As a family of four, we stay in London, usually for one night a few times a year. We usually stay around Covent Garden, most recently at ME London (review here), but wanted to try somewhere a little different this time.
Hilton London Bankside caught our eye. It was easy to reach by car from Surrey, looked considerably more modern than many of Hilton’s other London properties, and had the added bonus of an indoor swimming pool, always a winner when travelling with kids.
Hilton provided our stay for review purposes but, as always, has not seen or approved this review before publication.
In this post:
Hilton Honors
It’s worth noting that Bankside is often 20/30% cheaper when using points than other Hilton properties which are considered more central. They are only about 1.5 miles apart as the crow flies, so if you absolutely do not need to be extremely central, Bankside should be a consideration and a great use of your points.
At the time of writing, availability is wide open on most dates.
Location
Hilton London Bankside is in a really convenient spot for exploring this part of London, with the South Bank just an easy walk away. Attractions including Tate Modern, Shakespeare’s Globe and Borough Market are all within walking distance, with plenty of restaurants and bars nearby too.
We particularly liked how easy it was to pick up a black cab directly outside the hotel. Travelling with two young children and all the paraphernalia that comes with them, this made getting around London much easier than relying on the Tube.
We drove to the hotel and used the valet parking, which costs £40 per day. By London standards, we didn’t think this was too bad at all, particularly for the convenience of simply leaving the car at the hotel. Parking is available on a first-come, first-served basis, though, so a space isn’t guaranteed.
There are also three small supermarkets within a couple of minutes’ walk, which was surprisingly useful for picking up drinks, snacks and anything we’d forgotten for the kids.
Check In
We were warmly greeted by the porters on arrival and, luckily, there was a valet space available, so we handed over the keys and headed inside. Reception was busy but felt buzzy and welcoming rather than chaotic.
There was no queue when we tried to check in, and whilst Eugene dealt with that, I entertained the kids in the Moomin special small kids’ play area right next to reception. Our room wasn’t quite ready as we arrived at 11:45 am, which is to be expected; however, as we already had our Moomin brunch booked at OXBO, we headed there while we waited.
OXBO Restaurant
Included in our stay was a ‘Moomin Brunch’ at OXBO. I say brunch loosely because it felt more like a Sunday roast with an extensive starter buffet and bottomless fizz. It is technically a four-course brunch, with eggs, waffles or pancakes available after the starters, but we skipped that course. All-you-can-eat starters, a roast and dessert were more than enough for us!
The starter buffet included mini quiches, salads, meats and cheeses, with plenty of choice for adults and kids. We did notice a lack of serving utensils, which left people picking up some items with their fingers, including lumps of cheese, but I’m sure this was just an oversight.
The roast itself was really delicious. I do find that roasts in restaurants and pubs can be very hit and miss. The thickness of gravy and the crunchiness of the potatoes are incredibly important(to me), as I’m sure most would agree, which OXBO got spot on. The beef was tender and full of flavour, while the chicken was well seasoned and fell off the bone.
Desserts were back at the buffet and, despite being pretty full by this point, I managed a very good chocolate brownie and some macarons.
The Moomin Brunch costs £42 per adult and £25 for children aged 3–8, with under-threes eating from the buffet and live kitchen free with a paying adult. There is also a £62 option for adults including two hours of bottomless bubbles and wine. Personally, I think the value for money for the quality received was very good.
Whilst being a Moomin-themed brunch, thankfully it wasn’t thrown in our faces. Instead, there were nice touches here and there, such as a few Moomin cut-outs around the restaurant and some of the cakes had Moomin stickers on them, but otherwise it felt much like a normal Sunday brunch. It did have a fantastic live singer during the brunch, which really helped create a fun atmosphere.
If you’re booking specifically for the Moomin experience, I would manage expectations on that front and confirm with the hotel in advance whether the characters will be there, which I am informed they are from time to time. The food, however, was great.
The breakfast spread was pretty substantial too, with a busy egg station as well as plenty of other pre-made options to choose from. We didn’t get any photos as we were in and out quickly to make the most of our morning in London. I didn’t notice the same lack of serving utensils at breakfast, so as predicted, this was likely just an oversight during the brunch.
They did, however, still have all the sweets from the brunch on display at breakfast, which I wasn’t particularly keen on. Trying to explain to a four-year-old that just because they’re there doesn’t mean he can have them is tricky enough, let alone first thing in the morning!
I would definitely be keen to try the restaurant again, outside of a brunch or breakfast, as the quality of food was brilliant.
The Moonin Suite
We stayed in the King Bed Moomin Suite, which we thought would be a bit of fun for our little man with all the Moomin decorations. Although I would say it ended up being just as nostalgic and fun for us!
