Review: the Hilton London Tower Bridge hotel

This is our review of the Hilton London Tower Bridge hotel.

Hilton is currently running its latest sale for hotels and resorts in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

You can get up to 20% off participating properties for weekend stays up to 8th September 2024.  You must book by 3rd September 2024. You can see full details on the Hilton website here.

To show you what sort of hotels you could book in the Hilton sale, the HfP team split up and visited four different properties in four different countries.  We’ll be bringing you these reviews over four consecutive Saturdays.

We started in Paris last weekend when Rhys reviewed the Canopy Paris Trocadero. Today we switch to London.

Hilton provided all four hotels in this series for free for review purposes. HfP paid for all of its incidental expenses. The articles are not sponsored and Hilton has not seen the reviews before publication.

The Hilton London Tower Bridge website is here.

Where is Hilton London Tower Bridge?

Hilton London Tower Bridge is located halfway between the London Bridge station, which is directly opposite one of the side exits, and Tower Bridge which is roughly 10 minutes walk away.

It is not directly on the Thames but has high profile neighbours such as PwC, EY, law firm Norton Rose Fulbright and Southwark Crown Court. The Thames itself is only a minute from the hotel with spectacular views of Tower Bridge and the Tower of London, especially at night.

Whilst the core visitor during the week may be clients of the firms above, the location has a LOT to offer the tourist. Borough Market, The Shard, the Tower of London, City of London and St. Katherine Docks are all in walkable distance.

The Bridge Theatre is just around the corner, currently with a highly rated revival of Guys & Dolls, and there is branch of The Ivy if you have an Amex Platinum dining credit to use up!

London Bridge station is served by the Jubilee and Northern tube lines which quickly bring you to other destinations in London. If you arrive via London Gatwick you can get a train directly to London Bridge from the airport.

First impressions

The hotel has two entrances – this is the one you approach when coming on foot from London Bridge:

The lobby area is narrow with one entrance on each side and can be busy at times. I had to return a couple of times for it to be quiet enough to take this picture:

Opposite the reception desk is a lounge. During my stay many hotel guests used this area to work and for meetings. Large screens showed the Wimbledon tennis.

The atmosphere in the lounge is lovely with large windows and clever use of colour and lighting.

A little further down is the bar. As my room was not ready when I arrived, I had a free drink here and enjoyed watching all of the office workers rushing past.

The bar has a small terrace which must be great in warmer weather. I should come again in the summer …. It is on a pedestrianised part of the estate so you don’t have car exhaust fumes blowing in your face.

My twin Executive Room

My room was on the fifth floor looking towards Southwark Crown Court. The interior is modern and welcoming with the twin beds (which was the room type we booked) on one end and .…

…. a desk and armchair at the other. The windows are relatively small – take a look at the first picture at the top of the review – and daylight only reached as far as the edge of the bed. At the desk I needed the light switched on.

The room had a coffee machine and two waters in plastic bottles (less impressive). The minibar was complimentary but only contained four cans of cola. It’s debatable whether a paid-for mini-bar is more or less useful than a very thinly stocked free one.

The view from my window was pleasant despite not being very high up. The hotel is in a part of London which is not especially green and very urban but the More London estate was laid out with elements of greenery between the offices.

My bathroom was very spacious with a shower over the bath tub and amenities from Crabtree & Evelyn. A dental kit and mouthwash were provided but there were no cotton pads for make-up removal.

The gym at Hilton London Tower Bridge

The gym is on the first floor together with the conference facilities. Whilst small it has all of the key machines and should be fine for a good work-out.

Breakfast at 1751

The restaurant, 1751, is very big and I doubt it is ever a problem to get a table. I suspect a lot of business visitors are up and about far earlier than I was.

As with the lounge the restaurant has large windows and it is interesting to watch the business world go by. The interior is colourful and tasteful which made for a pleasant atmosphere.

The kitchens open on one side of the restaurant:

In the morning the warm breakfast dishes are presented here. Breakfast is all buffet, including self serve coffee, with no a la carte options.

A long bar offers fruit, various pastries and cereals. Jams etc come in little jars.

In the fridge you will find smoked salmon, crudités, salami, cut fruits and yoghurts.

