London area Hotels/Districts

We are looking for a central and reasonable hotel in London as we will be staying for a 5 days prior to our cruise out of Southhampton. Clearly, I am not familiar with the city and want to find a hotel that is pretty central to most of the touristy things folks do when visiting London. If anyone can recommend an area or particular hotel that would be very helpful. Leaving in 57 days!

The County Hall area, by the London Eye, is handy to Waterloo station for frequent fast trains to Southampton, easy walking distance across Westminster Bridge to Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, Churchill War Rooms, Horse Guards Parade, Trafalgar Square, etc. Pleasant evening walks , dining, pubs etc along the South Bank of the river. A good compromise between cost & convenience.

Victoria is handy for National Express bus or slow trains to Southampton, close to Buckingham Palace and also walkable to places like Westminster Abbey & Big Ben. Lots of smaller privately-run hotels here. It's as far west as I'd choose.

Paddington is handy from the Heathrow Express, close to Hyde Park, Marble Arch & Oxford Street shops.

Kings Cross is as far north as you should consider, but is a little cheaper.

Tower Bridge is at the eastern end of "tourist" London, by the Tower of London. Absolutely as far east as you should consider. This is the "city", and tourist sights are fewer in the locality, but it's popular with visitors & hotel rates are low at weekends.

No hotel is close to everything, but one anywhere within those limits will provide some sights close by & all other sights just a short ride on the tube (London's extensive metro service). Even cheaper hotels outside the tourist area are only a few minutes on the tube.

Choose one handy to a tube station.

For orientation, the main sights are on this yellow ho-ho route:

http://www.theoriginaltour.com/UserFiles/OriginalTourMap.jpg

JB :)

For a very decent price, I always find the Strand Palace hotel a very good central location to everything.

For a very decent price, I always find the Strand Palace hotel a very good central location to everything.

We have never stayed at the Strand Palace but do always stay in the Covent Garden, St. James and Soho area. In 27 visits this neighborhood has never failed us. All the best u

Underground lines are so close together in that area as are most of the theaters.

Thanks for all the suggestions... very helpful!

I am not sure of your budget but you won't do better in terms of service and location than the Montague on the Gardens. It is superb, the staff really go the extra mile. We always stay there when we visit London.

I had an email yesterday from Travelodge and I posted this link on our roll call. http://www.travelodge.co.uk/search_and_book/saver_rooms

Travelodge is a budget hotel chain in the UK and if you look out for a hotel where the rooms have been upgraded you'll be fine. Someone on our roll call has booked 6 nights in September for £250 at Travelodge in Bethnal Green which is an amazing price. Someone else I heard about booked Travelodge Kew Gardens for an equally good price.

As others have said the main thing is to be close to a tube station. I also use google maps to get an overview of the area.

I had an email yesterday from Travelodge and I posted this link on our roll call. http://www.travelodge.co.uk/search_and_book/saver_rooms

 

 

Travelodge is a budget hotel chain in the UK and if you look out for a hotel where the rooms have been upgraded you'll be fine. Someone on our roll call has booked 6 nights in September for £250 at Travelodge in Bethnal Green which is an amazing price. Someone else I heard about booked Travelodge Kew Gardens for an equally good price.

As others have said the main thing is to be close to a tube station. I also use google maps to get an overview of the area.

Do you know anything about the London County Hall Hotel?

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Travel Lodges are great budget options but you do have to watch out for the area. For example I wouldn't want to stay in Bethnal Green. County Hall is a good location though.

Do you know anything about the London County Hall Hotel?

 

 

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There are several hotels in the County Hall area and two (Marriott and Premier Inn) in the County Hall buildings themselves. There isn't a Travelodge in the immediate area, as far as I know - nearest would be in Waterloo Road, I think.

I'm not sure I entirely agree that the most important thing is to be near a tube station - everywhere in Central London is pretty close to a station! Staying somewhere like Bethnal Green means having to travel everywhere - staying in central London means being able to walk to some sights and shorter journeys home at night.

We have stayed at the St. Ermins Hotel on Caxton St. in central London the last two times we have been there. Excellent location. Walking distance to just about all of the major tourist attractions. Go to their website and I think you will see what I mean. I just finished your review of the Freedom cruise and liked what I read so much that I was looking at more of your posts and came across this.

We have stayed at the St. Ermins Hotel on Caxton St. in central London the last two times we have been there. Excellent location. Walking distance to just about all of the major tourist attractions. Go to their website and I think you will see what I mean. I just finished your review of the Freedom cruise and liked what I read so much that I was looking at more of your posts and came across this.

Lovely hotel, great location. About twice the price of the Premier Inn County Hall, for good reason perhaps, which illustrates the difficulty we have when folk ask for a "reasonable hotel" in central London :)

We have stayed at the St. Ermins Hotel on Caxton St. in central London the last two times we have been there. Excellent location. Walking distance to just about all of the major tourist attractions. Go to their website and I think you will see what I mean. I just finished your review of the Freedom cruise and liked what I read so much that I was looking at more of your posts and came across this.

