Win A Stay, In the shadows of Tower Bridge

“Smart Hotel”  Terrific location” Excellent Service” “one of the best in London”  these are just a few things that describe one of Hiltons newer properties on the London Hotel Scene.  Already knocking spots of the competition in terms of guest service and highly ranked on Trip Advisor, this hotel has clearly made its mark on its past and present customers.

The striking exterior of the hotel illuminates’ your arrival and is ideally situated on the doorstep of the City. The 245-bedroom hotel with high speed internet access in every guest room and wireless broadband internet access throughout offers something different and whether you’re on business or pleasure the subtle touches of colour will enlighten your stay.

Set against the backdrop of one of London’s best known historical landmarks you are literally immersed in the cultural side of London’s thriving London bridge district.  With so much to chose from to fill your time off you will no doubt have to return!  From the London Dungeon, to the Vinopolis wine tour, Borough Market to the spectacular London Bridge.  What a day! But safe to know that you can take advantage of the hotel’s lively cocktail bar before enjoying the delights of the restaurant’s European cuisine to complete a memorable stay at the Hilton Tower Bridge Hotel

If I was to recommend any of the above attractions it would most certainly be the Tower Bridge Tour or failing that why not watch the opening of the bridge to allow some of London’s taller ships access to the heart of the city.  If however you just cannot cram it in we have found five of our most favorite facts about the Bridge that will make even the most skeptic believe you have experienced the tour.

1910 – the high-level walkways, which were designed so that the public could still cross the bridge when it was raised, were closed down due to lack of use.

1912 – during an emergency, Frank McClean had to fly between the bascules and the high-level walkways in his Short biplane, to avoid an accident.

1952 – a London bus driven by Albert Gunton had to leap from one bascule to the other when the bridge began to rise with the number 78 bus still on it.

1977 – Tower Bridge was painted red, white and blue to celebrate the Queen’s Silver Jubilee. (Before that, it was painted a chocolate brown colour).

1982 – Tower Bridge opened to the public for the first time since 1910, with a permanent exhibition inside called The Tower Bridge Experience.

So why not experience the Hilton London Tower Bridge for yourself, with rates on lastminute.com from £140.00 during the December sale or enter the below competition to win a 1 night stay including dinner and breakfast.

So, let me enter I hear you cry, firstly you need to like our London Hotel Experts facebook page and then answer the following question:

“If you could spend Christmas anywhere in the world with anyone in the world, who would it be?”

Entries stay open until 5pm on Friday 16th December and the winner will be announced on Monday 19th December, so, what are you waiting for, get finger to keyboard and start writing. Only the best one will win. Good Luck!

Before entering to win the prize, you must read the Terms and Conditions governing this competition.  When you enter the competition, you will be deemed to have accepted and agreed to these.

London’s newest design hotel opens and boy is it affordable!

It has been just under a month since London’s brand new design hotel, Aloft London Excel, hosted guests for its official launch party. Following the launch of W London earlier this year, Starwood Hotels & Resorts welcomed a crowd of over 300 guests who were able to enjoy signature cocktails created specifically for the opening event by Aloft mixologists. The night continued with an unexpected stunt by London’s premier free-running club, 3RUN, outside of the hotel, before the evening got even more special with an amazing performance by “Turning Up the Spotlight” music contest winners Fastlane Candies. Afterwards, a live graphic design battle was staged between some of London’s coolest graphic designers.

Located in the heart of London’s Docklands, Aloft London Excel is the first Aloft hotel to open in the UK and the second Aloft hotel to open in Europe. Created to shake up the staid mid-market hotel sector by delivering urban-influenced design at an affordable price.

Aloft London Excel features 252 loft-like guest rooms, a buzzing w xyz bar, a grab-and-go food offering and industrial design elements throughout. Prices start at £120 plus VAT per room per night.

The hotel launched with a digital art battle by street artists from Cut & Paste and Secret Wars. Artists went head to head to create a piece of art inspired by a theme of ‘Innovation in East London.’ The winner, Sam Bevington, had his piece of artwork projected onto the side of the hotel building. This was the first time Cut & Paste has ever collaborated with Secret Wars in an event curated by creative art network, Monorex.

Renowned East London promoters Urban Nerds provided the music, with Urban Knights, Rattus Rattus & Klose One and Sophie Lloyd taking to the decks. Parkour performers 3RUN took over the space with a unique visual performance whilst guests sipped on exclusive cocktails at the w xyz bar, created by cutting-edge mixologist Ruth Ball of Alchemist Dreams.

