Dont be fooled by the name!! (Hilton Wembley Plaza (London))

Member Name: NewYork2006

Product:	Hilton Wembley Plaza (London)
Date:	27/04/07 (346 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Close to Arena, stadium and train station

Disadvantages: Not enough care taken into cleanliness, unhelpful staff

My boyfriend booked us into a room in this Hotel last September as we were going to a concert at Wembley Arena on Sunday night, and living about 1 ½ hours away from London, we didn't want to have to rush back to the train station to get home so thought it easier to spend the night.

There are good and bad points about this hotel and I will tell you both!

Situated in Wembley Park, the location of the hotel is perfect if you are going to the Arena for a concert for example or attending a conference at the Wembley Conference Centre or if you will be visiting the new Wembley Stadium once it has opened. It is approximately a 5 minute walk max to the Arena from the hotel and only a 10 minute walk to the Wembley Park train station.

From the outside the hotel doesn't look particularly luxurious. A big, tall, gray building with the words 'Plaza Hotel' in the top corner, which does not stand out very well. It does get better on the inside however, as you are met by a more sophisticated reception area. Although this was soon to be diminished by the miserable looking lady behind the desk. We had booked the hotel room over the internet a few days before and had the print out receipt as confirmation. She told us that she could not find the booking and that if there wasn't a spare room we would have to go somewhere else! Luckily though, there was a spare room but because we had booked a double and all they had was a twin, we had to go up to the room and wait for the maid to come up and push the beds together to make them a double.

While the maid was stripping the beds to push them together, we saw large holes in the sheets so was relieved when she changed them for a double that seemed to be in a much better condition. The beds themselves were quite comfy and the pillows felt quite plump and new which was nice.

The amenities in the room were quite good. We had a TV as expected with a choice of about 6 channels, the usual 4 terrestrial channels and then two sky channels. There was a kettle with complimentary tea, coffee, sugar and milk which was nice first thing in the morning. The glasses for the tea (no they didn't have mugs) were dirty with lipstick marks and there were smudges on the teaspoons however, so I felt like I had to give them a good clean before I could have my tea. There was also an iron with an ironing board that fixes to the wall which we found useful as my boyfriend needed to iron the top he wanted to wear to the concert. This however, was also dirty leaving big black marks on everything the iron touched.

The bathroom was a lot cleaner although there were some ominous looking stains in the sink! The complimentary shampoos etc were very nice though a bit lacking in quantity for two people.

We didn't eat dinner there so cannot comment on the restaurant but we did order room service. The selection on the menu was quite varied and I think there would be something to suit most people. Compared to other room service menu's, the food was relatively cheap (though still came to about £30 for two of us). The food took about 40 mins to arrive but was very nice. I had a pasta and a chocolate mousse for dessert and they were both very yummy! The quantity of the food was quite good for what you pay. The majority of the menu was between £5 - £15 and consisted of snacks and sandwiches, light bites, meals such as steak, burgers, pasta, pizza etc and a small choice of desserts. There was also a children's menu on there which is quite unusual. They do charge £3.50 per tray, on top of what it costs for the food though which isn't that obvious (unless you read the small print in the menu). You can order room service 24 hours a day.

The bar area in the hotel was quite nice with comfy chairs and sofas and a large fully stocked bar.

Breakfast is served between 6am and 10am and I suggest that if you do stay here, it would be best to get there before 9:30. Due to the fact that we didn't go to bed until late, we didn't get up and down to the restaurant until about 9:45. This meant that there wasn't a great deal of choice left. You wait to be seated and then asked if you would like tea or coffee (though she forgot that I had asked for tea so I had to remind her about 10 minutes later!). The breakfast is self service which you can get from 3 different sections. One has all the full English breakfasts complete with sausages, bacon eggs, mushrooms etc. The second has the continental breakfasts with croissants, pastries, marmalade, fruit and yoghurts etc and the third section has the cereal. I don't eat cooked breakfasts in the morning and as this was the section that had the most left on it, my breakfast was a measly little croissant and a banana. This was probably our fault for getting there so late however, so of course there may be much more of a selection if you get there earlier. There was also a choice of Apple of Orange juice. The cost of breakfast is included in the room.

Other amenities in the hotel which we didn't use were an internet café (which was actually just two computers stuck on the end of the reception, one of which was out of order!) but I don't know how much they charge. There is also a swimming pool and health club which you can use free of charge.

Because we had booked a couple of days before, we managed to get a 'late booking' deal and only paid £70 between us. However, usually this type of room would cost £130 which I think is quite expensive considering the lack of care which is put in to cleanliness etc.

We did only stay here for one night and so it was not unbearable, but I am glad that we did not pay full price as I think we would have felt a bit ripped off. If you are simply looking for somewhere to sleep for one or two nights once you have been to a concert for example, then this is perfect location wise but just do not expect too much and if you can get it at a discount rate then all the better as I certainly do not think it is worth paying the full price they are charging.

Thanks for reading
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Summary: Good for one night if going to a concert but dont pay full price!!