In a prime location on Park Lane, near the stylish powerhouse Metropolitan London, this 28-floor triangular tower has been a London landmark since it opened in 1963. It does not carry the prestige it possessed when it first debuted, but unlike the Park Lane Hotel (Sheraton), it has moved into the 21st century with grace. Conscious of maintenance and current trends, the owners have established a notable rooftop dining room (London's highest), the executive floor is a wonderful, if expensive, perk, and the tiny new champagne bar lures locals as well as in-house bubbly fans into its compact confines. Overall, this place looks great for its age, though its closest competitor, the InterContinental London Park Lane, is putting the finishing touches on a stylish modern makeover that, when completed, should have it casting a small shadow over this hotel.
In addition to the Park Lane entrance, there is a more discreet celebrity entrance at the rear. The liveried doorman welcomes guests into an attractive marble lobby with limited seating but lots of places to turn to. The plentiful reception staff is friendly and efficient, and a separate executive check-in is on the first floor. The lobby leads to two restaurants, two bars and a handful of shops.
The Park Lane Brasserie opens directly off the lobby and has street access. It offers all-day dining from 7 am until 1 am. A buffet breakfast, set lunch menus and a la carte dining are available, all with a Mediterranean flavor. It also has a bar and small coffee lounge.
Galvin at Windows
is the well-regarded fine-dining restaurant on the 28th floor. A cleverly designed raised floor in the center of the restaurant ensures that all diners can enjoy the stunning panoramic views. Although the restaurant is smoke-free, smoking is permitted in the adjacent bar. The old viewing gallery is no longer open to the public, but the bar, with waiter service, is open to nondiners. English chef Chris Galvin brings a fresh and contemporary approach that suits this modernized Hilton well.
Trader Vic's is open from noon to 1 am (3 am on weekends). It is a Polynesian-themed restaurant located down a spiral staircase from the lobby or directly off the street. Following the path of its siblings, this venue consists of bamboo, tiki facemasks and theatrical tropical colors that look great in the dim lighting. The cuisine is spicy Polynesian but with plenty of standard international options. Meat is cooked in large wood-fired ovens, which are on display beside the kitchen. An exotic tropical cocktail menu is available.
The Pop Bar is a small, intimate champagne bar directly off the lobby. It has ultramodern decor enhanced with Peter Blake pop art on the walls, and staffers wear Vivian Westwood designer gear. Here, champagne is sold by the glass or in tiny bottles with straws.
The Zeta Bar has a casual environment that is designed around the precepts of feng shui. It is more of a nightclub than a simple bar, and is accessed from the lobby or via a street entrance. It is open from 6 pm until 1 am (3 am on weekends) and has a cover 
charge after 10 pm for nonresidents. The bar hosts a DJ on Friday and Saturday nights. All drinks are made from freshly squeezed juice, and one specialty is the fresh chili-based cocktail. Bar food is available from the upstairs kitchen.
The basement houses a state-of-the-art gym, steam room and sauna, along with several treatment rooms offering massage and a wide range of beauty treatments. Personal trainers are available. The lobby has a jewelry shop, newsagents with souvenirs and a florist. In the basement are a barbershop and a hairdresser.
Excellent meeting facilities include a dedicated business center on the fourth floor with its own reception. Eight high-tech meeting rooms can host four to 50 people. The vast and very elegant ballroom can seat 1,200 people theater-style, and the Wellington room accommodates 400. Desktop computers are available, along with fax and copy services; guests can also borrow hotel laptops. Executive lounges, some smoke-free, offer complimentary Internet access, drinks and canapes. A shuttle bus is lacking, and extortionlike parking charges run up to US$70 per day. Pets are not permitted.
Four elevators go to all floors, corridors are smart and spacious, and all are monitored by discreet CCTV. Some standard rooms are surprisingly small, but all have sleek contemporary style. Standard amenities include desks and mostly king beds, vase and wall lighting, air-conditioning, voice mail, broadband Internet access (Wi-Fi in public areas), safes, tea/coffeemakers, minibars and flat-screen TVs. Pay-per-use games and 
movies are available on demand. Small balconies are available in 10% of rooms, but access is denied to single guests because of past jumping incidents. However, window seats are standard and more suited to the London climate. The suites on the 26th and 27th floors are stunning and include butler service.
Baths in accommodations range from the bright, clean and fully modernized with tub/shower combinations to the spectacular marble designer baths on the 26th and 27th floors with midbath taps, mood lighting, double walk-in showers and Molton Brown toiletries. Robes are standard, as are Hilton-brand toiletries. All rooms above the fifth floor have good city views, the higher the better. Front-facing rooms overlook Hyde Park, and some even peek into the garden of Buckingham Palace. Seventeen of the 21 floors are smoke-free, and four rooms are handicap accessible. The standard-room category is being phased out, and in keeping with the rates, deluxe rooms are becoming the base units. Round-the-clock room service keeps late arrivals sated. Staffers are friendly and competent but are not to the highest standards of personal service.
This very large and busy hotel is popular with upmarket groups and has a 45% U.S. clientele. It has the predictable high quality of a flagship Hilton, and its wide selection of dining and bar facilities is exceptional. It offers some of the best skyline views of London but lacks the charm, character and very personal service of the smaller, quintessentially English hotels such as nearby Brown's and The Berkeley.
