Hilton Milton Keynes - Milton Keynes, United Kingdom 

This Hilton is not a flag ship hotel for the brand! The hotel is away from the city centre (South West corner of MK) and hard to find. Inside it is a little shabby, black tape holding the worn carpet together in a number of places, this made me worry about what I the rooms would be like. The room was ok and looked like the decoration was not too old. Usual HIlton stuff really. Only ate breakfast there, this could have been any Hilton. The staff were friendly enough and quite helpful sorting out taxis etc.

Any visit to glamorous Milton Keynes arguably necessitates a certain degree of overnight respite, and where better to achieve this than the Hilton Milton Keynes? Located at a reasonably accessible juncture of the infamous Milton Keynes grid system and only a stone’s throw from the Open University, the hotel can be easily reached by plane, train or automobile (in conjunction with a taxi from either Milton Keynes Central train station or nearby Luton airport) but, like many of Milton Keynes’ other highlights, not very easily on foot! A lack of signage combined with rather dense surrounding woodland makes the hotel somewhat difficult to spot from the road, although the local taxi drivers seem reasonably familiar with its location. Like many other Hilton establishments, the hotel offers a wide selection of services and facilities (tailored somewhat to the business traveller, one might add), and the staff are courteous and professional. There is even a postage stamp-sized swimming pool and fitness room for the more active guest. Both the restaurant and bar (and also room service) offer a reasonable selection of food, at prices that one might expect from an establishment that has little need to be competitive (the nearest pub serving food is Ye Old Swan at Woughton on the Green - a five-minute taxi journey away and highly recommended). Breakfast presents the choice of a cooked ‘full English’ or a more European selection of cold meats, bread and cheese, which is more than sufficient. The rooms themselves are extremely comfortable with the usual amenities (a television, alarm clock, tea and coffee making facilities, shower and bath etc.) and although the deluxe rooms offer very little more in terms of luxury (an extra sofa and chair?), the extra space they provide is appreciable. Overall, the “Hilton Keynes”, whilst perhaps more appropriate for a business trip than a family holiday, is a perfectly adequate place to rest one’s head and contemplate the concrete cows and endless roundabouts of this quaint “new” city.