Inside the first Hilton hotel in the UK – with the ‘best city views’ and guests including Princess Diana & The Beatles
WITH hundreds of Hilton hotels worldwide, the famous chain dates back more than 100 years.
But the first one in the UK has a very interesting history – with some iconic visitors.
Originally opening as the London Hilton in 1963, it was the first skyscraper hotel to be built in London, with more than 500 bedrooms.
Now known as London Hilton on Park Lane, it has since welcomed more than 11 million guests.
The first most famous guests were The Beatles, who visited back in 1967.
Other people to have visited include the Dalai Lama, Margaret Thatcher and Tina Turner.
Keith Richards even dreamt up Rolling Stones hit Satisfaction in a suite at the hotel.
And in 1993, Princess Diana spoke to hundreds of guests at the hotel, where she announced she would be stepping down from her duties.
Celebrating its 60th anniversary this year, the hotel has recently undergone a multi-million renovation.
This includes the opening of its new cocktail bar Revery, as well as a 60s-themed celebration last month with a traditional brass band.
And the hotel will soon feature in a four-part Channel 5 documentary ‘Inside the Hilton On Park Lane’ airing later this year.
If you fancy staying yourself, you can choose from 453 rooms, or one of the 56 suites.
The upper-floor suites have some of the best views of London, looking out over Park Lane and Hyde Park.
Otherwise there are four on-site bars and restaurants, including the new Revery as well as the Sky Bar.
Double rooms at London Hilton on Park Lane start from £379 a night.
Previous guests have raved about the hotel, with one saying it should be a seven-star.
They wrote: “The London Hilton Hotel at Park Lane is truly one of the best hotels around the Globe.
“From your hotel room you can view all the sights, Buckingham Palace, The Shard, London Eye, Houses of Parliament.”
Others said they were “blown away” by the service from staff, as well as the modernised interiors.
General Manager Matthew Mullan said: “This year marks an incredible 60 years of London Hilton on Park Lane.
“Having recently completed a multi-million-pound renovation which pays homage to the hotel’s roots, we are poised for another 60 incredible years of setting the standard for hospitality in London and we look forward to seeing what the future holds.”
There are a number of other exciting Hilton hotels in the UK too.
One Hilton hotel overlooks the Silverstone race track – here’s what it’s like.
And we recently stayed at the Canopy by Hilton in London – which has free Peloton bikes in some of the rooms.
Flying from Stansted? Hilton has a hotel right inside the airport.
Here’s some of the hotel freebies you can get simply by asking, including Hilton’s famous cookies.