The pastries selection was really good, even offering cinnamon swirls and danish pastries.

Executive Lounge

The executive lounge is on the ninth floor. Access is free to Diamond members of Hilton Honors or you can book a room which includes it.

It is a more functional space, especially when compared to the decor in the public areas, and when food was being served it was quite busy.

In the back it has a small business centre with a printer.

The highlight for me was the roof terrace which has spectacular views towards The Shard at London Bridge ….

…. and the skyline of the City of London with all its iconic skyscrapers. On a warm day it would be a great place to hang out.

Breakfast in the Executive Lounge

Breakfast at the lounge was surprisingly decent. Whilst there is obviously less choice than in the main restaurant the difference is less than you might think.

There are warm dishes like scrambled eggs and bacon as well as warm croissants.

Porridge can be made from pots and there is cereal and toast with some fruit options.

Dinner in the Executive Lounge

If you are only after light bites in the evening the Executive Lounge has enough to save you needing to eat out – as long as you arrive between 6pm and 8pm. There were two hot choices on my visit – hake with spinach and courgette, and a chickpea and cumin filo pie.

The salad bar also had a good selection with various pickles, cheeses and dips like hummus and crudités as well as two canape options. For dessert it was chocolate mousse.

If you wanted a drink there was chilled prosecco and wine and other spirits.

Conclusion

Hilton London Tower Bridge is very well located for business travelers to More London or the City. Canary Wharf is also easily accessible by crossing the road and jumping on the Jubilee line.

For tourists you have easy access to the City of London and the Tower of London. There is also easy access to Greenwich by boat or by a mainline train from London Bridge station.

All in all, it’s a modern property and a pleasant change of scene for anyone who is more used to staying in the West End, and especially for Diamond members of Hilton Honors who get access to the decent Executive Lounge.

In terms of pricing, a stay in August is around £200 per night on some weekends in the current Hilton weekend sale. This is very good value, especially for elite members of Hilton Honors. It’s so cheap that I don’t recommend using points at this price, since you need 70,000 points per night which we’d value at 0.33p each (£233).

You can find out more, and book, on the Hilton London Tower Bridge website here.

Next Saturday, it’s Rob’s turn to review a European Hilton as he heads to Venice.

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How to earn Hilton Honors points and status from UK credit cards (April 2025)

There are various ways of earning Hilton Honors points from UK credit and debit cards.  Many cards also have generous sign-up bonuses.

There are two dedicated Hilton Honors debit cards. These are especially attractive when spending abroad due to the 0% or 0.5% FX fee, depending on card.

You also receive FREE Hilton Honors status for as long as you hold the debit cards – Gold status with the Plus card and Silver status with the basic card. This is a great reason to apply even if you rarely use it.

We reviewed the Hilton Honors Plus Debit Card here and the Hilton Honors Debit Card here.

You can apply for either card here.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 30th April 2025, the annual fee on the basic Hilton Honors debit card is halved from £60 to £30. The sign-up bonus is also easier to earn – you need to spend £1,000 either in the UK or abroad within three months. The usual bonus rule requires you to spend the full £1,000 outside the UK.

There is another way of getting Hilton Honors status, and earning Hilton Honors points, from a payment card.

Holders of The Platinum Card from American Express receive FREE Hilton Honors Gold status for as long as they hold the card.  It also comes with Marriott Bonvoy Gold, Radisson Rewards Premium and MeliaRewards Gold status.

We reviewed American Express Platinum in detail here and you can apply here.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on American Express Platinum is increased from 50,000 Membership Rewards points to a huge 80,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (80,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.

You can also earn Hilton Honors points indirectly with:

• American Express Gold (20,000 bonus Amex points)
• American Express Rewards Credit Card (10,000 bonus Amex points)

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on the ‘free for a year’ American Express Preferred Rewards Gold card is increased from 20,000 Membership Rewards points to 30,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (30,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.

and for small business owners:

• American Express Business Gold (20,000 bonus Amex points)
• American Express Business Platinum (50,000 bonus Amex points)

The conversion rate from American Express to Hilton Honors points is 1:2.

Click here to read our detailed summary of all UK credit cards which can be used to earn Hilton Honors points.