The Moomin Suite is part of a limited-time collaboration at Hilton London Bankside, inspired by Tove Jansson’s Finn Family Moomintroll. The hotel has created both a Moomin Suite and a Moomin King Room, with bespoke artwork, furnishings and plenty of little Moomin touches throughout. The rooms are only available until the end of October 2026.
The hotel has done something similar before, with the suite becoming the UK’s first Miffy-themed hotel suite last summer. It will be interesting to see what theme Hilton London Bankside comes up with next.
The room was really bright, perhaps partly due to the sky blue ceiling, with added clouds. It also felt really spacious, a big bonus for a London hotel, and especially when staying with kids.
There is a separate living area, with a pocket door closing off the main bedroom and bathroom, and the whole space was dripping in Moomins. Everywhere we looked, there was something fun to find.
In the living area is a dining table and four chairs, a coffee bar, a sofa section and a small desk area.
The desk area doesn’t really seem necessary when you have the table, and it could have housed the coffee station, which was instead under the TV.
Everything in the minibar was included in our stay, which included water, juices and some biscuits.
Once we had viewed the room, housekeeping swiftly came along to make up the sofa bed for our boy and bring a cot for the baby. We still felt like there was plenty of room once those bits were in.
The bathroom was really big, with a huge walk-in shower, and a bath as well. The double vanity had lots of space for wash bags (unlike most other hotels that trim the vanity units down these days), and the amenities were Crabtree in big bottles, which were certainly nice enough.
To show you the lengths they have gone to with the Moomin theme, even the towels were customised.
There was also a separate WC by the front door, always handy with a room with four people.
Every time we got to the room, we found ourselves singing “We love the laughter and they love the living…”. If you know, you know.
Overall, we were very comfortable in the room even though the bed was a bit hard for us. The Moomin décor and accessories were a really nice touch and managed to keep our son’s attention for a while; they even had a little book rack, which was a lovely touch.
Executive Lounge
Our suite came with Executive Lounge access, which is on the Ground Floor, next to Reception and linked to OXBO. Access is included for guests staying in Executive Rooms and Suites, as well as Hilton Honors Diamond members. You need a key card to access it, and it’s open from 6am-10pm.
They serve breakfast in the lounge, which is an abbreviated version of what is on offer in OXBO. We decided to eat in the main restaurant, just for ease and to make sure we could get everything we needed for the kids.
A very helpful member of staff, Raj, did offer to sit us in the lounge and collect anything we needed from the main buffet, but we didn’t want to burden him with that, even though it was a lovely gesture.
The Lounge also offers Evening Canapés between 6pm and 8pm. We didn’t manage to make time for these, but the space would work particularly well for pre-dinner drinks and a few canapés. It’s a welcoming space, with bright and modern furnishings. We did use the Lounge right before we left to eat a quick sandwich we had grabbed from nearby and helped ourselves to soft drinks. It was a nice place to relax before the drive home but also looked great to work in should you need a quiet and comfortable space with great Wi-Fi.
The Distillery
Situated right by reception and with a long frontage and separate entrance to the hotel is their destination bar/restaurant. The cool thing about The Distillery is their outside space. It has a large wrap-around area with plenty of seating, an outside bar and TVs. I’m sure it was heavily used this summer with the weather we’ve had.
Inside, as you’d expect has a nice and trendy bar with a great selection of drinks, including one of our favourite rums, Diplomatico, which Eugene enjoyed in the evening with the largest pot of nuts he has ever been given.
They have a pub-like food menu too, but we didn’t have time to sample it; although, from what we saw and were told by other guests, it met the high quality of the main restaurant.
Other Facilities
We had a peek at the gym whilst we were there. It seemed like a fairly decent gym with dumbbells up to 30kg, which is great for a hotel gym. They also had two Peloton bikes, which I haven’t seen in a hotel gym yet, but it seems like a great idea for people wanting to get a quick, familiar workout in.
Eugene took our boy to the pool the morning before we left. We’d had a look at it early evening the day before, but it was quite busy so we decided to wait. Usually, hotels have special kid access times, but not here; they are welcome anytime of the day. It was much quieter in the morning and a nice place to spend an hour.
The pool was on the colder side but not as bad as some we have experienced.
They went down in the robes provided by the hotel with Moomins stitched onto them, including a special kid one, and Eugene commented that they were some of the softest robes he’d ever worn.
Conclusion
Overall, we were really impressed with Hilton London Bankside. It perhaps wasn’t an obvious choice for us, but having stayed, we’d definitely consider coming back. The location worked really well, the hotel felt modern and welcoming and, importantly for us, it was surprisingly good for families.
The Moomin Suite added lots of fun, although the spacious layout and separate living area were probably more valuable when travelling with two kids! Add in the pool, good food and genuinely friendly service, and there was a lot to like.
Hilton Bankside manages a nice balance between feeling like a proper London hotel for adults, while still being welcoming to children. We’d happily return, Moomins or no Moomins!
