We will be in London next month and looking for a hotel for a couple of nights. Does anyone have any recommendations? Thanks.
Robert
Discussion Forum
Get It All!
UNLIMITED Membership is like taking a master class in woodworking for less than $10 a month.
Start Your Free TrialCategories
Discussion Forum
Digital Plans Library
Member exclusive! – Plans for everyone – from beginners to experts – right at your fingertips.
Highlights
-
Shape Your Skills
when you sign up for our emails
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. -
Shop Talk Live Podcast -
Our favorite articles and videos -
E-Learning Courses from Fine Woodworking
-
-
Replies
What is your price range and locations that you would like to be close to?
I stayed at the Thistle Picadilly over night on business. It's right near Leicester Square, Picadilly, the tube/subway stops. I presume you know the tube goes to Heathrow, but trains/taxis required from Gatwick. Thistle Trafalgar Square is just a few blocks away. It's very nice too. Might be a little newer than Picadilly.
When I was paying I stayed at Hazlitts.
http://www.hazlittshotel.com/haz_index.html Enjoyed the stay, we were there for 3 or 4 days and we were very close to a lot of attractions. They seem to be offering a special rate due to rehab of some rooms at the moment so you might get a good deal.
You probably know it's a very big city and the subway goes almost everywhere. I've traveled there several times and after the first trip or two, I always locate myself near what I was interested in. The tube is nice, but save yourself time, though not necessarily money by staying near what you want to see and do. If pubbing, it's nice to be walking distance or short cab ride home.
Google earth will show you the hotels around the sights/addresses you want to see, just click on the hotels button in the left frame.
I highly recommend Rick Steve's books on Europe in general. We stayed at B&B's that he recommended. The library probably has a few of his books and he has some tips at http://www.ricksteves.com. He lists the highspots to hit during your London stay. And yes the double decker buses are stereotype, but you can see a lot very quickly and get an entertaining spiel along the way from the quasi tour guide, plus you can hop on and off all day. If you are planning to see Westminsters Abbey and the Tower of London I suggest at boatride up or down the Thames. Great photo opps and also a good view of the city from the river.
Have fun.
Ken
Robert,
http://www.thevictoria.net/
This place is not a "lap of luxury" hotel but it is a short walk from Richmond Park and (in the other direction) Barnes, East Sheen and Richmond town itself. It's outside of central London and all the better for that.
The station in Sheen (10 minutes walk away) has frequent trains that will take you straight to central London - Waterloo south of the Thames (for The City, Parliament, Westminster and up to Trafalgar Square); or into Camden north of The Thames (for The British Museum, The British Library and so forth).
Hammersmith is a short bus ride away from Sheen; or you can walk to Hammersmith Bridge along the bank of The Thames. Barnes Wetlands, with loads of birds and hides to watch them, is on the way. In the other direction along the Thames you will find yourself in Kew Gardens. The Museums of South Kensington are just another mile or so from Hammersmith. There are plenty of buses, as well as those trains, that go all over the place.
The Victoria is a friendly and intimate place with excellent food. The rooms are small and without the facilities of modern chain hotels, however. The street it's in is a quiet residential one with a small school for 5 - 7 year olds next door, a fine Victoian church at the top of the street and a walk past some very fine properties on the way to Richmond Park with its rides, deer, ponds and woods. It's a quiet place with no traffic noise, creatures of the night or other hazards of central London.
The ladywife and I stay there when we visit daughter Number One, who lives in Barnes, a mile or so away. It's a very pleasant place to stay and to walk around, with low traffic and lots of handsome houses and gardens. The main street 1/4 mile down the hill from the hotel has lots of shops, including good delis, bookshops, gardening store and even furniture shops.
But if you want central London on your doorstep, or standard hotel facilities, it's not the place to stay.
Lataxe
rpholland
The rates will shock you if you are used to stateside prices.. However there are countless ways to discount rates back to near stateside prices..
One of the best ways is to have an airline crew pass.. up to 60% discount. selective B&B's work as well but don't go blind.. some are real hovels..
The price of things in London will give you constant sticker shock.
As I lived in England for four years, I can give you a few hints that
might prove helpful.
The cheapest hotels are usually located in small villages around London where you can easily catch a train into the main part of the city. Watford is an example of such a place and there are many others.
Pub food is usually the cheapest and best for the money in London.
Never order beef in England, you will complain that it is tough and tasteless. It is perfectly safe; just tasteless; I always gave my American friends this advice, as I simply got tired of hearing them whine about the beef. Lamb chicken and fish are much better buys there. You will be disappointed in British Breakfast sausages, go for their bacon. The baked potato carts on the street are a bargain.
