Radisson Edwardian Vanderbilt - London, United Kingdom     

I stayed at this hotel 4 nights at the beginning of June 2008, when I attended a conference that took place at the hotel itself. The room was ok, clean, spacious. I was at a twin double room (even if I was just one person) with a view to the main street (a little bit noisy). The breakfast was ok; I had lunch there and the food was good.The staff was kind and helpful. the problem was with the lift. In order to go to the floors there is this old and slow lift and often I had to wait for a very very long time to take it. The location of the hotel is very good, just 2 minutes from the Gloucester Road underground station, 5 minutes from the Natural History Museum and the V&A Museum.

I stayed here for a few nights in early July 2008. I initially booked into the Frasers Queens Gate Kensington but found the service so appalling I left the hotel in order to check into this hotel which was across the road [see my review of the Frasers Queens Gate Kensington]. From the start, I was extremely impressed with the service and professionalism of the staff at the Radisson Vanderbilt. In fact I would go so far as to say that I was happy as Larry in this hotel. I asked for a quiet room at the back of the hotel and got a lovely split level room where you go down a few stairs to get to the bathroom. That made it feel more like an apartment than a hotel room so it was fantastic. The double room was extremely large. Note that as I wanted a room at the back of the hotel and the hotel was nearly full, I chose to take a smoking room in order to get a room at the back of the hotel but only after I checked out how bad the smell of smoke was as I am an emphatic non smoker. There was hardly any smoke in the room [and I am very fussy] so I took it. Also my room had a [clean!] window that I could open which I also liked as I like fresh air. It is very rare to get this in modern hotels as normally the windows won't open. If you are sensitive to street noise I would ask for a room at the back of the hotel as Cromwell Road is a busy street. My double room was very large and equipped with everything that you need. The hotel has free wireless internet - another bonus in an era where many hotels are fleecing guests with exhorbitant internet charges. Also the hotel is 2 minutes walk to Gloucester Road station and a Waitrose supermarket and a Tesco's convenience store. There are numerous walkable dining options in close proximity to the hotel. The staff here are offering an exceptional level of customer service and if anything goes wrong they are quick to rectify it. The phone in my room needed changing and it was done immediately. Likewise I wasn't happy with the temperature of the mini bar in my room - a bit warm for my liking - since it couldn't be fixed they gave me a replacement fridge immediately. In fact I could not believe the speed with which maintenance was sent to the room. Also the staff follow up to make sure things are done. The hotel is charming with numerous winding corridors that you go through to get to your room - I found this charming. Also the hotel has one smoking floor. This is a good choice for London particularly if you can get a good rate. It is an extremely well maintained property with a huge emphasis on customer service. I found the service better here than I have experienced in many 5 star hotels. As a result of my good experience at this hotel I would consider staying at another Radisson Hotel during future overseas trips.