The Stylotel Hotel is located in Paddington, which is the only area of London with direct access by Tube (The London Underground) to all of London’s major tourist attractions. Â See more about Paddington, and my 10 reasons why Paddington is the best place to stay in London for tourists here.
Literally just 2 minutes walk away from the station. And in addition to providing direct access to the major attractions, Paddington Station is the only rail station in London with direct, non-stop access to Heathrow airport via The Heathrow Express
Central to everything in Paddington, it’s adjacent to Norfolk Square Garden, a wonderful quiet green space, and 5 minutes walk to the Italian Gardens at Hyde Park. It’s just a stone’s throw from Paddington’s restaurants, retail shops, and pubs.
It comes with many of the amenities you’d only find at more expensive, big chain hotels, and that you won’t find at competing London budget hotels.
Many, if not most budget hotels in London don’t have a elevator (Lift, if you’re British). So unless you like lugging heavy luggage up flights of stairs after a long journey to London, you might want to think twice about booking a hotel without a lift.
Unlike many, if not most of the thousands of privately owned/leased hotels in London, The Stylotel has air-conditioning throughout. If you’re visiting London in July or August air conditioning should be on your hotel amenities checklist.
In most cases, London’s budget hotels are located in buildings that are very old, and therefore contain no sound dampening materials within their flooring and walls.
On my 50th visit to London, I was lucky enough to stay at the Stylotel Hotel on Sussex Gardens in the heart of Paddington. To say it exceeded my expectations is an understatement for sure. Upon entering my room the first time a question immediately popped into my mind: “Is this really a budget hotel?” The styling and attention to detail are what you might expect from a hotel 2 or 3 times the nightly rate of this one. Yes, it being a budget hotel means smaller rooms than those of more expensive hotels, but for me, I’ll take great value for money over room size any day.
The owner has an attention to detail for his guests that you simply wouldn’t expect from a budget hotel. Things like plenty of outlets and charging stations for a traveler’s electronic devices, not only in your room, but everywhere else in the hotel as well. Or how about the digital panel* next to your bed, which allows you not only to control the lights in your room, but allows you to set a mood for the room by changing the color of the lights as well. Also included on the panel is temperature control and a button for ‘Do Not Disturb’ status for your room.Â
You’re truly going to feel like you’re staying in a much more expensive hotel when you stay here! How often do you get to spend money on something that makes you feel like you should have spent more?
Take a look below to see what you’ll experience when staying at this hotel.Â
* I should note here, that not all of the rooms yet have this feature, as they are being added with the ongoing renovation of each room. If you’d like to have this feature you can probably request a room with one when you book your room
The moment you enter the reception area, it quickly becomes evident that this is going to be a different hotel experience than you may be used to. Bright LED lighting, high definition information TV monitors, and the crisp lines and dramatic curves that make up the design are incredibly pleasing to the eye.
Adjacent to the reception area is a really cool lobby with super bright and clear large format pictures of Paddington Station, with plenty of seating for guests to gather in the morning while planning their sightseeing, or just a place to sit and relax with coffee, tea or soft drinks.
The rooms at this hotel are breathtakingly beautiful. You might even find yourself asking the question “am I really in a budget hotel?” They are incredibly clean and offer an attention to detail like I’ve never experienced in a budget hotel.
The stylish experience of this hotel continues as you head downstairs for breakfast in the morning to fuel up for your busy sightseeing day. This breakfast room is simply extraordinary!
As you can see in the picture above, the breakfast is buffet style, and you can grab a plate with a freshly made overeasy egg (eggs are prepared any way you like by the breakfast staff) from the heated cabinet beside the buffet, then add everything you need from the six-pan food bar to make a ‘Full English’ breakfast. Also available are a selections of fresh fruit, cereal, sliced ham and cheese, croissants, juices, coffee and tea.
YES. IT REALLY DOES LOOK THIS GOOD!
Click HERE to view additional pictures I took at Stylotel during my recent stay:
Hi. My name is Matt Smith, and I’ve been a London Travel Planner for over 12 years. I’ve helped more than 100 people plan their visits there. My first visit to London was in 2002, and over the 22 years since then I have taken 65 visits there!
One of the questions I’m asked most frequently is “Where is the best place to stay in London?” This is a perhaps the most important question you can ask, especially as a first time visitor, because choosing where to stay will have a significant impact on your visit here, and I will give you 10 reasons why the best place to stay in London is Paddington.