Royal Lancaster Hotel

I stayed one night here in June. The location is good for Paddington and the area is nice. I stayed a Sunday and got a rate of 111 £ through laterooms. No breakfast was included in the rate (£19.50 extra). I got a room on the 10th floor with a great view. There was an adjoining door and by experience I know the sound insulation does not work through those doors. I went down to reception and changed to a double room on the 3rd floor. Reception staff was friendly. Compared to the Thistle Marble Arch which I stayed at the two previous nights, the Royal Lancaster was very sterile and boring. It has a nice lobby, 4 lifts, comfortable rooms very well insulated from traffic noise. The hotel is on an island with heavy traffic on all sides, but still very near lovely Hyde Park. The air conditioning in the room blows strongly at the seating area. The mini bar is stocked. The bed is very comfy. The bath is nice but small. There are two nice pubs nearby, the touristy Swan and the authentic Victoria. Ask the porters for direction. My negative experience was the slamming of the room doors, the staff trying to get into the room at 8 o’clock on the leaving day, the fire alarm that went off twice in the evening during my stay. I believe this hotel to be great for the business person. The rates are very high. Check the hotels web site for the weekend offer including breakfast. Alternatives in the area are Thistle Kensington Gardens (with air con) and Vancouver Studios (no air con). Mr Moen Sandnes Norway

We stayed here for a week in May and then for a few days in June. One cannot expect resort or North American standards in London hotels unless you are willing to pay a small fortune. Our room on the 13th floor was very very small - kept bumping into each other. Sheer drapes were sewn together in the middle and had to be tied up so we could get some fresh (??) air. We upgraded to the 17th floor on our return and room was much bigger. This hotel has some good qualities - the staff were very friendly, good pickup and drop off outside the hotel, pleasant lobby, terrific lounge bar which stays open till 4am and one can get a clubhouse sandwich (hold the egg) up till then. The only negative are the beds - lumpy, slanting like a waterfall,old. Even in our upgraded room they were bad and had a board between the mattress and box spring-the bedskirt parted at one time and the box spring was grubby old ticking. If breakfast is not inlcuded in your room rate they charge 20 pounds per person or $80 C for two. Suggest walking up to Paddington Station (about 6 mins) and go to Garfinkels which is right outside - looking at the Hilton entrance it is on the right. Also the Hilton has a Starbucks - walk through the lobby. Most of London is continuous noise but this location is even more so being close to Paddington Police Station. The wonderful noise of horses clopping down the street to Hyde Park made up for it. Don't forget to go down the road to the Swan pub.

I travel to London once a quarter on a business and, for a variety of reasons, generally stay at a different hotel on each trip. So, compared to others in London, this is a very above average property. The good parts: nice lobby, very helpful and attentive staff including the Concierge desk. Room size was okay (good for London). Tiny but acceptable bathroom. Very clean and well maintained. Not threadbare. Big plus: very quiet even though the hotel was completely booked every night of my stay. Also, windows can open wide for plenty of fresh air (but see caution in bad parts below). Excellent cabled high speed internet in the room (extra cost). Also a big plus: 2 blocks from Paddington Station. Very good access to Heathrow express as well as underground (Circle and Hammersmith & City lines) . The bad parts: The hotel is located in the middle of a very busy “roundabout” . That means there is considerable traffic noise all hours of the day and night. However, the hotel put in double windows and with them closed you can’t hear the noised at all – at least I didn’t on the 13th floor and I am a very light sleeper. I don’t know how it would be on a low floor. The rooms do not have iron and ironing board or a pants press. Housekeeping will bring one for 30 minutes on request. The hotel is literally on top of the Lancaster Gate tube station but that station is closing for remodeling for a year. So, the next closest is Paddington station. On balance, this was a good find and if could get a fair rate (around GBP 100) I would definitely stay again.

I spent one night in this hotel as part of my annual company sales conference on the night of the 16th June 2006. The hotel is located just outside of Londons West End on Hyde Park and close enough to Oxford Street (shopping) and Paddington Station (Heathrow express). It is located right on top of Lancaster Gate Tube station which is on the central line. The room I had was on the 13th floor and offered a good view over Hyde park although lower flor rooms had more obstructed views. The room was relatively large and spacious for a London hotel with Egyptian cotton duvet and a very comfortable bed. The room was a little old fashioned (very old and small TV) but everything worked and the room was clean. The hotel also provided free wireless internet acces in all rooms and public areas. Room service menu/breakfast was obscenely expensive and there are plenty of alternative dining / drinking establishments not far from the hotel.

