My husband and I returned to the Halkin for our second time in a year, having last visited in October 2013. We had some issues with air con and concomitant service, but otherwise we absolutely loved the property. Claudia from the Halkin had been in touch following my mixed review herein, and she absolutely took care of us for our return visit.
We still love the Halkin. We love its location--convenient walking distance to much of the London we like and super convenient Tube access with the Hyde Park Corner stop just a few blocks away. Its location off a side street makes it very quiet, too, feeling more like you're part of the neighborhood rather than in a hotel within it. We love its size--boutique yet with all of the services which we need, including 24 hr room service. (I don't care about spas, but my husband does sometimes.) Most of all, we love its service--it evokes the service we experience most at Aman and the best Four Seasons properties, and that is something to cherish.
For this visit, we were upgraded complimentarily to a COMO Suite with balcony, room 304. We loved it. I had a slight concern about the air con in the bedroom of the suite, but the hotel staff (especially Claudia again) took care of us, offering to move us again and then, upon our declining, offering to hold another suite for us in case we changed our minds later that weekend. Amazing service. It seems that the older part of the hotel has more air con issues for a crazy person like me, so the newer, remodeled side is where we likely will stay on future visits. For most people, I'm sure the air con will be more than sufficient regardless. Ultimately, the air con in the living room worked so well that it helped cool the bedroom eventually--so I was perfectly comfortable for all 3 nights. My only "complaint" would be that the bedspread didn't seem big enough for our king bed...so the hotel replaced it quickly with a slightly bigger spread. Still not truly big enough in my estimation, but then maybe we are too tall (6'2" and 6'5").
We availed ourselves of room service breakfast one morning, and it was sensationally good (and fast again). I had room service lunch one afternoon, and again it was great. We dined at the Ametsa restaurant for dinner on our last evening (see separate review), and we very much enjoyed it--a much needed improvement over the previous occupant, Nahm. Breakfast in the Ametsa space was delightful--though we did have a few service issues, overall the service and food was very good.
The Halkin to me is a perfect hideaway in the bustle of London. It offers all the 5 star touches I love without being too big and impersonal. It has clean chic style while still being very comfortable. And the service is phenomenal. Claudia wasn't even in the hotel on the weekend, and yet I had an email from her checking in with me to make sure things were going well.
The Halkin will be our go-to hotel for sure from now on in London. We highly recommend it and applaud the hotel and Claudia for allowing us such a blissful return! We look forward to seeing you again soon!
