London's most boring hotel buildings housing half decent hotels!

It's no surprise that Travelodge has many hotels that look like glorified prison blocks (like Travelodge Docklands above) but they also offer great room deals

In our last blog post we highlighted several of London’s ugliest buildings.

Now let’s go a step further and put the spotlight on some of the city’s least attractive hotel buildings. Though it’s probably more accurate to call the following “nondescript” or “uninspiring” rather than “ugly”.

Ironically, they often mask some pretty respectable hotels, which only confirms the fact that you should never judge a book by its cover:

Montague on the Gardens (Bloomsbury).

This is quite a large hotel but one with a pretty unimposing façade – though to be fair the hotel’s owners have done their best to spruce it up.

Once inside, you discover a rabbit’s warren of bedrooms and a wonderful bar overlooking a lovely private garden. But this is a genuine surprise because peering at the hotel from the outside you’d never really expect it.

Montague on the Gardens is handy for the British Museum and consistently within or just outside the elite top 10 TripAdvisor London hotels .

And the back of the hotel (with a bar and conservatory) looks out over the abovementioned private garden – perfect for summertime drinks!

It is managed impeccably by Red Carnation Hotel Collection, the company dominating the top spots on TripAdvisor. So it’s also one of London’s best hotels and shows the merit of looking beyond appearances.

Book direct with the Montague Hotel at the best guaranteed rate

Any Travelodge in London (take your pick!).

We’re fans of Travelodge hotels on this blog for their value for money, but that’s once you’re safely inside and don’t have to look at them!

Travelodge Farringdon is a typically nondescript Travelodge (image credit below)

Given that Travelodge and the budget chains are opening new sites so quickly – often through conversion of (admittedly already unattractive) office blocks – they definitely don’t get top marks for aesthetics.

That’s why there are so many examples of shabby-looking Travelodges in London. But on the other hand, if you need a cheap place to bed down you could certainly do worse, especially if you catch one of their flash sales.

And the flip side of an office conversion is that there are often quite decent-sized rooms (and occasionally pretty huge ones) available. Plus their rooms are usually perfectly clean and functional: surely the key issue.

Travelodge – just like its budget rival Premier Inn – needs to get its act together and provide free WiFi as soon as possible though.

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Hilton on Park Lane.

For me this skyscraper on Park Lane is a bit of an architectural monstrosity.

Hilton on Park Lane is one of the brand's London flagships but the building itself is ordinary (image credit below)

Granted, it enjoys some of the best views in London from its 28^th floor Galvin at Windows bar and restaurant, but the building is a bit of an eyesore. It is quite depressing to stare up at its hypnotic monotony.

The hotel’s public areas could also benefit from a bit of a revamp, given that it is after all one of Hilton’s showcase London hotels.

Those on the Hilton loyalty scheme may want to check out our article on the best Hiltons in London for better-value London Hilton options. The saving graces of the Hilton on Park Lane are its central location and proximity to Hyde Park. But you might often do better for a similar room rate.

Check the best rate for Hilton on Park Lane from 30+ hotel booking sites

Ultimately though, you should always remember that hotels are a bit like people: it’s what’s on the inside that counts!

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Photo credits: I am I.A.M.’s photostream, kao52000’s photostream, Travelodge.

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