Michael Wale, Senior Vice President, Starwood Hotels & Resorts said, “We are delighted to be launching the Aloft London Excel tonight with a showcase of the UK’s very best emerging talent. Aloft London brings urban-inspired, affordable accommodation to London’s hotel scene and provides an exciting new option for today’s culture conscious independent travellers.”

A ski lodge in the centre of London?!?! – find out more with another superb competition!

If you were ‘lucky’ enough to experience the snow, or lack of it in the Alps last year, you will know it was a bit of a washout, unless you fancied skiing in June, when very unseasonally they had a massive dump of the white stuff!? So because we cant rely on the snow in the Alps, one of our very ingenious hotel partners have come up with an amazing idea… bring the spirit of the Alps to London! And boy have they managed to do this!

The Montague on the Gardens Hotel – by far one of the nicest hotels in London (just check Trip Advisor if you don’t believe me!) has created it’s very own Ski Lodge! How cool is that? And to help you get into the Christmas Spirit (there is that C word again) they have created 11 different flavoured Vodka’s to see everyone through to Boxing Day. The thing is, they need a little help creating the final 12th Christmas Vodka flavour, so they have come to you – the loyal readers of the London Hotel Experts for help!

Not only that, but the creator of the winning flavour will be invited to The Montague on the Gardens for an overnightstay for 2 with breakfast! That is a pretty good prize on its own I hear you say, but the lucky winner will receive a personal Ski Pass for 2 to experience the Montague Lodge Winter Wonderland to take Afternoon Tea AND you will get to take home (or drink there and then!) a bottle of the Vodka you created! I am so excited writing this it is untrue! Oooh, and, your flavour will be on sale in the last 2 weeks of December to the public!

All of their current flavours have a Christmas twist. For example, Cinnamon, Candy Cane and Spiced Apple so get your thinking caps on and be creative! They will be able to make pretty much anything, but try and keep in the realms of reality with your thinking.

All you need to do to enter is to let us know your ideal flavour on The London Hotel Experts facebook page (link here) before the 06th November and will will announce the winner soon after. Please check out the T&Cs below, but on top of that please note that the prize can be taken up to the 31st March 2012, however if it is taken after the 31st December 2011, the Ski Passes will be substituted for something of equal value and the Festival Afternoon Tea will be substituted with a Montague Afternoon Tea – still very yummy!

Lastly, if you cant wait to win this prize, you can always stay at the hotel and experience the Winter Wonderland by booking with lastminute.com here!

Terms and conditions can be found here! http://www.thelondonhotelexperts.com/terms-conditions/

Dare I say the word Christmas??? Win a superb shopping break!

Yes Yes, saying the ‘C’ word even though there is still 67 days until that Jolly Old Man comes to visit us isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but the competition we have for you this week does deserve the mention – I promise!

This month, we have teamed up with our very good friends at the London Marriott West India Quay Hotel and John Lewis at the superb new Westfield shopping centre at Stratford to bring you a wonderful prize that will come in very handy so close to Christmas!

So, what can you lucky, lucky people win this week? Firstly, how about an overnight stay at the 5 star London Marriott West India Quay with breakfast for 2 people. This would be an amazing prize on its own! Located just across from Canary Wharf in West India Quay, the hotel benefits from superb transport links via the Docklands Light Railway or the Jubilee Line into central London, whist also enjoying the proximity all of the bars and restaurants at West India Quay. You will also enjoy all the services and amenities that a 5 star hotel of this nature provides to you !

You can relax in beautiful, stylish bedrooms but they have also been smartly designed with work areas, high-speed Internet and lap top safe for those of you that can’t leave the office behind!  To revive the body and soul, there’s a state-of-the-art fitness suite. And for a relaxing dinner or lunch, Curve Restaurant & Bar tempts with fresh seafood and great steaks, situated amidst the largest al fresco dining in the area.

But alas, on top of winning a stay here, you will also be whisked via executive transportation to Westfield Shopping Centre where the lucky couple will be able to go to John Lewis to meet one of their Fashion Advisor’s for a one hour fashion recommendation with champagne and nibbles!

All you have to do to win this amazing prize is go onto The London Hotel Experts facebook page – link HERE – andanswer the following question as creatively as possible.

Fashion is my passion and Marriott is my delight because…….

Dont forget the T & Cs either!