Work commitment had compeled me to stay close to where I needed to be. If you know me, I don't particularly like spending time away from home. All my cool stuff are at home.
Nevertheless, work is priority, and I am one that is committed to my job. For four nights, I had spent time away from home and stayed at the Hampton by Hilton hotel in Croydon. Initially I was only meant to be away for 3 nights but I had to extend an additional might.
Hampton by Hilton is a misdcale hotel brand by the Hilton Hotel and Resort Group. The reason I chose to stay here was first of all because I am a Hilton Honors member. Second most important reason was the hotel location.
The Hampton by Hilton hotel in Croydon is located a short distance away from the East Corydon station. When I say short distance, I mean 2 - 3 minutes walk. You can literally see the hotel from East Croydon station so there is absolutely no reason why you cannot find it. From East Croydon station, it takes you less than 20 minutes to central London. It is also midway to Gatwick Airport and Brighton.
Being in central Croydon, there are abundance of shops, cafes and restaurants around. Whitgift Shopping Centre and the Centrale Shopping Centre are a short distance away. If you want to go around Croydon, bus stops are less than five minutes minutes walk away, so is the tram stop that can even take you all the way to Wimbledon. If you are driving, Ruskin Square car park is located right oppposite the hotel.
With a midscale hotel like the Hampton by Hilton, there are not many facilities and room option available.The hotel has a compact loby with business centre tucked on the side. On the other side, there is a bar and restaurant.There is also a fitness centre located on the second floor.
The Hampton by Hilton Croydon comes with an option of Double Room, Double Room with sofa and Accessible Double Room. I opted to stay in the Doble Room and was allocated a room on the tenth floor, the highest floor available. It was a compact room that comes with a compact en suite. There was an armchar and a work desk that comes with an ergonomic work chair, very useful when I needed to be on my laptop.
Other than the tea and coffee making facilities, the room also has a laptop safe and ironing facilities. There is a large television in the room, possibly a 43" or even a 50" television. Did not really measure it. Quite large television for similar type of room in the market. The double bed was relatively comfortable, with four soft pillows. The room also has air-conditioning.
The room I stayed in was clean and has adequate amenities. It was however not the best room in the hotel. I have previously stayed in the same type of room on the same floor but one that is facing East Croydon station.
Room 1007 where I stayed, faces central Croydon. Room 1004 where I stayed previously has a better view of East Croydon station and the rail line. You can see trains coming in and out of East Croydon station. I am also pretty sure that Room 1004 has USB ports, where else room 1007 which I stayed recently has not. Whilst clean and tidy, you can definitely start to see wear and tear in Room 1007. As far as I can remember Room 1007 was not as good as Room 1004. On my reservation however, I did mentioned I will be taking photos and posting my review on my blog. It would have been better if I could show their best room but I guess they must have not picked up on that. Though I can hear guests walking up and down the corridor, I was not disturbed by traffic noise.
The rooms at Hampton by Hilton Croydon come with complimentary breakfast, good bargain I would have to say. There was a good breakfast buffet option with cereals, cold deli meats and hot full English option. I remember on my previous stay they have a really good croissant and pain au chocolat. No more pain au chocolat on this stay unfortunately, and the croissant have also shrunk. I guess inflation and high operating cost means they have to cut down on certain things. There was however an addition to the breakfast buffet that was not available on my previous stay
- freshly made waffles. The batter were already pre-made and guests can just
help themselves with the waffle maker. If in doubt, staff are always around to help.
Guests can also help themselves to the bean-to-cup coffee machine. They also have an option of apple and orange juice. Fresh fruits are also available, and not to forget the yoghurt.
For a complimentary buffet breakfast, it was really good. Not the best I have had, but good given the price-range. Though, I do miss the pain au chocolat. It was the most memorable thing about Hampton by Hilton Croydon, for me at least. Too bad they have axed that. Would have preferred that than the waffles.
In general, the stay was relatively straightforward with quick check-in and check-out. If there is one outstanding staff member I can point out, it would be Manoj who would always be around to help with the breakfast shift.
In total, I paid £268.61 for the 3 nights I originally reserve. This equals to an average of £89.53 per night. For the additional night I extended, I paid another £88.35. I got the cheapest rate available - the Honors Discount Semi-Flex. I booked using their Hilton Honors app. WiFi is free if you are a Hilton Honors member, which I am.
I would say that that Hampton by Hilton hotel is certainly good value, especially if you book directly and in advance. Again, location of the hotel is really great for those wanting to access central London with East Croydon station being nearby. I do admit however given Croydon's reputation which I will not elaborate here, you might not want to wonder around the town centre in the dark. Instead of going out for food, you can always get food delivered to the hotel like I did. Plenty of options available.
I would say, this is certainly an excellent hotel to stay in for a solo business traveler like me. My main tip: book early and book direct.