Hilton Garden Inn Luton North - Detailed Review
/As part of a recent business trip, I spent 2 nights staying in the Hilton Garden Inn located just north of Luton town centre, in Butterfield Business Park.
This was the cheapest Hilton brand option in the local area and going with a Hilton group hotel made sense due to my diamond status (and all its associated perks). The hotel cost around £65 per night.
This Garden Inn has over 150 guest rooms, offering guests the choice of a Queen Room, Twin Room or a larger Queen Room with sofa bed (suitable for 2 small children).
Location
The hotel is a 10 min drive north of Luton Airport, just off of Hitchin Road (A505).
Since the hotel is situated in a business park, the location isn’t very picturesque. However the hotel is designed more for business rather than leisure travellers.
Top stops nearby:
Butterfield Business Park (located in)
Luton Sports Village (0.7 miles or 13 min walk)
Hitchin (5.7 miles or 10 min drive)
Bletchley Park (25.3 miles or 40 min drive)
University of Bedfordshire (3.4 miles or 10 min drive)
Getting There From Luton Airport
By Taxi/Uber
As I landed in Luton Airport, the quickest and most direct form of transport was a taxi/Uber. The taxi rank is closer to the airport terminal, whereas the Uber pickup point is further away.
I took a taxi from the airport to the hotel as I wanted to arrive promptly and I grabbed an Uber on the way back since there was no need to rush for my departing flight - which was delayed - thank you EasyJet.
If you’re taking an Uber, use our Uber code: andrewy2730ue or sign up here to get a free ride.
By Bus
You could catch an Arriva bus (route 100) outside Luton airport’s main terminal building. There was a bus every 30 minutes, which took 20 minutes to get to the hotel (Butterfield Business Park stop).
Check In
Normal check-in starts at 3pm. I arrived at the hotel at 7:30pm and was greeted by the receptionist. There was a Hilton Honors check-in line but I didn’t need to use it as there was no queue. My first interaction with the reception team was positive and efficient.
The hotel had a warm, welcoming feels thanks, in large part, to the cosy, lit fireplace. But despite this, the check-in area (and the adjoining restaurant) was in desperate need of a face lift. This was not the case for the bar area and small shop, which had clearly been renovated recently.
After being handed my room key, I was offered some of my complimentary Hilton diamond benefits. Two bottles of water and an upgrade from a Queen Room to a Queen Deluxe (or, as the Hilton App calls it, a ‘With Sofa Bed. Sofa Bed For 2 Small Children’ room - App troubleshooting required).
Top Tip: When selecting a room, choose one in the left wing, on the left hand side, on as high a floor as possible. Basically, as far from the noisy courtyard and major road as possible. Your ears will thank me later.
Queen Deluxe Room
This comfortably-sized but slightly outdated room worked well for this short trip. However, there were some issues which could be easily fixed for future guests. The main issues were with housekeeping and maintenance.
The room’s layout allowed enough space for working and relaxing. It was big enough and it had all of the equipment you would expect to find in a basic Hilton hotel room.
Furniture
The room had a comfortable Queen-sized bed, a large desk with desk chair, a soft two-seater sofa/sofa bed and coffee table. All of the furnishings suffered from the same issue as the room being slightly tired-looking and in need of a refresh.
storage
There was a large built-in wardrobe, 3 desk drawers and 2 bedside shelves.
power outlets
There were 2 plug points by the kettle, 2 at the desk, 1 at the door as you came in and 1 next to the bed (right hand side, bed-facing).
The plug point next to the bed was difficult to access as it was tucked into the shelving unit. No USB-only points were available in this room.
amenities
The Queen Deluxe Room came with a sparsely pieced-together tea and coffee station which included instant Nespresso coffee, Twinings breakfast tea, a few sugar packets and 4 small UHT milk pots.
There was a large Samsung TV opposite the bed with a decent selection of channels. There was also a mini fridge which came in handy to store purchases from the shop in reception. A safe could be found in the desk unit along with a hairdryer.
A luggage rack was stored inside the fitted wardrobe.
Temperature Controls
Although the AC unit was loud, it was highly effective and could heat the room to Saharan highs or arctic lows. That being said, the control unit could have done with a clean.
WiFi
There were no issues with the WiFi. It was fast and effective, giving impressive speeds of 53.8 Mbps download and 66.9 Mbps upload.
house keeping & Maintenance
The room was tidy but did feel like it had been rush-cleaned. The bed was poorly made with the sheets draped over the bed, touching the floor.
Most of the issues were with maintenance. The room had several patches of bare plaster, which were yet to be painted over. And there were quite a few markings dotted on the walls. These issues could be resolved very quickly with a lick of paint and would immediately enhance the aesthetic of the room.
One morning, around 8am, there was an electrical issue which caused the hotel to be without power for 30 minutes. This was quite inconvenient as this was around the time I was getting ready but I believe this was an outage affecting the entire business park area.
Bathroom
The bathroom was clean, functional and relatively fresh-looking. The bathroom needs a new shower curtain and a better shower head as the water would go everywhere except where it was supposed to. There was also a plastic plinth that the soaps sat on that seemed unnecessary and looked a bit dirty.
There were enough towels (2 bath towels, 2 floor towels and 1 hand towel). However, face towels would have been appreciated.
amenities
The room came with the Hilton-standard Crabtree & Evelyn toiletries. Shampoo, body wash, body lotion, conditioner, a bar of soap and a shower cap. If you needed anything else (ie. toothbrush, toothpaste, shaving kit) you could get this from reception free of charge.
Hotel Facilities
This hotel is well-equipped for the business traveller having a fully equipped gym, a microwave room, laundry, alongside several conference rooms. There was even a shoe shining machine.
In the gym you could find treadmills, weights, a cross trainer, stationary bikes and a rowing machine.
Dining
Both breakfast and dinner were served in the Pavilion Restaurant. However, you could eat in the Lounge area as well. Room service was available too, from 5pm to 10pm.
Breakfast
Breakfast is served from 6am to 10am Monday to Friday. On Saturday and Sunday, it’s served from 7am to 11am. The breakfast is served buffet style, with full English and continental options. This is complimentary for Gold and Diamond Hilton Honors members.
Dinner
Dinner, also served in the Pavilion Restaurant, was available from 5pm to 10pm. I had dinner here on both evenings. The menu is reasonably priced and has a wide variety of food to choose from. My two personal favourites were the vegetable spring rolls and the club sandwich.
The staff were friendly and helpful but the service was a little slow.
Conclusion and Scoring
The Hilton Garden Inn Luton North is a reliable and functional hotel. However, do not expect an incredible experience.
This hotel meets brand expectations for a Garden Inn. It benefits from helpful and friendly staff but improvements need to be made with the maintenance and aesthetic of the rooms, as well as speed of service in the restaurant.
I would strongly recommend this hotel to business travellers working in the local area. However, I would probably discourage those visiting for leisure as the hotel does not feel suited to this market.
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