Leonardo Royal Hotel London St Paul’s Review: Executive room, spa & Cathedral views.
I stayed at the Leonardo Royal Hotel St Paul’s as part of a mini road trip around London that I did with my eldest in the summer holidays, where we reviewed a few hotels and tried to find the best hidden gems and the most affordable, good-value, enjoyable London experiences that we could.
We’ve got so many recommendations for you as a result of that trip.
Our Stay at Leonardo Royal Hotel London St Paul’s
The first thing to note is that, like all London hotels, prices do change at this hotel, and you really do have to keep a close eye on them.
I recommend doing what we did and monitoring all of the booking sites daily. I also have a Super.com subscription because, literally over the course of a week, the price for the room we stayed in was up to three times what we paid for it.
I don’t recommend staying in any London hotel just because you’ve read a good review I’ve written about it. You need to keep an eye on the price.
That’s one of my general money-saving tips, and it’s really important because hotel prices can change quite shockingly.
The Location – Right Next to St Paul’s Cathedral
Jumping into the hotel itself, the location is great. It is literally next to St Paul’s Cathedral, one of my favourite landmarks in the whole of London. There’s just something about it. It’s akin to the London Vatican for me. I absolutely love it. The way it’s designed, the curves, the history, the beauty, the stonework, everything about it is just gorgeous.
I love the whole feel of the area as well, with Threadneedle Street, where we recently stayed at Threadneedles Hotel.
You can read my review of that here.
I’ve also got lots of other posts about things to do in the area, which I’ll link at the end.
First Impressions and the Staff
It’s a beautiful hotel, and the staff were very, very attentive and fantastic. They were all so helpful.
As soon as you walk into a Leonardo Hotel, you can smell that instantly recognisable scent.
It’s the same fragrance as when we stayed at the Leonardo Hotel in Brighton, and the same as the other ones we’ve stayed at too.
They always smell great, and they’re always in perfect condition, very well looked after, nicely decorated and with friendly staff.
You know what you’re going to get with this brand, and it is really one that I recommend.
I really rate them.
Is the Executive Room Worth Booking?
We had an executive room, which meant we got access to the executive lounge.
But we didn’t realise that until after we’d already been and sat in the bar, where you have to buy drinks!
We’d got ourselves some drinks and snacks while we waited for our room to be ready because we’d arrived a bit early.
So one thing to note is that it’s definitely worth getting the executive room if it’s one of the affordable days and they haven’t put the price up astronomically.
But if you do get it, make use of the executive lounge straight away.
What’s Included in the Executive Lounge?
You need to use your room card to gain access to the Executive Lounge at the Leonardo Royal Hotel, London St Paul’s and it’s situated on the ground floor looking out on side road opposite St Paul’s. They have complimentary drinks and food throughout the day.
There’s alcohol from the evening shift, but during the day there are teas, coffees and snacks.
They also do breakfast, lunch and dinner options. It’s not a full meal each time, but there are perfectly nice snacks. They’ve got games, newspapers and things to do and play, and it’s a really great touch.
We really enjoyed spending time in the executive lounge, and I recommend making use of it if you can.
We went back in the evening, had a glass of wine and played chess before going out for dinner, which was lovely.
Our Executive Room and the Incredible St Paul’s View
Once our room was ready, we went up in the amazing glass lifts.
These are brilliant because you get a fantastic view into the central atrium of the hotel as you go up and down. They’re really fast and smooth. My son doesn’t like lifts, but these lifts he doesn’t mind at all because they feel safe.
Then we went into our room, and it was really fantastic. It was a really nice room, well laid out, a great size, clean and with everything you would need.
There was an enormous bed and a view through the floor-to-ceiling windows of St Paul’s Cathedral. A really fantastic view.
I went specifically to get a timelapse overnight for content and I was able to set my camera up through the window and capture the most beautiful timelapse of St Paul’s Cathedral as the sun went down.
