Holiday Inn London - Kensington High St. by IHG
4-star hotel · Kensington, London
Guests rate nearly every hotel highly: half the hotels in London are rated 8.2 out of 10 or more. So our score shows how a hotel compares with the rest, not how luxurious it is.
- Rated higher than 25% of London hotels
- 84% of guest comments are praise
- 90% of guest photos show no damage
How this score is made
- Rated higher than 25% of London hotels. Compared with 5,640 hotels in London. Counts for 50% of the score.
- 84% of guest comments are praise. 401 praise, 78 complain. Counts for 30% of the score.
- 90% of guest photos show no damage. 54 of 60 photos. Counts for 20% of the score.
- Serious reports are never counted in. They are flagged beside the score, because one matters even when everything else is good.
- $234 a nighttypical for two, before tax · from $112
- 2 min walkto High Street Kensington station
- 291 guest reviewsfrom the last 2 years
- 60 guest photostheirs, not the hotel's
At a glance
For
- A station within walking distanceHigh Street Kensington is 172 m away
- Staff223 praise · 18 complain
- Location84 praise · 0 complain
- Breakfast30 praise · 3 complain
Against
- Room size25 complain · 3 praise
- Room condition11 complain · 2 praise
- Beds7 complain · 5 praise
What guests reported
What guests say
291 reviews from the last 2 years. Most praised: staff (223 guests). Weakest: room size, where 25 of the 28 who mention it complain.
Location840Strength
The room was comfortable and the location was perfect .
Google, September 2026, rated 5/5 by this guest
Excellent location and great ambiance.
Google, September 2026, rated 5/5 by this guest
Staff22318Strength
A lovely friendly genuine guy who goes out of his way to help you.
Tripadvisor, October 2026, rated 5/5 by this guest
The environment, and the staff were excellent.
Tripadvisor, September 2026, rated 5/5 by this guest
The Staff weren’t that helpful, everything we asked at check in seemed to be a problem because we booking through booking.com, they referenced it a few times.
Booking network, September 2026, rated 8/10 by this guest
Breakfast303Strength
Very crowded large hotel, good breakfast
Booking network, September 2026, rated 7/10 by this guest
Nice hotel and breakfast.
Google, October 2026, rated 5/5 by this guest
Breakfast was a little expensive for those with a small appetite
Booking network, September 2026, rated 9/10 by this guest
Cleanliness327Mostly good
The room was clean and comfortable, and the staff were very friendly and helpful.
Google, September 2026, rated 5/5 by this guest
Nice clean and spacious hotel - friendly desk staff and clean well-maintained room.
Tripadvisor, September 2026, rated 4/5 by this guest
Not clean, things not working in the room, some appliances had no access because of height position ( a make up mirror hanged at 180cm
Booking network, September 2026, rated 6/10 by this guest
Value103Mostly good
Price for the stay was reasonable!
Tripadvisor, September 2026, rated 4/5 by this guest
This hotel is excellent value.
Google, September 2026, rated 5/5 by this guest
Quiet at night124Mostly good
No noise disturbances at all…
Google, September 2026, rated 5/5 by this guest
I was greeted warmly by Valeria at reception who did a wonderful job finding a quiet room for me which was also very comfortable.
Tripadvisor, September 2026, rated 5/5 by this guest
Small room, noisy, tiny sink, water on the floor of the room.
Google, September 2026, rated 2/5 by this guest
Beds57Split
The bed was a little firm but didn’t detract from our stay .
Booking network, September 2026, rated 9/10 by this guest
The “king” bed was actually two mattresses pushed together and they separated in the night, creating a valley in the middle of the bed.
Google, September 2026, rated 3/5 by this guest
5/10 (cleanliness ok, bed confort good, really too small, no chair, no space for luggage, etc...)
Booking network, September 2026, rated 7/10 by this guest
Room condition211Weak spot
The only thing I would say is that the ensuite was looking a bit tired and worse for wear.
Booking network, September 2026, rated 10/10 by this guest
The rooms are very basic and some of them are very dated:(
Google, October 2026, rated 4/5 by this guest
Hotel with big potential but needs to be refurbished
Booking network, September 2026, rated 4/10 by this guest
Room size325Weak spot
Room had a large bed which was great but the bed butted upto the wardrobes and moving was difficult.
Booking network, September 2026, rated 8/10 by this guest
Rooms are smaller than pictures.
Booking network, September 2026, rated 9/10 by this guest
Hard to walk around but the bathroom was decently sized.
Google, October 2026, rated 3/5 by this guest
Too few mentions to judge: pool, food and views.
Who stays, and their score out of 10
From every review of the last two years that gives a score and says who travelled, including those with no words.
All 5,802 Google ratings
Problems guests raised
Raised most: not as shown or booked, in 6 of 291 reviews.
A booking not honoured6 of 2911 in 48 reviews
Room was booked, confirmed and paid for several months in advance, but we did not get the room we booked
Booking network, September 2026, rated 4/10 by this guest
Asked for a king bed and got 2 twins pushed together.
Google, September 2026, rated 3/5 by this guest
Complaints the hotel left unresolved6 of 2911 in 48 reviews
He told us that we could complain anywhere using his name and that he did not care.
