DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel London – Docklands Riverside

Columbia restaurant within the Hilton hotel amongst the Docklands is a curious place. In one respect it is in between train/​tube stations away from the hustle and bustle but when you finally get there you realise the tranquility it posesses is part of its charm as you look across to Canary Wharf tower and bright lights.
This place you can see quite obviously is mainly occupied by business people and travellers due to its location to the (finance) city. But don’t let that fool you.
The restaurant and bar is big and I peeked a fair number of rooms and halls that laid space to more that you could venture into to. I suppose it caters for events and meetings of course.
The service was attentive and friendly upon arrival and we were served the Szechuan peppered squid and wild mushrooms on toast. This was after the bar snacks of olives, cheese, almonds and delicious pork scratchings had been devoured. The squid was a personal fav. It was perfectly cooked.
Onto the main of fillet beef steak. ‘Rare please!’ And rare it came. With some
Fries and salad. Was very nice. Like butter.
Wandered outside onto the terrace and on a pleasant day or night it was lovely to see the lights outside and the building itself by the river.
They mentioned it will be developed to factor in food and drinks from the restaurant to make more of it which was good
to hear. It is indeed a lovely place to see this part of London, especially if you are staying here or working nearby which it is aimed at.
All in all it was an interesting and most welcoming place with attentive service to match. I’m never really around this area, but the food for such a hotel is good and it’s a lovely place to drink at as I had watched a bit of The rugby World Cup as I waited to be sat and the atmosphere was lovely for a Wednesday.

Avoid this hotel and save your sanity! After contacting Hilton management, they told me there was little they could do to compensate me for my stay, other than to refund my «honor points.» For all those not in the know, «honor points» are points earned to stay at Hilton Hotels. Please find below the letter that was written to the Mr. Gomez, the manager at the hotel which was ignored. It’s been a week (8÷15÷15), and still no response… If the team at Hilton sees this post, please do all you can to fix your hotel… do us all a favor, please!
Dear Mr. Gomez:
After my recent stay at the Doubletree Docklands, I wanted to reach out to you and share my odyssey for one my night at your hotel. And perhaps, you could make things right, and help other wayward travellers avoid the same fate.
To say it was a surreal kafka-​esque experience could only be an understatement. Upon checking in to your hotel, we were given a room that seemingly would be be perfect for a one night’s stay — all seemed quiet. But, that calm would only last for a moment. Around 10:30 at night, my girlfriend slowly drifted off to sleep, and I soaked in a hot bath, recovering a long day of travel.
At that time, we received a loud knock at the door, awaking my other half and ordering me out of the bath — there seem to be a leak and no other explanation was given.
Then, no word from anyone.
Finally, after 30 minutes, I dressed and marched downstairs to find out what was going on with the status of our room. I wait in line to speak to representative stationed at the front desk.
I ask, «Would we be given another room… would they fix the leak?» No determination would be made at this time. A manager was not available, but someone would be in touch, I was told.
I go back up to the room, awaiting some kind of word — it is now almost 11:30 pm.
Finally, the phone rings and it is the night manger who tells us that we are be moving to another room in the neighboring building. My girlfriend and I repack and trudge across the hallway, pushing our luggage through the narrow maze of hallways, enter the new room. We unpack again, and get comfortable for the night.
Suddenly, there’s a loud «banging sound» resonating from the heating vent. I redress, and head back down the maze and go to the front desk. I share with them the news of the banging sound. They tell me that is an «issue they have been dealing with for sometime.»
The question that reverberates through my head is, «why was I given a new room with an apparent banging sound.»
It is now around midnight — the new day is upon us. Exhausted, I ask to be moved to another room. The night manager previews another room for me in the bowels of the hotel — it is a small, and brutally hot; the heat must have been on some time.
Clearly, that would not be home for the night. The manger is at a loss as he tells me, «they are fully booked.» Finally, he searches the registry and finds another available room in the same building. My girlfriend and I repack again, and march down the maze of hallways to the new room. It is is now nearly 1 am. In just a few hours, I had seen 4 hotel rooms. We went to bed, hoping for a good night’s sleep.
At around 5 am, we awake, sweating. After inspection of the temperature control, we come to the realization the AC had broken in the middle of the night. Joy. We lie numb in the bed, awaiting checkout time. Exhausted, we collect our things, (and repack for the third time), and happily vacate the hotel.
As you can see, the stay at the DoubleTree HIlton Docklands was a journey into madness… and I hope you will find a way to fix your hotel.