The best place I found for woodworking tools is in the town of Bakewell in the peak district.
If you have other specific questions I would be happy to try and help you.
Moksha
Visited Great Britain for over a month a few years ago and I agree 100% with your food comments. Especially the pub food. Would add that in the country side, the pubs we ate at had only one seating. Early arrivers could order anything on the "blackboard". As the evening waned, the choices became less as they erased the choices they had sold out of.
Also, the liquor licenses were quite different from the US. All different type about what and when they could serve! And when children were and were not allowed!
Still that way, I wonder??
A bad day woodworking is better than a good day working -- yes, I'm retired!
It has been seven years since I last lived in England and except for a few trips in and out of the country. The Liquor laws have recently changed quite a bit; however, I do not have specifics as to how. Because the English homes are pretty small, the pubs were rather like an extended living room for people; while in the US we entertain more in our homes.Woodworking for the average fellow takes place in his garden shed; the phrase "A man's Shed" takes on a deeper meaning in England. As the houses are small, no basements, and garages almost non existent the garden shed is the place where a man retreats to for some privacy and his hobbies. I have seen some remarkable wood and metal working shops crammed into the small space of a garden shed.
http://www.asciimation.co.nz/beer/
The web site above explains about a man's shed, it is an Australian
story; but applies quite well to England as well. Tools are quite pricey in England; however, most are very well made.
Moksha
Here is a pretty wonderful site i used in 2004 to get really nice accommodations at much cheaper prices all over southern England, including London. It's sort of like Hotwire...you pay less for rooms they haven't rented on shorter notice. Since you have such a large selection, it's not hard to find one available. The headings are clickable to customize the site to your needs, be it location, price, etc. The pictures and reviews are useful in addition to the 'star' ratings.
When my husband and i spent a week in London, accommodations we found through the Fodor's site were just awful. We used laterooms.com for most of the places elsewhere we traveled from Dover to Torquay and every one of them was above average to luxurious; we paid on average about 2/3 of normal cost of a room, often much less. We stayed at a family estate that had become a business retreat place for 35 pounds one night with an astonishingly varied and classy breakfast buffet included. That was November, so you won't find such deals in the shoulder season, but still...
Thanks to all that have responded. We will be traveling back from Italy to Gatwick Airport in London and then back home. We thought that while going through London we would stay two nights and see a little bit. We liked that site Laterooms.com and will continue to check back there as we get closer to leaving. We did find an apartment near the Liverpool station, in Bishopsgate which we can cancel if we need to. That is going to run about 300 gbp for both nights.
We will be in Italy for about a week staying in Bologna, Rome and Florence. This is my wife and my first trip to Europe, we are also taking our two sons who are 23 and 25. It is going to cost a small fortune, but we have the opportunity for everyone to go now and as they get older it will be harder to do. Robert
I would look elsewhere if I were considering the Strand near Covent Garden. Micro rooms, old, noisy and very damp and overpriced - even for London.
I was there in 2002 and stayed at the Holiday Inn Express in North Greenwich just a stones throw from the Millenium Dome. Great place to eat was nearby called the Pilots Inn. You will need a 2 zone tube pass to get around London from there but it is really worth it. You have to go to Coventry Garden, just a great place. In London itself you have to eat the Fish and Chips plus the Guinness is so much better there. Have a ball and take a lot of pictures. I am planing to go back again real soon.
There are a lot of small hotels around Paddington Station. The cheaper ones, (relative for London), fill up quickly, you may be too late.
The Marriott Marble Arch is usually available for £209 a night. And breakfast is only £18.50.
Seriously, cheap hotels don't exist in the city. Look outside of London and take the train or tube in. As a last resort consider the King's Cross area. There are lots of cheaper hotels, (try Traveloges), but it's not the best neighborhood.
Good Luck!!
Fred
Stayed at Harrington Hall in Kennsington. Near the palace and the Tube Stop. Good hotel - not too expensive.
I am no expert but I am 50 year young and have lived in the United Kingdom for my entire life .Further I worked in Central London for 2 years when I was in my twenties
If I was going to stay in London this would be my thought process
(1) Look at the Premier inn Tower Bridge ( part of large chain of hotels reasonable prices (web site premier inn )
(2)Website Bluedogairporthotels.co.uk on left hand side of homepage select site map select London hotels .I have used this site in past and found prices to be competitive
(3) http://www.tube hotels .com This site lists hotels near to tube stations
Please tell me why you are visiting London and what you hope to see I may be able to give you my views on what I would do .What to visit where to eat
regards Charmwood
This forum post is now archived. Commenting has been disabled