Lancaster Hotel - London, United Kingdom 

"A good experience and good value"
Posted: Mon, Nov 23 2009
Booking at the last minute in London is always an expensive business - at least weekdays - but found the Royal Lancaster on Expedia at a good rate. The rooms are fine, if slightly showing their age, and there are great views from the top floors. I ate once in the Island Restaurant which was excellent and not too expensive and I had breakfast once, which was very good and cost ?16. I agree with the person who said that the hotel lacks a bar. The Island bar makes you feel you are sitting in the restaurant and the lounge is very stuffy and formal. The staff were all friendly and helpful. Location is good, as it is beside Lancaster Gate tube station and Kensington Gardens, over the road, is charming and a great place for an evening stroll. Will definitely use the Royal Lancaster again.

Great views of central London
Posted: Mon, Jul 21 2008
Great views of central London! Convenient location. Very comfortable room. Sadly Breakfast service was chaotic. The receptionist had not passed on our booking which I had made for Nipa the Thai Restaurant, when we checked in but the restaurant manager smoothed the situation over and made us feel most welcome. The food in Nipa was delicious and the service was first-rate.

Bland, blaise - not much to write about, but...
Posted: Fri, Jul 04 2008
A company booked conference found me back at this hotel. I've stayed before (and will again) and it was as equally boring as last time. Excitement always happened this trip at 8AM with housekeeping BANGING on the door and then saying SORRY when opened. The bar on the 1st floor (2nd floor if you're American) is one of the most boring little afffairs that might suit the pace of an OAP (old age pensioner). The most amazing thing I observed was the cancellation of room reservations by the hotel for members of my company WHO WERE HOSTING A CONFERENCE WITH 500+ rooms and catering booked in over 4 days. That tells me that the management is a bit lax at the moment (to say the least). Otherwise, the basic nice restaurant (a v. good Thai that is nice to have once, but rarely a second time), morning buffet/english fry-up and basic room stock is as neutral as one can get in this trade. The local area doesn't fare much better as the neighbourhood is somewhat residential.

Above average, but some negatives to know about
Posted: Thu, Jul 03 2008
Upon walking into the Lancaster it immediately appeared to be one of the nicest hotels I've ever stayed at. It wouldn't live up to this initial impression but it was definetly still nice. First, the positives. It's in a great location for the Underground(subway) and right across from beautiful Hyde Park. The breakfast area is all glass walls overlooking the park and had wonderful service, but since the price was simply tacked onto our room when we booked we didn't realize until we were there that we were paying 18 pounds (36 US dollars!) per person for cereal, breads, and fruit. Hardly a bargain. The rooms were good size and kept well. The towel rack in the bathroom is heated to keep the towels warm, but be careful because I grabbed it or brushed it numerous times. It's right next to the door so in an awkward position. Had no problems with the A/C as evidenced by previous reviewers, and almost all of the staff seemed absolutely wonderful and willing to help with anything. We arrived early before check in and they cheerfully stowed our baggage without any problems. Most of the staff was very helpful, however the conceirge was terrible. The first time we went down we asked directions to a very famous tourist destination and he first googled it, then tried to look at it on a map and was clueless. He finally got help from another conceirge, he must have been very new. The other times we went we were given either half information and had to practically pull teeth to get complete answers or were brushed aside with our questions. However, the doorman Sebastin more than made up for it and was excellent. He basically became our conceirge, telling us about restaurants, how to get discounts on how to get around, and was both very cheerful and always willing to volunteer any information that could possibly be helpful. Saved us over 50 pounds getting to the airport while the conceirge couldn't have cared less. Overall, a very nice hotel, but be advised that it is probably overpriced. I would recommend it.