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.

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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Top four Covent Garden luxury boutique hotels.

January 4, 2012
Mercer Street Hotel

Covent Garden – a hub of activity with its plethora of theatres, wide array of restaurants, bustling bars and world-class shopping – is an easy choice when picking an area of London for your next stay.  And besides all the entertainment, it also offers rich pickings in terms of luxury accommodation; here are my four [...]

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Which London hotels are officially COOL?

January 3, 2012
The May Fair Hotel

The winners of the annual COOL Venues Awards, developed in 2007 by Wesley Mendy of Prestige Events magazine, were announced recently. Winners are chosen in a rather unique way looking at whether or not a venue is “COOL” enough to attract guests to RSVP to an invitation and actually turn up at the event, as well as how exciting [...]

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New trends in hotels set to roll on in 2012.

January 2, 2012
Town Hall Hotel Bathroom

With another year having flown by, I thought I’d have a go at trying to work out which new trends will stick and which will sink without trace… There are some indisputably major trends – I suppose the boutique hotel has been one of the bigger trends, as well as the expansion into hotels by luxury brands such as Bulgari.  [...]

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London boutique hotels round-up – Dec. 2011.

December 30, 2011
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It’s been a packed year of developments, openings and promotions for London boutique hotels in 2011 and December was no exception. With the New Year almost upon us, we take a look at some of the most newsworthy items to emerge in the past month, as well as some exciting prospects for 2012 and beyond. [...]

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The Lanesborough celebrates 20 years.

December 30, 2011
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On our recent visit to The Lanesborough for a free WiFi touchdown, we were informed that the hotel has published a book to commemorate its 20 years since opening, in which the ultra-deluxe property has “made itself worthy of its proud name and history.”  As London hotel reporters, we were excited to get our own copies of the book which elaborates engagingly on [...]

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Radisson Edwardian Heathrow’s stunning chandeliers: photo blog.

December 29, 2011
Radisson Edwardian Heathrow

On a recent visit to the Radisson Edwardian Heathrow for a free Wifi touchdown, we couldn’t help but notice its assortment of beautiful chandeliers.  The hotel, which prides itself on being the antithesis of typical Heathrow airport hotels, is decked out with opulent, glamorous furnishings - and its grand chandeliers are the icing on the cake. The bold [...]

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Interview with sous chef at London Bridge Hotel.

December 28, 2011
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LHI: Thank you for taking us behind the scenes at the Quarter Bar while preparing the lunch we’ve just ordered during our free WiFi  touchdown at the London Bridge Hotel today.  How long have you worked here? Adrian: I have worked here for three years.  Before working at London Bridge Hotel I was working as [...]

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