Review of Conrad London St James

Situated adjacent to St James’s Park underground station, the Conrad St James is centrally located in the heart of Westminster, perfect for both business trips, the City and most of London’s key attractions and iconic landmarks including The Palace of Westminster, Big Ben, Westminster Cathedral, St James’s Park, Buckingham Palace, 10 Downing Street and Tate Britain. The River Thames is but a short walk away too with its riverboats and the Embankment and the Victoria & Albert Museum just 3.2 kilometres away. 

London Heathrow Airport is around 26 kilometres away (a journey time of around 45 – 60 minutes, depending on traffic), London Gatwick Airport 29 kilometres distance (around 90 minutes) and London City Airport, just 10 kilometres away (around 30 – 45 minutes’ drive time). For ease of transfer, take the Heathrow and Gatwick Express Trains to Paddington and Victoria railway stations respectively before jumping into a taxi for the short hop to the hotel. 

For drivers, there is self-parking at the nearby Q Park Victoria or valet parking.

There are 256 comfortable guest rooms and suites at the Conrad London St James, all enjoying a sophisticated neutral contemporary colour palette with pops of colour, a mix of textures from leather to warm wood and roomy marble bathrooms.  Room amenities include luxurious 400 thread count Egyptian cotton bedding; 42-inch flatscreen HD televisions with cable channels and access to Chromecast, a media hub, connectivity panels, adjustable thermostats with air conditioning and a work desk with ergonomic desk chair for a flexible working environment. There are also the normal luxury hotel toys - Nespresso machines, hair dryers, a choice of toiletries, minibars and remote-controlled curtains/shades. 

The room décor follows a similar pattern – well thought out and spacious room layouts offering a light, bright environment with contemporary, sophisticated furnishings. Guest rooms range from twin superior rooms/deluxe rooms at 26 – 28 square metres of living space, to king superior/deluxe rooms, to family rooms (36 square metres) and family connecting rooms. The latter family rooms feature special children’s amenities, bed linens, bean bags plus a selection of treats.  The King Executive Room (36 square metres) enjoys access to the Executive Lounge. Guests who have an early arrival or late departure may take advantage of the Lounge’s shower and changing facilities to freshen up. 

There are six categories of suite from the Junior at 40 square metres to the Conrad at 123 square metres, the hotel’s premier accommodation.  All enjoy access to the Executive Lounge which offers complimentary drinks and light bites throughout the day, breakfast and evening cocktails with canapés. 

The Junior Suites enjoy an open plan layout with a lounge area separated from the sleeping area by a cleverly designed room divider incorporating TVs and a working desk. The One-Bedroom suite at 54 square metres of space, enjoys a separate lounge/dining area with large windows offering an abundance of light. 

Moving up to the One-Bedroom Deluxe suite and there is a separate bedroom and living/dining area with a convenient guest cloakroom off the lounge with 58 square metres of space. These rooms can be connected to an additional room to extend into spacious two-bedroom suites with an extra bathroom. 

Some repeat guests enjoy the two-floor layout of the One-Bedroom Deluxe Duplex suites with living areas and an extra guest cloakroom downstairs and the master bedroom and ensuite upstairs. The Two-Bedroom Suite is pretty spacious with 82 square metres of living space, sleeping up to five guests. This suite can be extended by the addition of a connecting King Deluxe and King Superior room to accommodate up to nine guests. 

A private lift and entrance will take you to the hotel’s premier and signature suite – the One Bedroom Conrad Suite at a whopping 123 square metres of living space. The living room, illuminated by a large skylight, features a large seating area with a fireplace and especially commissioned artworks. This leads onto a dining room accommodating up to eight guests. The master bedroom enjoys a walk-in wardrobe leading into the master bathroom with twin vanities, a walk-in rain shower and a large soaking tub complete with a bathroom TV. For rustling up snacks or a gourmet meal, there is a fully equipped kitchen, a guest cloakroom and the flexibility to extend the accommodation to cover an eight-bedroom wing. 

The hotel also offers several accessible rooms for guests with mobility issues.

There is a compact 24/7 health and fitness centre featuring a range of Life Fitness cardiovascular and strength training equipment. For the best running routes in the capital, check in with the concierge. 

Pets are welcome at the hotel for medium sized dogs or cats of up to 15 kilograms.

Behind a stately 19th century façade, formerly Government Offices, lies an unexpectedly light, bright and contemporary luxury hotel catering to both business and leisure guests. The custom commissioned artworks help anchor the property to London with some pieces adding a light touch and link to the Palace of Westminster and our political masters. 

Part of the Hilton chain, guests at the Conrad Hilton St James are assured of a high standard of room amenities but another clever move is the recent switch of restaurant style overseen by noted chef Sally Abé, bringing in a classic London pub in the form of the Blue Boar Pub, a dark mysterious main restaurant and the elegant, feminine style of The Hedgerow, a rather glamorous and gorgeous blush pink and creamy oasis, perfect for ladies who lunch to enjoy a light bite, a coffee or a clutch of innovative cocktails. These are the most perfect of bolt holes for savvy Londoners looking for something a little different in Westminster Village.

The Pem Restaurant is an elegant space inspired by art deco with a touch of Asia, all dark woods and luscious reds, privacy lent by wooden room dividers. Menus here at the hotel are overseen by acclaimed Michelin-starred chef, Sally Abé. Her sense of fun is reflected in the menus which offers a range of quintessentially British classics, re-thought and re-presented in her distinct style. Alongside, there is a complementary wine list with a range of fine wines and eclectic choices from independent producers. 

The Blue Boar Pub offers Westminster Village its very own neighbourhood public house, a contemporary take on a British pub, complete with a menu of pub dining. Expect quintessential British classics with a twist, snacks and Sunday roasts. serving a classic pub menu with a twist alongside local craft beers, creative cocktails and an extensive range of spirits. 

The Hedgerow meanwhile is a glamorous, feminine space of blush pink and creams with a sweeping marbled bar and abundant greenery. With a cocktail menu devised by top mixologist Gregorio Soriente, his innovative creations are crafted using British botanicals and fruits. Open throughout the day for morning coffees, light snacks and afternoon tea, this is definitely a space for the “ladies who lunch”.  An equally beautiful venue awash with stunning floral decorations and a relaxed ambience is The Orchard Room serving elegant Afternoon Teas full of sweet and savoury delights. The glass roof allows light to flood this crisp, contemporary space.

Hilton Hotels sustainability and environmental policies come with the tagline, Travel with Purpose. By 2030, they are committed to cutting their environmental footprint by half. 

In their operations, they pursue operational excellence including their staff and guests to increase their positive impact. In local communities where they are located, they will bring Hilton’s innovation and influence to drive positive change whilst in their supply chain, they will partner with their suppliers to address social and environmental risks and will include this within their procurement process. 

Individual actions include reducing water usage, waste output and food wastage, whilst recycling all used guest soap bars where possible, diverting from landfills. Hilton contributes millions of volunteer hours; have doubled their investment in youth opportunity programmes; participate in food donation programmes; have activated 20 context-based water projects in local communities; promote environmental awareness and have created and partnered with cross industry networks to support policies for a low carbon future. They also endeavour to sustainably source all meat and poultry, produce, seafood and cotton at managed hotels if possible.