I was very excited to spend one day in London as “IHG London Educational” travelling around London discovering their different brands. Each brand is very different , each satisfying different types of guest’s needs.
Holiday Inn Express City is a family-friendly hotel. The Express City does not have its own restaurant but a number of the local restaurants offer a discount for hotel guests. Old Street train and Tube station is around 5/7 minutes walk, and you can catch Stansted Express at London Liverpool Street train station, a 15-minute walk away. A complimentary smartphone with 4G and free local calls is available in all bedrooms. Business guests are a short walk from the City of London’s financial district. In the hotel, you can host meetings for up to 80 people in five, flexible air-conditioned rooms with natural light and free WiFi. The breakfast buffet is served in a bright and fairly large dining area; the offering is mainly a continental breakfast but with some hot choices like sausages , scrambled eggs and bacon. In the UK, Holiday Inn Express hotels always include breakfast in the price for up to 4 people per room.
Express Holiday Inn City
Crowne Plaza City , based in the heart of London, is ideal for both business and leisure guests. The hotel is opposite Blackfriars tube and railway station, with direct connections to London Gatwick Airport (LGW) and St. Pancras International railway station, and is a 3 minutes’ walk from the River Thames.
For lunch and dinner, you can try Italian restaurant and wine bar “Diciannove” or taste delightful Sichuan specialties at the “Chinese Cricket Club” restaurant. The Italian restaurant also has a private room with natural light that can be booked for a meeting or private dining. The hotel’s lounge bar is named in honor of the French writer and philosopher, Voltaire, it’s the perfect subterranean spot in The City, serving Afternoon Tea by day and gourmet bar bites and cocktails into the night; with monthly cocktail masterclasses. Voltaire features a smart lounge complete with premium booths, a cigar terrace and has retained the original prison cells and bank vaults which have been transformed into private VIP zones with a music system. The hotel can seat up to 180 delegates in theatre style in the largest of five conference rooms, located on the conference floor. In total, the hotel has 5 meeting rooms, with led light combinations, new comfortable chairs and smart tv provided. The other meeting rooms can host between 15 and 6 people in Boardroom Style.
Holiday Inn, Kensington, is aimed at both families and business guests. Kensington Palace & Hyde Park is a short walk away. High St Kensington Tube Station is 2 minutes away and local bus stops provide easy access to the whole of London, with the Heathrow Express at Paddington Station just 10 minutes by taxi.
You can host small events or a conference for 450 people(reception style) or 300 (theatre style) in the hotel’s 13 meeting rooms. They are equipped with data projectors or 52 inch plasma screens and free WiFi. Catering can be arranged upon request and the private garden, with BBQ, is ideal for outdoor events.
Hotel Indigo, is a Boutique style hotel, situated in the heart of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. At first look, the building looks like a luxury Victorian townhouse in a historically affluent area of London and this can still be felt in your hotel experience. On the ground floor is Theo’s Simple Italian, a classic, rustic Italian all-day restaurant and deli. The manager and all the staff were very friendly. The hotel has one meeting room for up to 14 delegates with a bespoke French Walnut boardroom table. The room has natural daylight, 60 inch TV for presenting and a Smart Kapp board.
Intercontinental Hotel, Park Lane is a luxury hotel based in the heart of London, surrounded by the elegant shops and restaurants of Mayfair and Knightsbridge, the hotel’s rooms have views of two famous parks and Hyde Park Corner.
The hotel has 2 restaurants, the first one is “Theo Randall” Italian’s kitchen , and the second one is “Ella Canta”, an elegant Mexican gastronomy owned by Chef Martha Ortiz.
Theo Randall at the InterContinental London Park Lane presents a variety of dining options. Choose from a dining room for up to 24 people, a dining area for up to 50 people or enjoy hire of the entire restaurant for up to 145 people. “Ella Canta” restaurant features references to Mexican design and culture.
InterContinental London Park Lane also boasts a dedicated conference and event floor with state-of-the-art facilities. It is the ideal place for all your business needs. If you’re organizing a conference, their ballroom can accommodate up to 600 delegates. For smaller meetings the hotel has 15 rooms all featuring state-of-the-art equipment. The large room does allow for cars to be driven in.
I had a very informative day and enjoyed seeing good examples of some of the IHG brands.
Article by Vittorio, Reservations Consultant
