Radisson Blu Hotel, London South Kensington (formerly Vanderbilt)

“Lovely hotel!”

Perfectly lovely hotel that is near many great landmarks in London. Loved the Victoria and Albert Museum, driving tour around Buckingham Palace, and a visit to Harrods. Wonderful breakfast buffet with coffee or tea, juices, cereals, yogurts, cheeses, bread and rolls and sweets, eggs and sausages. G… more

Perfectly lovely hotel that is near many great landmarks in London. Loved the Victoria and Albert Museum, driving tour around Buckingham Palace, and a visit to Harrods. Wonderful breakfast buffet with coffee or tea, juices, cereals, yogurts, cheeses, bread and rolls and sweets, eggs and sausages. Good service.

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“Great stay in a great location”

First off, European hotel rooms are small. Know that going in and get over it. If you want a giant room, you're going to have to pay for it. We stayed here for 4 nights at the end of September. The room was big enough for a small desk, closet and king size bed. The shower had good temperature and … more

First off, European hotel rooms are small. Know that going in and get over it. If you want a giant room, you're going to have to pay for it. We stayed here for 4 nights at the end of September. The room was big enough for a small desk, closet and king size bed. The shower had good temperature and pressure and a waterfall shower head. There is a single elevator that can get crowded at check-out. It looked like the hotel hosts pre-cruise passengers. The bar area looked popular and offered plenty of seating. This hotel was carved out of an older building, and is going to have shifting corridors and odd stairs, so be aware of that in case you get lost. That is part of the charm of the facility. That said, the hotel was perfectly located near the Gloucester Road tube stop and in easy walking distance of Hyde Park, the Natural History Museum and the V&A as well as Harrods. There is a Waitrose & Partners near the tube stop if you want to pick up drinks and snacks, as well as a bunch of fast food and sit down restaurants nearby as well. The staff were friendly and accommodating when we arrived early and offered to store our bags till our room was ready. Housekeeping were fast and nearly invisible. They were not crowding the halls early in the morning. The breakfast buffet was of good quality and a good selection of your typical English and continental standards. You could also order off a small a la carte menu that was part of your buffet price. The breakfast buffet became the Scoff & Banter restaurant in the evenings. The service was excellent and they served a surprisingly good fish and chips. All in all, I'd have no problems staying here again next time i'm in London.

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“Good in parts”

I think I used to come here often when it was an Edwardian brand hotel and it was all swags and carpets and flock wallpaper, really over the top and exactly what 19th century townhouses should look like, in my opinion. Well it ain't like that anymore. The bar and dining room have gone minimalist wi… more

I think I used to come here often when it was an Edwardian brand hotel and it was all swags and carpets and flock wallpaper, really over the top and exactly what 19th century townhouses should look like, in my opinion. Well it ain't like that anymore. The bar and dining room have gone minimalist with a huge air conditioning shaft running the length of the two rooms in steel, modern looking lighting with those looped wiring that look either really cool or stupid depending on your point of view. The floor is sanded floorboards, plain painted walls and the mismatched tables and chairs reek of a Drew Pritchard aesthetic that again you will either love or hate. Personally I don't mind it in the right setting, which to my mind is not the aforementioned 19th century townhouse. And here's the thing it actually looked far more old fashioned than the last time I called and also very much out of place. One other thing I spotted that I really, really hate was a man, please God let him be American, eating with a baseball cap on. Why? Take your hat off when entering a place with a roof. I actually think hotels should set down some rules about this sort of thing, you know stuff your mother should have told you like, no shorts in the dining room if you are over 11, eat with your mouth closed, don't click your fingers at the help and never, ever wear a baseball cap (even in an ironic way) in a hotel in England. Get past the bar/eating areas and shadows of the past remain, including wallpaper in the halls and smallish bedrooms (but not bad for central London) that definitely feel in need of an upgrade. What lost it two stars however were the most uncomfortable bed I have ever tried to sleep in with the world's worst pillows to make it even more uncomfortable. Thankfully it was just one night. All of which is very sad because there is much to admire here. The staff were very professional and warm and the cooked breakfast was far better than you would expect. (Dinner looked good but expensive so we went to Nandos which was in easy walking distance) The bar staff seemed very friendly and provided good draft Peroni, again unusual in a London hotel. Which makes me wonder what is going on here? The difficult stuff - good food, drink, staff they got very right. While the easy stuff - creating welcoming spaces, having good beds and pillows was spectacularly wrong. A disappointing three stars it is then.

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