It’s one of my favourite videos I’ve captured in my travels.
It was such a good find. I highly recommend getting the executive room with the view if you can.
The Spa and Swimming Pool
The hotel has a spa and swimming pool.
We booked a slot and went swimming, and it was great.
It was a good-sized pool, and although it was quite busy, it was absolutely fine.
We really enjoyed it.
Exploring St Paul’s and Dinner Nearby
We didn’t eat dinner at the hotel. Instead, we went to an Italian restaurant just around the corner, which was really nice.
We also walked around St Paul’s Cathedral in the evening and Paternoster Square, really soaking up the atmosphere.
It was just the most brilliant, quintessentially London, historic architectural trip. I felt like I was on holiday. It was wonderful. I really recommend staying in this area. It feels like a safe part of London as well, and it was just a really nice trip.
A Fantastic Night’s Sleep – Even With the Cathedral Bells
We had a really fantastic night’s sleep.
One thing I would now note, having stayed in another hotel literally five minutes away, is just how good the soundproofing was at the Leonardo Royal Hotel St Paul’s.
I hadn’t realised until staying at the other hotel, which had insufficiently insulated windows, that St Paul’s Cathedral bells went off every 15 minutes through the night.
I was completely unaware of that when we stayed at the Leonardo Royal because the windows were so fantastically soundproof.
We had the best night’s sleep and had no idea.
At the other hotel, it was so disturbing that I woke up several times throughout the night.
So definitely make sure, if you’re staying in this area, that you check you’ve got a quiet room.
It can make a huge difference.
Breakfast at Leonardo Royal Hotel St Paul’s
In the morning, we went down to breakfast. I’m going to be honest: I didn’t really rate it. It was a great, large area, and they had a huge selection, but it was very busy. You really felt like it was a bit like school dinners.
It was heaving, and I just didn’t think the cooked breakfast was that great.
It was also quite expensive, so I probably wouldn’t pay that price again.
I’d recommend going out for breakfast, in all honesty.
If you can get it included in the room rate at a really reasonable price, then it’s a handy thing to have in the hotel.
But there are so many great places in the surrounding area that I don’t think it’s worth paying extra for.
It wasn’t a breakfast on a par with the ones we’ve had at Threadneedles, The Dilly or Kimpton Fitzroy, for example.
Overall Verdict – Would I Recommend Leonardo Royal Hotel St Paul’s?
Yes!! The hotel feels enormous, considering you’re in central London. It’s really well located, the staff are friendly, and it’s got everything you need.
There are several areas to sit, and the executive lounge is fantastic.
You are greeted with a free glass of prosecco when you queue to check in which was such a nice tough. It was clean, safe, well decorated and thoroughly enjoyable. The room was lovely, the view of St Paul’s Cathedral was incredible, and we had a brilliant night’s sleep.
The breakfast wasn’t my favourite, but everything else made it a really enjoyable stay.
We got it for a really good price, so my biggest recommendation is to keep an eye on the booking sites and book when you spot a bargain.
I would definitely recommend staying here.
My rating: 8.5/10
Is the Leonardo Royal Hotel St Paul’s Executive Room Worth It?
If you’re considering booking an executive room at Leonardo Royal Hotel London St Paul’s, I would definitely recommend checking the price difference before booking. We really enjoyed having access to the executive lounge, particularly the complimentary drinks and snacks throughout the day. Combined with the incredible view of St Paul’s Cathedral from our bedroom, it made our stay feel that bit more special. But hotel prices change so much that I’d only recommend upgrading when you can find a genuinely good deal.
Is Leonardo Royal Hotel St Paul’s Good for Families?
We stayed at Leonardo Royal Hotel St Paul’s during the summer holidays, and it worked really well for our trip. The room was spacious, the swimming pool was a lovely extra, and the executive lounge gave us somewhere to relax and play games. The location was also fantastic for exploring London on foot, particularly around St Paul’s Cathedral.
