Park Plaza Hotel - Waterloo, London

Opened late last year the Park Plaza Waterloo hotel may not look too inviting on the outside, but once inside this former government building things begin to look up.

The queue for check-in on a busy Friday tea time was, as to be expected, very busy. With two receptionists on duty it was not long before another desk was opened. It is this quick attention to detail that makes all the difference.

All guest rooms feature 48 inch smart LED TV's, all of which are installed with a Sky package which has over 600 channels. Mind you, you would be pressed to watch most of them with lots of the south bank's attractions such as the London Eye, County Hall etc on your doorstep. Lambeth North Underground station is just across the road from the hotel too. You can even check your hotel bill on the interactive television.

The room was modern, light and airy. The wardrobe had ample space to hang clothes with a long drop as a lot of hotels these days seem to have other clutter in the wardrobe that means your suits, dresses etc can't hang freely. Free safe that would take a lap top. Good quality bedding that provided a good night's sleep,

The bathroom had a sliding door that either worked as a door for the walk in rain shower or the toilet -it might not be to everyone's tastes and I have seen this used before, usually in German hotels. The Elemis toiletries added another quality touch. If you wanted to check your weight the scales in the bathroom were there. You could always burn off the calories in the Fitness Centre which had a gym, 15 metre swimming pool, sauna and also a steam room.

The free Wi Fi was quick enough to do most tasks, the control panel in the room operated the lights and air conditioning whilst the fridge was well stocked and the tea and coffee making facilities were handy to get a drink when you came back to the hotel after a night out in London. Like most hotels of this standard they had a Nespresso coffee machine in the room.

The on site restaurant tends to be Italian based and most of the staff working there are Italian. For my main I chose Lasagne which was excellent with plenty of meat, whilst my partner's Sea Bass was flaky and tender. Desserts of Panna Cotta for me tasted as if it had come from Italy but my partner thought her Cheesecake was tasteless and bland.

The breakfast room has hardly any natural light and it became very airless when busy. Breakfast is buffet style and it was very busy with an extensive range of full English to Continental. Everything was quickly replenished.

On both mornings we were there they had no cornflakes. I asked both times and the answer was they didn't have them, although there was Shredded Wheat, CoCo Pops, Muesli etc, so you would have expected this staple breakfast cereal. Staff went away in search of them but to no avail both days.

Service though throughout the hotel was first class; they have a young team who all appear to have a "can do" attitude - it makes a big difference.

The hotel is new, modern and feels fresh with an upbeat vibe about the place.

Park Plaza London Waterloo, 6 Hercules Road, London SE1 7DP
Telephone 0845 450 2145
www.parkplaza.com/Waterloo