The Royal Lancaster Hotel is a conveniently located good standard hotel. Lancaster Gate Station is a 2 minute walk from the hotel making it an excellent location. The hotel has its own parking which is as secure as it can be and cost £30.00 per day to residents. The reception area is done out nice and there are large fresh flower displays making it feel quite grand. Our room was a Standard room and was clean and functional, it had mini bar and TV. As stated in other reviews the standard room is not huge but as we were sight seeing, we did not spend too much time in the room and so it didn't bother us too much. Our room was on the 12th floor and looked out over Hyde Park. We had several requests from House Keeping and Room service and all were dealt with promptly by friendly knowledgable staff. We had full breakfast included which was the usual cereals, pastries, fruits and a decent size English breakfast that was cooked to order, better than a lot of hotels where the food sits on hot plates for hours.... Overall I would recommend the hotel as being well priced with good service and standards and I will certainly stay there again.

I am used to staying at its sister hotel The Landmark. On this trip the Landmark was full and so took the landmark's advice and transferred to the Royal Lancaster. The hotel loby has been recently renovated and is in an international hotel 'Plush' style. Rooms and bathrooms are compact with a small but functional bathroom. The receptions staff were superbly helpful, friendly and professional. I have forgotten the name of the duty manager when I checked in, he was extreemely helpful and could not have done more to make my stay as comfortable as possible. Housekeeping was very fast to react to any request made. Pity there is no pool. Fantastic view on Hyde Park. Very good Thai restaurat called Nipa.

This was the first time I'd stayed at the Royal Lancaster and I will certainly stay there again! The staff managed that difficult balance of being friendly yet totally professional, and made us feel very welcome. The location is exceptional (but beware Lancaster Gate tube station below will be closed for a while from May 2006). It's outside the Congestion Charge zone so you can park your car on the second floor for £25 a day and it's there when you need it. The Cafe Complet breakfast is fresh orange, fresh toast on request or danish pastries/croissants with tea or coffee and is served by smart and happy staff in a pleasant room. The lounge bar is comfortable too. The bedroom sizes and comfort are typical Central London four star and beautifully clean -no trouser press though. This hotel is part of the chain that includes the Martinez in Cannes and it shows in the professionalism of the staff.

We had to pleasure of staying at the Royal Lancaster on a visit to England last Easter, 2005. We found the rooms spotless, especially the bathrooms, and the location was terrific. Our rooms on the 12 floor looked across to the London Eye and Big Ben, which made just opening the drapes a thrill! Just across the way is an area with several restaurants, as well as convenience stores and a pub. The proximity to the tube was terrific as well. If you're there during the workweek I'd recommend having someone from your party run down early to the tube station to purchase the tube passes, as the line for tickets at that station often gets long. We skipped the English breakfast, but found the rolls, coffee and tea that came with our room to be more than adequate. The concierge was very helpful to these exhausted Americans. I'd been warned that European hotels often didn't match American expectations in terms of size and comfort, but the Royal Lancaster was a pleasant surprise.

In London you get what you pay for. I'd booked a night here at around £110 inc VAT on-line, which is ridiculously cheap for central London. Check in was straightforward and friendly. My room was adequate, small double, but quiet with good ac and an OK bathroom that worked perfectly. Service in the bar was very friendly, with a barman who knows how to make drinks. Diiner at Nipa restaurant was first class. I was welcomed like a long lost relative, despite not having eaten there in over 6 months. Wine list was very sensibly priced - £35 for a Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc is cheap - even by provincial standards. Breakfast from room service was excellent. Great, freshly made fruit salad as good as the best. Only £17.50 (I paid £40 for the same breakfast a couple of weeks ago at the Berkeley). I asked housekeeping for a razor and toothbrush kit (staying overnight had been a last minute decision), and these arrived within 10 minutes. In the morning you're bvang opposite Hyde Park and walking distance to Mayfair and the West End - for £100 a night? Bargain!

Reading these reviews before my husband and I stayed at this hotel March 17-21, 2006 helped me know what to expect. We liked the location; it was a block away from the Lancaster Gate underground station and 4 blocks from Paddington Station where the Heathrow Express stops. The "Pros" Good location, clean, modern room, fantastic shower (lots of hot water, powerful shower head), heated towel racks, tv and tea making facilities, comfortable bed, helpful staff--particularly concierge They had a non-smoking floor--very important to me. The "Cons" The standard rooms are very small, just enough room for a double bed or two twins, a desk, dresser and chair. The "included" breakfast is not worth bothering about, a cup of coffee or tea and a danish and croissant--anything else is expensive and not worth it. A better bet is getting a full English breakfast for 4-5 British pounds at a restaurant near Paddington Station 3-4 blocks away This hotel was included as part of a 4 night package tour to London on United Vacations. When we checked in, we opted for two twins rather than a double. We spent little time other than sleeping so this hotel and convenient location worked well for us Note--Lancaster Gate underground station is closing for six months for renovation in the June/July 2006 timeframe so you will need to use Paddington or other transportation during that time. Strongly recommend Heathrow Express train for getting to and from airport--we did it both ways (tube and Express train) and the Express was worth the extra money.