Google, September 2026, rated 1/5 by this guest
N.B.: The hotel promotes, both at check-in, and on their welcome screen on the TV, the possibility of accessing softer pillows - in spite of requesting these from Reception (no follow-up communication from them after requesting these early in the day) and directly from Housekeeping, we were told…
Tripadvisor, September 2026, rated 3/5 by this guest
Problems in the bathroom6 of 2911 in 48 reviews
Pokey bathroom and the cold tap was hanging off.
Tripadvisor, September 2026, rated 3/5 by this guest
In the night wa smelled a bad smell and we discovered that sewage water is coming back from shower tub drain with dirty staff.
Google, October 2026, rated 3/5 by this guest
Unexpected charges and refunds3 of 2911 in 97 reviews
Good location, parking available but expensive check your bills even bar service has 12.5 % service charge.
Google, September 2026, rated 4/5 by this guest
We had paid for the room when we booked, on checking in we needed to pay for breakfast and parking.
Tripadvisor, September 2026, rated 4/5 by this guest
Something broken in the room3 of 2911 in 97 reviews
They tried to fix and then stopped working again.
Booking network, September 2026, rated 4/10 by this guest
Serious reports
2 in 291 reviews, most common first. Shown beside the score, never averaged into it.
Something stolen1 of 291 reviews
I was told a Pakistani man had stolen it.
Tripadvisor, September 2026, rated 1/5 by this guest
A physical hazard1 of 291 reviews
Paint peeling off ceiling in shower, toilet roll stuffed in the fan, pube on floor in bathroom and dangerous cable to fridge, absolutely awful.
Google, September 2026, rated 3/5 by this guest
These are guests' own accounts from their reviews. We have not verified them, and the hotel may dispute them. A report is counted only when the guest says it happened at the hotel and holds the hotel responsible.
Photos, checked
6 of the 60 guest photos we checked show damage or dirt (10%).
Guest photos showing damage or dirt6 of 6010%
Of 60 guest photos, 6 show damage or dirt: mould or damp in 6, stains in 5 and peeling paint or cracks in 1, and some photos show more than one. Of the hotel's own 40, 0 do.
Guests’ photos confirm: swimming pool (2), restaurant (3), bar (6), bathtub (6), event space (4).
Price, place and rooms
Price
$234 is a typical night, from 300 dates checked in the coming year.
Weekends cost 10% more than weekdays
A typical night, month by month
Cheapest month: Jan 2027, $150Dearest month: Jun 2027, $304
Prices on booking sites, the day we checked
What each seller advertised on the one day we checked, so these sit outside the year-wide figures above and can fall below the typical price.
- pilotplans.com$237
- Vio.com$240
- deals.goseek.com$240
- deals.etrip.net$240
- deals.dealbase.com$240
- stayforlong.co.uk$241
- skyscanner.net$244
- billabook.com$250
Lowest advertised nightly rate for two adults; taxes and local fees are not included. Shown in US dollars.
Nearby
High Street Kensington station is 172 m away by road, about 2 minutes on foot.
- Nearest station: High Street Kensington2 min walk172 m by road
- Nearest main road: Kensington High Street249 m
- Nearest shop: A Food & Wine4 min walk323 m by road
- Buckingham Palace4.4 km
- Big Ben5.5 km
- The British Museum5.8 km
- Tower Bridge9.5 km
The lines are 5, 10 and 15 minutes on foot.
Distances follow the streets, not straight lines.
Rooms
12 room types, from 15 to 72 m².
- Standard King Room15 m²
- Standard Twin Room15 m²
- Standard Room15 m²2 Twin bed + 1 Double bed
- Premium Room with Two Single Beds18 m²Bathtub in its photos
- Premium King Room18 m²Bathtub in its photos
- Premium Room18 m²2 Twin bed + 1 Queen bedBathtub in its photos
The other 6 room types
- Twin Suite21 m²Bathtub in its photos
- Suite, 2 Twin Beds21 m²
- King Suite24 m²Bathtub in its photos
- Standard King Room - Disability Access26 m²
- One-Bedroom King Suite72 m²Bathtub in its photos
- One-Bedroom Suite with KitchenetteNot stated
From the hotel's own room descriptions, checked against each room's photos.
How it compares
How it ranks
Guests who booked rate it 7.6 out of 10. 25% of the 5,640 hotels in London are rated lower, and a typical one is rated 8.2.
Every review site, out of 100
Tripadvisor rates it 82 out of 100 and Booking network rates it 76. Booking network only takes reviews from people who booked and stayed, while Tripadvisor takes them from anyone.
The hotel says the rooms are spacious. 25 of 291 guests complain about it.
If room size matters to you
Here, 25 of the 28 guests who mention room size complain. These nearby hotels do better on it.
More hotels in London
The nearest first, with our score for each.
How we know
291 reviews counted · 100 photos checked · updated 10 October 2026
- We collected this hotel's 893 most recent reviews from Google, Tripadvisor and the Booking network. 291 of them describe a stay in the last 2 years and are the ones counted here; the rest were 243 older, 82 in other languages, 269 with a score but no words and 8 about the restaurant rather than a stay.
- The hotel replied to 195 of its 200 newest Google reviews.
- 66 in every 100 reviews thank a staff member by name.
- 2 reviews mention a free upgrade, a cake or a gift.
- We looked at 100 photos: the first 40 of the hotel's own and the 60 newest from guests.
- Every number on this page is counted, not estimated. Anything in quotation marks is a guest's own words.