I've done the Grosvenor Square trip twice this year for company work. Both times I waited in excess of three hours for an interview of less than 60 seconds. Either my interview technique is spot on or the fortune we pay our lawyers for paperwork preparation is worth it. The bureaucracy is indeed mind blowing but is not a reflection of the friendliness of the natives when you get there.
I got my licence in Florida but my previous licence was obtained in the UK. The difference was immeasurable. Yes I did get bad weather, cold fronts cross winds and haze from fires forcing me to use VORs for Nav, something I rarely used in the UK. The school I went to (now defunct) was 100% committed to getting folk through their exams. The aircraft they used were not the best but the atmosphere for studying was perfect as the original poster found, too.
I am equally sure there are bad schools in the States and research and personal recommendation is essential. If you are prepared to study hard and fly twice a day then its a no brainer. You will get your PPL in 4 weeks rather than a year and a half. Plus you get to send the wife and kids to Disneyworld so everyone is happy.