Winnie the Whinger: She’s enough to send Basil barmy

Ian Jarrett meets the serial hotel complainer. The guest for whom nothing is quite right. The guest guaranteed to send Basil Fawlty into meltdown.

No matter where you try to hide, you will keep running into the hotel complainer. In the foyer, in the lift and in the restaurant. The complainer is eager to share his or her various grievances.

"What time is happy hour," the lady guest asked the concierge at the Doubletree by Hilton at Hyde Park.

"Madam, at this hotel every hour is happy hour," he replied with a smile, not a smirk.

Not satisfied with the answer, Winnie the Whinger, an American, shot back: "Well, every Hilton I know has a happy hour."

Later, in the lift, as she made her way to reception to register another complaint, the lady fixed me with a don’t-dare-you-look-away stare. "The rooms are so small," she said. "And there are no bathrobes."

I left her to test the patience of the front office staff while I considered her grievances,

Did the lady have a point about happy hour, the compact bedrooms and the non-existent bathrobes?

The guest rooms at the Doubletree Hyde Park are certainly not huge but in a popular part of London, they are well priced and, if you want fluffy robes, the five-star Hilton London Hyde Park is just up the road.

Location is a big selling point for this property. Opposite Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens, and very close to Queensway and Bayswater Underground stations, with Notting Hill Gate just a bit further on, the hotel has quick access to London’s key visitor destinations.

Even easier, the HopOn-HopOff tour bus stops right outside the hotel in Bayswater Road. DoubleTree Hyde Park is also close to Paddington Station and the Heathrow Express train, providing quick access to London Heathrow airport. 

And if you fancy a stroll to Kensington Palace or the Serpentine, Doubletree’s Urban Meadow restaurant (below) has a Grab-and-Go menu for picnickers.

Most of the hotel’s touch points that I encountered were more than satisfactory. The signature Sweet Dreams bed and Citron bath products by Crabtree and Evelyn provided rest and revival.

There is high-speed Internet access (for a fee) in the rooms, and complimentary WiFi is available in public areas on the ground floor. 

Doubletree also offers guests a generous list of complimentary items for guests who have arrived without a comb, razor, shaving cream, toothbrush, toothpaste or deodorant.

Not for the first time in a hotel, I found myself wondering whether the fire alarm sounding at 7.30 in the evening was practice for staff or the real thing. I called reception who told me it was the real thing, and to evacuate the building.

What to grab? I settled for my passport, credit cards and Macbook Air, but I should have taken a coat, given the breeze cooling the street area where hotel staff were directing guests.

The situation was well handled by Doubletree staff, and although the non-appearance of the fire services and an apology indicated a false alarm, the hotel had clearly opted for a safety-first approach.

Overall, this is a hotel without alarms. It is consistent in its service delivery and even though it does not have fluffy robes, the warm chocolate chip cookie given to guests on arrival is a welcome worth waiting for.

By Ian Jarrett

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