As a global business centre, London’s business hotels are well equipped to serve the demanding business person.
Larger chain hotels in Mayfair and Marylebone – such as Hilton, Intercontinental, Crowne Plaza, Guoman, and Radisson Edwardian – offer business centers and conference venues in several of their hotels, and free Wi-Fi increasingly comes as standard (though it’s wise to check in advance).
Visitors new casino coming for the big trade fairs at Earl’s Court and Olympia will find plenty of choice for all budgets nearby in Kensington, meanwhile those heading to the Business Design Centre in N1 will find comfortable options and a hipper scene among the hotels of Islington and neighboring Hoxton and Clerkenwell (all equally handy for the City).
Paddington and Bays water are convenient areas to base you, with a good range of price brackets, good connections to the West End and the City, and the Heathrow Express rail link from Paddington Station to the airport (just a 15min ride). Ditto Victoria, home to the Gatwick Express rail link (30mins). And if you’re arriving in the capital by train, you’ll find business hotels at Liverpool Street (ANdAZ) and Euston (Hilton) stations.
London Docklands is no longer the isolated peninsula it was a decade ago; with major international companies moving to Canary Wharf and improved transport links have come top restaurants, an extensive underground shopping mall, the O2 Arena across the river, and its own business hotels from groups such as Hilton and Four Seasons. It’s got City Airport on its doorstep and as well as the Jubilee Line direct to Westminster and the West End, the Docklands Light Railway providing a fast ride (with great views) into the City, and the novel option of catching a river bus.
The luxury hotels in the City seem too good to waste on a business trip, and many offer cheaper deals at the weekend so why not invite your partner to come out and join you? If you prefer your own space when travelling, Citadines run well-equipped self-catering apartments in the City and West End, while Think has colonised the London Bridge area.
Or consider staying at London’s many airport hotels, especially if your stay is brief. Heathrow has 10 in its vicinity, fully-resourced within house conference venues, business centers, play casino games, presentation equipment and Wi-Fi. The time you would have spent struggling in an out of the city centre could instead be spent in the hotel gym, sauna, or relaxing in the bar.
