Look, I’ve stayed at a lot of London hotels, and Park Plaza London Waterloo actually surprised me in the best way. It’s tucked on Hercules Road – which sounds fancy but is honestly just a quiet side street that most tourists would walk right past. That’s actually the beauty of it, you know? You’re literally a three-minute walk from Waterloo Station (I timed it), but somehow you escape all that chaos the moment you step inside. The lobby has this understated elegance thing going on – marble floors that echo just enough to feel grand but not like you’re in a museum, and the staff genuinely seem happy to see you rather than just going through the motions.
What really sold me on this place was how it handles the whole “business hotel trying to be welcoming” thing without feeling sterile. The rooms are what I’d call grown-up comfortable – you’ve got proper blackout curtains (thank god, because London summer mornings start ridiculously early), decent-sized bathrooms with rain showers that actually have pressure, and beds that don’t make you miss your own mattress. I mean, the décor won’t win any design awards, but it’s clean lines and muted colors that actually help you relax after a day of tourist madness. Oh, and the windows open – which might sound silly, but half the chain hotels have sealed windows that make you feel trapped.
Here’s the thing about the location that the booking sites don’t really capture: you’re on the South Bank, which puts you walking distance to Borough Market (weekend mornings are insane there, but worth it), the Tate Modern, and honestly some of the best riverside walking in the city. The London Eye is right there if that’s your thing, but I actually preferred just wandering along the Thames path – especially in the evening when the city lights reflect on the water. The neighborhood has this mix of locals grabbing coffee and tourists figuring out their maps, and somehow it works. Parking is typically London impossible, but the Tube connections from Waterloo are brilliant – you can get pretty much anywhere without that horrible Bank interchange. The hotel’s restaurant is solid enough for breakfast (their full English is better than expected), though honestly, with all the food markets and pubs within walking distance, you’d be missing out if you stayed in for dinner. That 8.2 rating feels about right – it’s not going to blow your mind, but it does everything well and the location really can’t be beat if you want to actually experience London rather than just see it from a tour bus.