HotelChatter

Hotel Openings / London Hotel Openings / Hilton Hotels / Doubletree Hotels / London Hotels / → All Tags

DoubleTree by Hilton Doubles Up in London

Where: 92 Southampton Row , London, United Kingdom, WC1B 4BH

With all of the new London hotel openings lately, it looks like the old ones are feeling the pressure to double up and open some new properties themselves. The first to duplicate is the DoubleTree by Hilton, who have just opened a new hotel in Bloomsbury. In case you hadn't figured out that it will be their second in London.

The hotel is located in the former Park Inn Russell Square, London which was given a complete makeover before reopening as the DoubleTree West End on March 7th. This is the second time the hotel has re-opened under a different name, so let’s just hope it stays a DoubleTree for longer than a single year.

more ›

WiFi Hell / Hotel WiFi / London Hotels / Rezidor Hotels / Park Inn Hotels / → All Tags

Park Inn London Charges £15 for WiFi

Where: 92 Southampton Row, London, United Kingdom, WC1B 4BH

Perhaps we have been spoiled by the mid-market hotel WiFi situations over here in the United States. See, when we score a room in a mid-priced chain hotel where the rates run in the $100 neighborhood, we've come to expect free WiFi to be thrown into the deal.

This isn't really an unfair expectation: after doing our Annual WiFi Report for several years now, we've found the most exorbitant WiFi charges to come at us from the luxe chains, while many of the mid-market brands 'round these parts let us climb onto the Internet for free.

And so naturally, we were stunned to see that the newly revamped Park Inn London, Russell Square (whose rooms start at a totally decent 69 GBP, or about $97 USD) charges these sorts of prices for WiFi.

This screenshot comes to us via Flickr user sofiaGK, who noted that the "charges seem a bit excessive" — and, um, we have to agree.

The hotel claims to be "celebrating functionality and fun" — and 15 GBP for 24 hours of WiFi is neither functional nor fun.

[Photo: sofiagk]

Park Inn Hotels / Rezidor Hotels / London Hotels / Hotel Openings / → All Tags

Park Inn London Opening on February 1st

Where: 92 Southampton Row, London, United Kingdom, WC1B 4BH

The Rezidor Hotel Group is expanding their Park Inn brand, starting with the opening of a Park Inn in London next month.

The Park Inn London will be situated just south of Russell Square between the West End and financial district, taking over from the old Bonnington Hotel. The newly renovated space will comprise 214 rooms, a restaurant, bar, 14 meeting rooms and a fitness area.

Set to open on February 1st, the Russell Square Park Inn will be the group's 4th hotel in London other than the Radisson SAS Portman, Park Inn Hyde Park and Park Inn Heathrow and will be the 48th Rezidor hotel in the UK.

MORE

more ›