The Royal Horseguards

English/Español English: Our stay at the Royal Horse Guards Hotel truly exceeded our expectations, especially when it came to service. From the moment we arrived, the staff made us feel genuinely welcome. Everyone was friendly, warm, and helpful. What really stood out to us was that the service felt authentic — not like staff were helping only in expectation of a tip. Coming from the United States, where hotel service often feels tied to gratuities, this was refreshing. Here, the staff seemed truly happy doing their job and genuinely cared about making guests feel comfortable. One of the highlights of our stay was receiving a complimentary upgrade to a garden-view suite. The suite was beautiful, spacious, and luxurious. The view of the Thames River and the London Eye was absolutely stunning and made our stay feel extra special. We were very happy with the room. We also chose the breakfast-included option when booking, and it was one of the best decisions we made. The breakfast was delicious, with a great variety and high-quality food. In fact, all the food at the hotel was excellent. We used room service often, and the cost-to-quality ratio was very good, so we ended up having most of our meals at the hotel. The location was one of the main reasons we chose this hotel. It’s perfectly situated near major attractions like the London Eye, Big Ben, and Westminster Abbey — all within easy walking distance and right in front of the Thames river. That said, the only small drawback for us was that there aren’t many shops or upscale restaurants immediately nearby. You do have to walk a bit to reach areas with more shopping and dining options. When we visited places like Mayfair, we found more upscale places. Next time, we might choose to stay in those areas — simply because we love exploring fancy shops and restaurants when we travel. However, for a first-time visit to London, the Royal Horse Guards Hotel is an excellent choice. We traveled as a family (two adults and one teenager), and everyone was treated wonderfully. We have no complaints at all. We were very satisfied with our stay and would absolutely recommend this hotel to anyone visiting London — especially on their first trip. Español: Nuestra estadía en el Royal Horse Guards Hotel superó completamente nuestras expectativas, especialmente por el servicio. Desde que llegamos, el staff nos hizo sentir realmente bienvenidos. Todos fueron muy amables, atentos y cálidos. Lo que más nos gustó fue que el servicio se sintió auténtico — no como si estuvieran ayudando solo esperando una gratificación. Nosotros venimos de Estados Unidos, donde muchas veces el servicio en hoteles se siente condicionado por las propinas, y aquí fue todo lo contrario. El personal se notaba contento haciendo su trabajo y genuinamente interesado en que los huéspedes se sintieran cómodos. Uno de los mejores momentos de nuestra estadía fue recibir un upgrade complementario a una suite con garden view. La suite estaba hermosa, amplia y muy lujosa. La vista al río Thames y al London Eye fue espectacular y realmente hizo nuestra experiencia aún más especial. Estuvimos muy contentos con la habitación. También elegimos la opción de desayuno incluido al hacer nuestra reservación, y fue una excelente decisión. El desayuno estaba delicioso, con muy buena variedad y comida de gran calidad. De hecho, toda la comida del hotel fue muy rica. Usamos room service varias veces y la relación costo-calidad fue tan buena que terminamos haciendo la mayoría de nuestras comidas en el hotel. La ubicación fue una de las razones principales por las que escogimos este hotel. Está muy cerca de atracciones turísticas importantes como el London Eye, Big Ben y Westminster Abbey, con vista al rio Thames y todo a una distancia caminable. La única pequeña queja que tenemos sobre la ubicación es que no hay muchas tiendas ni restaurantes de lujo justo alrededor; hay que caminar un poco para encontrarlos. Cuando visitamos otras zonas como Mayfair vimos más tiendas y restaurantes de lujo. La próxima vez, quizá nos hospedemos en una zona así, simplemente porque nos encanta ir a restaurantes y tiendas elegantes cuando viajamos. Dicho esto, para una primera visita a Londres, el Royal Horse Guards Hotel es una opción ideal. Viajamos en familia (dos adultos y un adolescente) y todos recibimos un trato excelente. No tenemos ninguna queja. Quedamos muy satisfechos con nuestra estadía y definitivamente recomendamos ampliamente este hotel a cualquier persona que visite Londres, especialmente en su primer viaje.

Hotel is in a brilliant location and all the sights a short distance away. Check-in was painfully slow though as was the process of getting room key a free hours later when room was ready. Never understood why reception staff have so much admin to do when you’ve already prepaid etc. Lots of intent staring at the computer screen and mouse clicking, what is that all about?The main areas of the hotel are lovely but lifts and room were a bit tired. Floor 7 button on the lift had been pushed through and there was a hole on the floor number key plate which looked really shabby. The hotel corridors that led to our room were very narrow and freezing cold, we were on the 9th floor so not sure if corridors the same further down. Also, do yourself a favour if you are staying more than one night and book a room with a view this was the same price on the January sale offer. Our room overlooked an alley, there was a seagull net across it with a bag of cement caked on top, not a great view at all. Would stay again though as location is wonderful.

To be fair before I explain what happened it is important to make clear that I was refunded half the amount of my two night stay for the serious inconvenience caused. However, it was still deeply problematic and made a relaxing stay a stressful one. Firstly I had booked a suite as a treat and arrived to discover the room was freezing cold and it smelt of drains. It took an hour to move us to another suite which did not smell awful but also was without heating but had portable heaters. It seems the heating was out on numerous floors during a cold snap. This was not explained in advance which would’ve helped. We were given a bottle of Prosecco and also told we would be compensated, amount unknown. The problem now was that the heaters kept switching themselves off and needed a remote control to turn them on, a remote control they would not give to us so every few hours we had to call reception and get someone sent up with a remote control. Often times this meant explaining the entire predicament all over again numerous times a day. I asked reception why they had no reference on our file and was told only managers have that information. Which doesn’t seem ideal. Before I checked out I spoke once again to reception to confirm the compensation and was informed it was 50% which I was happy with and profuse apologies were made throughout but it was a real struggle to keep having to liaise with the staff constantly.

My stay at the Royal Horseguards was truly phenomenal. I’m a little late on this review, but I was going through my things and found the QR rode request and felt compelled to come back and leave a review. For a family of 6, we did check into 3 rooms. That may have been the only downside but such is life in Europe. The front desk receptionists, door man, and bar staff were very welcoming and accommodating. Valentín at 1212 was an awesome server. We connected over his love for American football. Breakfast buffet during our stay was delicious. Mimosa overload. I would definitely stay here again. So close to central London and walking distance to much of anything you need to experience.

As per previous experiences we have only good things to say about this hotel and would never hesitate to book to stay again.