The New Best Value Hotel in London Using Points – and Why You’ve Probably Never Heard of It!

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Trying to decide what the best value hotel in London using Points is, is obviously pretty subjective, but I think I’ve found a serious new contender: the DoubleTree by Hilton London – Greenwich.

On some dates it’s just 20,000 Hilton Honors Points per night – and even better news is that Points + Money availability is possible too at 8,000 Points + £32!

Given that the current Hilton promotion of 2,000 bonus Points per night should apply automatically to Points + Money bookings, the net cost should actually be as low as 6,000 Points + £32.

If you happen to have taken advantage of any of the generous Hilton status match offers, Diamond members can knock another 1,000 Points off the net total per stay too, given the welcome bonus at DoubleTree hotels.

Lobby

To put that into context, the vast majority of Hilton/DoubleTree/Hampton/etc hotels in London require 50,000+ Points per night for a standard redemption, or 20,000 + £68 (often more) for a Points + Money stay. Either way, it’s going to be more than double.

The only comparable options from Hilton (in terms of award category) are the Hampton and the Hilton in Croydon (both can also be booked for 20,000 Points) , but I think most people would definitely prefer Greenwich to Croydon (unless you’ve got a flight from Gatwick perhaps) and the hotel looks much nicer. It’s also worth pointing out that the cash rates for the Croydon hotels are usually relatively low too and often offer better value than using Points.

The downside here is that for most future dates, the DoubleTree Greenwich seems to be charging slightly more than it is doing right now – 30,000 Points, or 12,000 Points + £40.

That puts it into the same category as the DoubleTree in Ealing. That’s not a bad redemption either to be honest, but there seems to be considerably less Points + Money availability, and again – I prefer Greenwich to Ealing and the hotel looks better.

Corridor

In the interests of research (and Half Term Holidays….) I’ve dispatched my brother and nephew on an expedition (stay) to find out what the DoubleTree Greenwich is really like, so hopefully should have some good feedback to share soon. In the meantime, the TripAdvisor reviews seem very positive.

Why have I not already heard about this?

Simple – until very recently the hotel was called ‘The Greenwich Hotel’ (it was a Mercure at some point too apparently). In fact, I think I’m right in saying it only joined Hilton literally a week or so ago!

I don’t have any Hilton Points

Start collecting! – Tom wrote recently about how to get 1,250 free Hilton Honors Points to get you started.

King Bed Room

Hilton had the standout promotion of all the big hotel chains last quarter (you could earn ~10,000 Points on a £100 stay), and the current 2,000 bonus Points per night promo is pretty solid, particularly for cheap stays. In other words, accumulating reasonable amounts of Hilton Honors Points from stays isn’t too difficult.

Alternatively, you can transfer American Express Membership Rewards Points a rate of 1 MR Point = 2 Hilton Honors Points.

It is also possible to transfer Virgin Flying Club Miles to Hilton at a rate of 2 Miles = 3 Hilton Points (and remember you can transfer Tesco Clubcard Points to Virgin at a rate of 1 Point = 2.5 Miles).

Anything else?

Yep! – I almost forgot you can get another 500 Points back for booking through the Hilton App

Bottom line

Deciding what the best value hotel in London using Points is, is always going to be contentious.

I used to love the Holiday Inn Wembley when it was just 10,000 IHG Points! At the luxury end, there’s a good argument for the top Marriott Hotels in London now being near the top of the list, given you can book them for 15,000 SPG Starpoints (equivalent to 45,000 Marriott Points), and some of them really are lovely.

Overall though, I think the Doubletree Greenwich is my new winner. A decent looking, well reviewed hotel, in a (fairly) good location for 8,000 Points + £32 is an absolute steal!

Comments

  1. craig says

    I stayed here last week.
    Very nice place.
    They don’t give full breakfast to diamond tier – only continental
    They do give a drink voucher at checkin
    The restaurant food is absolutely fantastic

  2. Craig Sowerby says

    Nice find Joe. It looks like it might be a category 4 hotel then, so fluctuating between 20 and 30K per night.

    I’ve also stayed at the other three you mention.

    DT Ealing = claustrophobically small rooms. Either all of the rooms are that way or I didn’t get upgraded as a Diamond. Either way, no return visit from me despite it being walking distance to the tube…

    Hilton Croydon = a dump, reflected in the low prices. Breakfast is good though. I would never stay more than 1 status-conscious night here. City bus from East Croydon leaves you across the street from Hilton but makes it less practical for early morning departures from Gatwick.

    Hampton Croydon = the best of the three. Only 3-4 years old. 2 minutes walk from East Croydon train which puts you 15 minutes from Gatwick and 15-20 from Victoria and London Bridge.

    • Joe Deeney says

      Yep Category 4, which seems like a bargain to me.

      Cheers for the info on it and the other hotels – having sent family to check it out I’m glad to hear it’s nice.

  3. GnarlyOldGoatDude says

    You should also get a cookie at check-in at DoubleTrees, that must be worth a few points/pence.

    I second the notion that the Hampton in Croydon is great. I use it for early morning Gatwick flights.

  4. Ian Perry says

    I am currently sat in the room in the featured photo at the top of this article. As a Diamond, got upgraded to suite, also told breakfast was free on check in (no qualification of continental or otherwise). No free drink though 🙁

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