Hilton offers special packages for exclusive London events

Following a doubling in demand for advance bookings in London’s theatres, Hilton has announced special partnerships with two of the biggest events set to take place in London this year - Lord of the Rings West End musical and the Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs exhibition.

On the back of a record breaking year in 2006*, Hilton has become the official hotel partner for both of these exclusive London events.

Lord of the Rings is due to open on 9 May, while Tutankhamun launches at The O2 on 15 November this year.

The deals give customers access to discount rates for both individual events, with the added bonus of beating the queues and securing the best seats respectively.

Prices for Tutankhamun packages start from £149 for a double/twin room including two adult tickets to the exhibition, while Lord of the Rings tickets are available as part of Hilton’s Theatre Breaks.

Andrew Farrow, regional marketing director at Hilton, said: “We’ve always held close links with London’s cultural calendar and as the capital’s largest hotel company we are very excited to be involved in both these events.

“With hotels reaching from Kensington to Canary Wharf we are perfectly placed to provide visitors with luxury accommodation no matter what part of the city they’d like to stay in.”

In theatreland, the Waldorf Hilton backs on to the Theatre Royal Drury Lane, while the trafalgar is only a short walk away down the Strand.

The Lord of the Rings deal will be handled under Hilton’s Theatre Breaks bundle which offers rooms and tickets for many of the West End’s leading shows.

Bookings can be made online at Hilton.co.uk/theatrebreaks.

The Waldorf Hilton is also preparing to offer its famous afternoon tea with the best seats during Wednesday matinees for the special price of £50.

The closest hotels to The O2 are Hilton London Canary Wharf and Hilton London Docklands, the latter of which has a pier from which the hotel is hoping to transport visitors directly to the centre by boat.

Some of the treasures from Tutankhamun’s tomb were last displayed in the UK in 1972 and attracted some 1.7 million visitors and set travelling exhibition attendance records.

Currently, the exhibition which is touring four major US cities has been enjoyed by over 3 million people, setting records in each host city. Unique to the London-based exhibition will be a dedicated gallery to Howard Carter, the British archaeologist who discovered Tutankhamun’s tomb

Tutankhamun will be the first exhibition to take place in The O2, Europe’s newest and most advanced entertainment destination which is due to open its doors in July 2007. The exhibition centre, called The O2 Bubble in reference to its unique shape, is arranged on two levels, covering over 6500 m2.

Packages are now available from Hilton.co.uk/kingtut with VIP tickets on all purchases.

*Overall Advanced Ticket Bookings in the West End in 2006 were double the 2005 levels at a total of £57 million. Overall ticket revenues rose 4.78% between 2005 and 2006 to its highest ever level (Source – Dewynters West End Theatre Summary, April 2007).