Review: The Royal Park Hotel
Sometimes you just need to get away from it all, which is where a mini-break or couple of nights in a decent hotel comes in. I recently stayed at the Royal Park Hotel, a boutique establishment in a Grade II listed building near Hyde Park that certainly fits the bill.
We were greeted on arrival by helpful, friendly staff and quickly shown to our room where the good news was broken to us. It was Sunday, traditionally the quietest night at any hotel, and rather than the classic double room we’d booked we’d been upgraded to a more deluxe room. This was very generous of the Royal Park Hotel, and we had cause to be grateful. Luckily for us, a luxury four-poster suite was available that evening, and it was absolutely beautiful.
The centrepiece of the bedroom was a huge hand carved four-poster bed with a silk-tented ceiling and fine Italian cotton sheets, fit for a princess. The rest of the décor was tasteful and elegant with mahogany period furniture, oil paintings, gilt mirrors, soft lighting and heavy curtains, and the whole suite was spotlessly clean, including the limestone bathroom.
There were also some lovely touches such as an iPod dock, free Wi-Fi, efficient climate control, welcome drinks, Penhaligon toiletries, robes and fluffy towels, a mini safe, minibar, and two flat screen televisions. It was especially nice to find a handwritten welcome note from the manageress in the suite when we arrived too. We had to look very hard to find any fault at all with the place, apart from a couple of small areas of scuffed woodwork in the bathroom, which were so minor as to be barely noticeable.
While the hotel does not have its own restaurant on site, they do have quite efficient 24-hour room service, which is reasonably priced compared with most other London hotels. We opted to go out to a nearby bistro for dinner, but ordered a nightcap in our room when we returned. There’s a pretty parlour area with an honesty bar right next to the reception desk as well, for anyone who’d like to stay up socialising.
The location is handy for walking in Hyde Park, general London sightseeing and shopping, and the Heathrow Express. Westbourne Terrace is conveniently close to Lancaster Gate tube station, and set far enough back from busy nearby roads to avoid noise from traffic, making for a tranquil night’s sleep.
The Royal Park Hotel is at 3 Westbourne Terrace, Lancaster Gate, Hyde Park, London W2 3UL. Rooms are available from £149 per night, and the hotel offers romantic getaway packages. For special deals on rooms and suites at the Royal Park Hotel and other top London hotels, you can book though www.hotels4u.com.
