’s Concierge service which can even plan a customised itinerary ahead of your visit. Children up to ten also get a toy box filled with specially-selected games for their stay with favourite drinks, snacks [...]

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Diane von Furstenberg unveiled at Claridge’s.

August 11, 2010
Diane von Furstenberg

Diane von Furstenberg is a renowned fashion designer, responsible for some the world’s most iconic creations over several decades, including the famous wrap dress.  Her name is synonymous with immaculate taste. The Belgium-American fashion legend has also been a regular guest at Claridge’s over many years.  She has now personally designed several showcase suites for [...]

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Hotel chains argue over who’s bigger in London.

August 9, 2010
Premier Inn and Travelodge like squabbling deers

We’ve already mentioned the close rivalry between budget chains Travelodge (which recently opened its 400th hotel in Waterloo) and Premier Inn.  Both have embarked on headlong expansion ahead of London 2012, building cheap and occasionally ugly hotels to meet their goals. On the whole their vigorous competition is a good thing but it does often [...]

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Listen up hoteliers or you’re toast!

August 6, 2010
Burnt Toast

Although we’ve previously written an open letter to the hotel industry on free WiFi, this message to the same audience may almost be as important!  It concerns the critical issue of toast, a matter which is close to the heart of our guest blogger Andrea Kirkby.  It’s over to you Andrea… Breakfast is the most [...]

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W London hotel opening now delayed to 2011.

August 4, 2010
W London Leicester Square under construction

We were shocked to hear via our friends at Hotel Chatter that the much-anticipated W London has delayed its opening to next year. It has been put back to February 2011 – quite a postponement when you consider that as recently as a few weeks ago they were still insisting the hotel would meet its [...]

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Be the Queen’s next door neighbour at the Rubens.

August 2, 2010
Rubens Hotel Royal Wing

Some people are completely obsessed by the Royal Family and make it the major theme of their visit to London.  If you fit into that category then there’s really only one hotel to consider for your next London stay. Not only does the aptly-named “Rubens at the Palace” score well on TripAdvisor thanks to parent [...]

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The problem with “expert” hotel reviews.

July 30, 2010
London hotels TripAdvisor

There is a lot of argument about the problems of online guest reviews on sites like TripAdvisor.  We’ve got involved ourselves with our popular TripAdvisor User Guide and numerous debates on Twitter. But few seem to challenge hotel reviews by so-called “professional” reviewers.  We tend often to see them as unquestionable “experts” who take a [...]

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The Langham London: a hotel with pedigree.

July 28, 2010
Langham Hotel London

The “hotel nerds” here at London Hotels Insight jump at every opportunity to look at the history of some of London’s grandest hotels. We’ve shown this already through our peek at the colourful past of the top-rated Milestone Hotel (currently the TripAdvisor number 1 from more than 1000 London hotels), our timeline of the Savoy’s [...]

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