Conrad London St James

As Hilton Honors members we were able to book a room using points and, not unexpectedly, it was not the "best room in the house". Nevertheless it was clean and comfortable and came with excellent included breakfast. Included was 'Executive Lounge' which had afternoon and evening snacks. The location is excellent within walking distance of Buckingham Palace and Thames River, Parliament Buildings, etc.

This is the first time I have written a negative review for anyone, ever. Here is our story: My husband and I booked the Conrad Hotel in London for a three night stay this past November on our way home from our "trip of a lifetime" to Paris, Egypt and Jordan to celebrate my retirement and birthday. Unfortunately we booked a non-refundable reservation and were unable to travel as we were seriously affected by back to back hurricanes Helene and Milton in September and October in Florida. We were effectively homeless, struggling and could not travel. We requested and received a FULL refund from the Viking cruise line. Despite also having a non-refundable reservation with the Le Meridien Etoile in Paris, we requested and received a FULL refund for our three night stay there as well. When we contacted the Conrad, they indicated they would keep one nights stay and refund the remainder of the other two nights in their email communication to us. While disappointed, we felt this to be a fair solution and agreed. However, the Conrad did not honor the agreed upon one night penalty, and did not release the remaining nights to the booking agent Agoda. We were billed a total of $1,136.27, treated as a "no-show" even after cancelling our reservation more than 5 weeks prior to travel and with email confirmation of our cancellation. We filed a dispute with our credit card company and were not successful despite the Conrad's written communication that they would refund two of the three nights. We are disappointed on a humanitarian level of the insensitivity to a couple in crisis, and their failure to abide by their offer of a partial refund.

Loved this hotel! Everyone went above & beyond for us. Liam at the front desk was very accommodating, as well as Earl in the breakfast restaurant. This property is beautiful, and very well maintained. Will definitely stay here again. #lovehilton

As a loyal Hilton Diamond member of many years, it pains me write that this return visit to the Conrad was very disappointing and were I a teacher creating their end of year report, I'd be doing them a favour if I entitled it "Must do Better!". By means of background, under the previous GM (Beverly) we were regular & returning customers, despite living only a few miles away in South London, and enjoyed many superb visits, so much so we extended many of them. Fast forward a couple of years, and wow, how the mighty have fallen under new leadership. Where to start, yes we arrived early (2 hours pre check in) and yes we didn't expect a room to be ready, however what we didn't expect is to be chasing our room well after the check in time, not least when the hotel was not at full occupancy the prior night, and not least then the Conrad had, for reasons best known to them, changed our room from the one I'd pre selected. New room was at end of corridor, which perhaps explains the hours it took for the housekeeping team to get around to servicing it as they worked their way down hallway, finally getting our room ready. Anyway, as polite as the front office team were, there was very little pleasantries compared to years gone by, and we thus waited some hours (until well after check in time) before getting a room - the one we had not chosen. No mention nor thank you of Diamond Status nor any mention of any upgrade - not that we expect this (we booked the specific room type we wanted) but a passing acknowledgment, if only insincere, of our 190+ stays at Hiltons this year would have been nice, and the welcome was poles apart that received when Bev was GM. Sadly the team members have changed, no one we recognized in any of the outlets, and indeed seems a whole new team. Worthy of mention is the passive aggressive & very unfriendly sour faced Paul or Phil who was working the Executive lounge on the Friday and Sunday. Far from welcoming, and indeed the very opposite, he made us feel like we were imposing and were a hassle for him (perhaps owing to us being a gay couple), although he did seem to be able to proactively top up the drinks and look after another gay couple - they were likely younger & better looking than we were - nothing like making you feel valued. Other team members in the Exec lounge were lovely, although not enough team members and breakfast became a bun flight (pardon the pun). Turned away from the main breakfast room owing to them having no tables, we resorted to Sunday breakfast in the lounge - big mistake. Lack of food, tables not cleared, no cutlery on others and a bit of "grab what you can before it goes" scenario - not really conducive for a relaxing Sunday breakfast, in fact the very opposite. And for the Blue Boar, an establishment we had been to many times before and see a decline, well it's bounced back! Sure, service was hit & miss (mostly poor) but this was poles apart from earlier visits when it had become dire. Team Members at Blue Boar now very friendly and now hard working, just not enough of them, and short staffing caused issues and delays with F&B ordering and delivery to table. That said, food superb, way better than has been in the past, amazing food and great quality and super big portions - so much better than what we remember. So, in a nutshell, room lovely (as ever). most team members lovely (as ever), but a noticeable and measurable decline in standards across many areas, and a surprising increase in other areas (food quality and portion sizes at Blue Boar). I'm sorry I've waited two years to return here, however I'm also sorry I did return. The Conrad, under Bev and her team was a warm and welcoming paradise - so much so we returned time after time). Now, however, in my opinion, the hotel (not helped by Sour face in the lounge) is a shell of it's former self - I suspect it will be more than a few years until we next return, not least when there's so many other options available, including the superb Metropole where we spent the last week before spending this weekend at the Conrad. On reflection, wish we had remained at the Metropole, and wish that the Conrad could get it's mo-jo back, the one it when Bev was GM. My, how the mighty have fallen, please bring back Bev & her team!

We always stay at this hotel in London. We love it! Its location is perfect. Close to Westminster and the west end. We walk everywhere and the tube stop is immediately across the street. The bar pub and restaurant all very good. Staff has been wonderful. The rooms and beds are comfortable which is important after touring all day. I would highly recommend.