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.

London’s most extravagant Valentine’s package?

January 26, 2012
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It may still be January but London hotels are busy trying to trump each other with their Valentine’s packages.  The Athenaeum for example may have created this year’s most extravagant Valentine’s experience. It starts like a scene from a James Bond movie, where guests take an exclusive helicopter ride over the capital to visit the famous landmarks of their choice.  Back on land, [...]

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Valentine’s massages for couples at The Milestone.

January 25, 2012
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The Milestone - the 5 star Kensington boutique hotel known for its “tiny noticeable touches“- is offering a special package to couples this Valentine’s Day - a massage master class with world-famous therapist Fiona Keane.  What could be more romantic than a gift you could give each other over a lifetime? In the complete Valentine’s massage master class [...]

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Luxury winter lie-ins at The Rubens…

January 24, 2012
Rubens at the Palace

There is nothing worse than waking up in your hotel room, realising you’ve missed breakfast and have only 15 minutes to shower, pack and check out.  Madness!  If this sounds like you, you may want to stay at Rubens at The Palace this winter and check out their latest deal. The luxury hotel near Victoria is part [...]

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Hilton Meets Stilton at the Waldorf.

January 23, 2012
Stilton Menu at the Waldorf Hilton

Things get cheesy at the five-star Waldorf Hilton hotel this month with the introduction of a special  menu created by Executive Chef Johan Rox and the Stilton Cheese Makers’ Association.  There are six brand new dishes on offer, all of which feature Stilton as one of the main ingredients; ranging from the starter of Stilton, leek [...]

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Free WiFi touchdown @ The May Fair Hotel.

January 20, 2012
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We recently dropped by The May Fair Hotel to test its free WiFi – an amenity which seems surprisingly scarce in London’s top 5 star hotels. Having arrived at the hotel in the early afternoon, we were surprised to see how many guests in the hotel’s Quince restaurant and bar were connected to the internet from their laptops and other [...]

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Cheap hotel bookings in the BLINK of an eye.

January 19, 2012
Blink mobile app

New app BLINK is taking the smartphone world by storm with its revolutionary booking system that allows you to bag a last minute 4- or 5- star hotel room – typically for less than on the web. Over 200 hotels in Spain, Italy, France, England, Germany and Portugal have already joined BLINK, with 400 in [...]

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Suites rule the luxury hotel landscape.

January 18, 2012
Royal Suites Rubens

For many of us a room in a luxury hotel is already an indulgence.  But for some, even that’s not enough - they want a suite. Sometimes the reason is tangible – an entourage or a large family.  A suite is required for entertaining; it’s difficult to hold a dinner in a bedroom, after all.  A suite [...]

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Do we really need ‘women only’ service at Dukes?

January 17, 2012
Dukes Hotel

I’ve just heard about the latest hotel trend in town – women only rooms.  Well-regarded Dukes Hotel in swanky St James’ is leading the field with its new offering, Duchess Rooms. Described as ‘a discreet service tailored to female business and leisure guests’, I was interested to find out more about this service.  But closer [...]

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Is the hotel business centre past its sell-by date?

January 16, 2012
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Thirty odd years ago, a hotel’s business centre was essential to business travellers: without it, you simply couldn’t communicate.  You needed the fax back then for a start and later when the internet arrived you needed a networked computer to connect to it (and wouldn’t imagine getting one in your room).  In fact, you relied on [...]

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Tune Liverpool Street sings funky new tune…

January 13, 2012
Tune Liverpool Street

A few weeks ago we published a photo blog about the Tune Hotel Liverpool Street under construction and were excited to then see it open ahead of schedule just before the New Year.  Now the brand new budget hotel is almost fully operational and we were thrilled to visit it the other day and enjoy a tour from its friendly General Manager. We were happy to find [...]

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Free WiFi touchdown @ Hotel 41.

January 12, 2012
Hotel 41

Across the road from the Royal Mews at Buckingham Palace is Hotel 41 - a free WiFi 5 star boutique London hotel which has been at or near the top of the Tripadvisor charts for quite a while thanks to its flawless service and stylish retro design.  We recently visited to test its promise of free WiFi. Hotel 41, just like the Rubens [...]

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London Belgraves by Thompson opens soon – but no free WiFi!

January 11, 2012
Belgraves by Thompson London

London Belgraves is the new boutique hotel from the Thompson chain set to open in the capital on Wednesday 1st February.  The hotel will be the first Thompson property in the UK featuring 85 rooms, a Mark Hix restaurant and library bar, gym and outdoor terrace with retractable roof.  But the main thing we’re interested [...]

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Great hotel designers: Philippe Starck.

January 10, 2012
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Back in the 1990s, Philippe Starck virtually reinvented the boutique hotel with his work on the Delano in Miami and the Royalton in New York.  In London, he has put his imprint on St Martin’s Lane and the Sanderson. He’s not just a hotel designer; he also designs watches, underwear, toothbrushes and juicers.  In a [...]

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Free WiFi touchdown @ New Providence Wharf Hotel.

January 9, 2012
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Not long ago we visited Radisson Edwardian New Providence Wharf for a free WiFi touchdown, to showcase the hotel’s facilities to our readers and big up the hotel for its free WiFi.  It is weird that we enter 2012 and yet there is still a disparity between the expectations of most travellers (who consider WiFi a basic necessity) and the [...]

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Mint Hotels are no more – but it’s OK (for now).

January 6, 2012
Mint Hotels

When we first heard the news that Hilton had taken over Mint Hotels, we have to admit we were slightly concerned they’d come in and make big changes to a small hotel group which seemed to get almost everything right.  We were worried that not only would they take away the free WiFi, they’d also start [...]

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Restaurant trends at London hotels in 2012.

January 5, 2012
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I’m not a particularly good trend-spotter.  I tend to remain faithful to a number of favourite restaurants or else I like to explore the far out territories of Gujarati, African, or Lebanese food or any other cuisine I haven’t tried yet.  But I do occasionally notice what’s going on around me, so I was interested [...]

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