Riu Plaza Westminster London Hotel Opens, What to Know

RIU Hotels and Resorts has opened Hotel Riu Plaza London The Westminster in the Westminster area of London, adding a second RIU city hotel option in the UK capital. Travelers deciding where to stay in central London, especially anyone balancing sightseeing access with transfer reliability from airports and rail hubs, are the most affected. If you are booking now, focus on the practical differences between the Westminster and Victoria locations, confirm the exact address on your reservation, and build a transfer buffer that matches your arrival mode.

This change matters because the Riu Plaza Westminster London hotel adds 464 rooms in a high demand, landmark heavy zone near the Thames and Tate Britain, and RIU is positioning it as a fast brand conversion rather than a long construction project. RIU says the property offers its typical full buffet breakfast, plus a lobby cafe bar, meeting rooms, and a 24 hour gym, which signals it is aiming at both leisure and short stay business demand.

Who Is Affected

Travelers who want to walk to Westminster, the Houses of Parliament, and the South Bank attractions should see the new hotel as a location upgrade, with the tradeoff that you are not directly on top of a major rail terminal. The hotel's prior identity helps clarify where it sits, the address associated with The Westminster London, Curio Collection by Hilton is 30 John Islip Street, London SW1P 4DD, which is useful when you are mapping a late night arrival, rideshare pickup rules, or a coach drop.

Travelers who anchor their London plan around Victoria Station convenience may still prefer Hotel Riu Plaza London Victoria, especially if you are doing early departures, day trips that start at Victoria, or airport transfers that you want to keep simple. RIU itself frames the two properties as close, with the Westminster hotel roughly a 15 minute walk from the Victoria site, so this is less about choosing a different part of London and more about choosing the right access pattern for your itinerary.

Anyone traveling during a high compression week, think school holidays, major events, weather knock on disruption, or rail cancellations, is also affected because 464 additional rooms can change the odds of finding a same day rebook in Westminster. That supply ripple is not just about price, it changes where displaced passengers land when Eurostar, airport operations, or road conditions force overnight stays, which then feeds back into taxi demand, restaurant crowding, and morning departure queues.

What Travelers Should Do

Book with precision, not just brand. Confirm you are selecting "Hotel Riu Plaza London The Westminster" versus "Hotel Riu Plaza London Victoria," then pin the address in your map app before you land. If you are arriving after a long haul flight, plan your first evening around a low friction check in, a short walk dinner option, and a backup ride plan in case curb access is restricted near government zones.

Use a simple decision threshold to pick the right RIU property. If you need Victoria Station adjacency for a timed train, a coach departure, or an early airport run, favor the Victoria hotel even if the Westminster rate looks slightly better. If your trip is landmark heavy, and you want to reduce daily transport time, favor the Westminster hotel, and spend the savings on one fewer rideshare per day, because that is usually where London trips bleed time and money.

Over the next 24 to 72 hours, monitor the specific transport layer you depend on, not generic "London travel" headlines. If you are arriving by rail from Paris or Brussels, keep an eye on disruption trends that can cascade into last minute hotel compression, including items like Eurostar Snow Cancellations London Paris Jan 7. If you are touching Gatwick on the weekends, account for rail engineering impacts and bus substitutions like Gatwick Rail Link Closures, Three January 2026 Weekends. For broader neighborhood planning, reference London Travel Guide: The Ultimate 7-10 Day Itinerary for First-Time Visitors.

Background

The Hotel Riu Plaza London The Westminster is a conversion into RIU's city hotel portfolio, not a ground up opening. RIU and trade coverage describe the building as originally opened in 2003, then fully refurbished in 2021, after which it operated under Hilton's Curio Collection, a detail that helps travelers understand the underlying physical plant and why RIU says major adaptation work is not expected.

In the travel system, hotel openings propagate differently than airline schedule changes, but the ripple is still real. First order impact is straightforward, more rooms in a prime zone near major attractions, and a new option for travelers who want a walkable Westminster base. Second order effects show up when the city is under stress, because disruptions, cancellations, and missed connections push travelers into same day inventory, and added supply can reduce the number of forced hotel moves across town.

There is also a product level ripple. RIU highlights a buffet breakfast, meeting rooms, and a 24 hour gym, which positions the hotel to attract both leisure and small group demand, and that can tighten nearby alternatives on weekdays when meetings peak. Finally, the hotel's location choices interact with transport reliability, Victoria Station adjacency can be a resilience advantage when rail links are operating normally, while a Thames side Westminster base can be an advantage when your goal is to minimize daily intra city travel time.

Sources

• RIU opens its second hotel in London
• RIU opens second London hotel near Westminster
• The Westminster London, Curio Collection by Hilton
• The Riu Plaza London Victoria opens its doors