Thanks for the info and glad you enjoyed the review. Cheers! :D

Lovely hotel, great location. About twice the price of the Premier Inn County Hall, for good reason perhaps, which illustrates the difficulty we have when folk ask for a "reasonable hotel" in central London :)

I understand the difficulty so my thought process is not so much about price (although I do keep in mind that the Canadian dollar sucks against British currency.... for example, something costing around 175 a night in British currency would be around 345-50 Canadian dollars), but more about the areas that give us a good location with minimal travel to the tourist spots and of course a nice and reasonably safe neighborhood. Hope that helps... and thanks everyone for the many options you have provided...

EvitaCruiser

So, what's wrong with Bethnal Green? The area has been regenerated in recent years and East London is now very fashionable. BG also has very good transport links.

I would only book a Travelodge with the renovated rooms. It tells you on the website which ones they are.

Do you know anything about the London County Hall Hotel?

 

 

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I've stayed in the premier lodge in county hall.

It is fine if all you are looking for is somewhere to rest your head.

Travel lodges are ok, but they are the cheaper end of the market, followed by Premier Innn.

These are not really hotels for a long stay although they are clean and comfy.

Having said that there was a TV programme a few years ago about an elderly couple who lived in one as they found it cheaper than living at home.

It really depends on what your budget can stand as there is a hotel for every price bracket in London.

Well, I suppose Premier Inn and Travelodge serve their purpose. Some of the new PIs are OK for a night or two and I presume the refurbished Travelodges will be OK for a while.

Just came back form London. We stayed at DoubleTree by Hilton in Hyde Park.

Great hotel, awesome breakfast buffet, friendly staff and great air conditioning in the room. KLocation worked for us. We had theunderground 2 blocks away and did much sightseeing. Would stay here again.

We've been happy with the Imperial Hotel in London, very near the Russell Square station on the Piccadilly Line. It's easy to get to from Heathrow, provides an excellent breakfast and is close to the the British Museum. In a few weeks, we'll be staying there for the third time.

It's not fancy but it's a real value.

We are looking at the Queens Gate Hotel, near the Glouceterster Tube station. It seems like a good location, and is under 900.00 US dollars for 3 nights. REFUNDABLE. Anyone heard of this hotel? We want something nice, but would like to stay under the 1000.00 range for our 3 nights pre cruise.

We are presently booked at the Park Plaza Westminster Bridge London..in a studio (kitchen) but its a touch over that price range. But we were wondering if being able to do a little 'eating in' would balance out our budget a little.

We're looking for a London hotel for a week in early June next year, after an Oceania cruise from Montreal to Southampton. We've booked a "place holder" hotel - the Staybridge Suites near the Stratford (that's Stratford town, not Stratford on Avon) tube station because it has everything we need except location: air conditioned, lots of space, kitchen, breakfast included. If we could get these qualities in a more central location, it would be wonderful.

Regarding air conditioning, we had weather in the mid-80's in Norway last month, and it was in the 90s for our only trip to Seattle. Air conditioning is a must for us, even though it's usually cool in London.

We're looking for a London hotel for a week in early June next year, after an Oceania cruise from Montreal to Southampton. We've booked a "place holder" hotel - the Staybridge Suites near the Stratford (that's Stratford town, not Stratford on Avon) tube station because it has everything we need except location: air conditioned, lots of space, kitchen, breakfast included. If we could get these qualities in a more central location, it would be wonderful.

 

Regarding air conditioning, we had weather in the mid-80's in Norway last month, and it was in the 90s for our only trip to Seattle. Air conditioning is a must for us, even though it's usually cool in London.

And it would be expensive. :eek:

I've come across short-term apartment rentals around Tower Bridge/Tower of London/St Katherine's dock, but they do need deep pockets.

Stratford was the pits, a major reason for holding the Olympics there & re-generating the area. Not been there since, but I'm guessing it's a very different place now.

Yes, it's out of central London & away from the tourist sights but they're all just a 10-15 minute ride on the tube. The usual problem with such a location is the time & trouble to head back & freshen-up after a day of sight-seeing before heading out for the evening. I don't know what the immediate area has to offer in the evenings, no doubt a Londoner can chip in.

Aircon is needed in big modern office blocks & hotels & such which have a lot of glass & no opening windows, & air-con is incorporated in the plans. Few Brits have air-con at home & most wonder what all the fuss is about - but you're not the first visitor who feels the need ;)

JB :)

I don't know what the immediate area has to offer in the evenings, no doubt a Londoner can chip in.

Given that it's only 15-20 minutes by Central Line from Stratford Tube to Holborn Tube, or 20-25 minutes by Jubilee Line to Westminster Tube, the location probably isn't much worse for getting to the main sightseeing and entertainment areas of central London than if one were staying in (for example) Notting Hill Gate or Earls Court. But if one feels like just wandering out of the hotel and looking for something local on foot, I suspect that Westfield or the immediate surrounding shopping areas are still probably about as good as it gets around there.

I am a big Premier Inn fan

I travel up to two times a week on business and could choose to stay anywhere I want, but I always choose premier inn. I've stayed in over 50 premier inns across the country.

The Waterloo Premier Inn would be a good option for those that are planning to catch a train to Southampton.

http://www.premierinn.com/en/checkHotel/LONWAT/london-waterloo-westminster-bridge

Why do I prefer PI to posher hotels?

Consistency and quality. They are all the same. You know what you are getting. The beds are always very comfy, they are up to date and clean.

The breakfasts are always good and offer healthy options for me and a big variety.

The decor is calming and the restaurants and bars tend to be very nice, the Southampton premier inn is new and the bar / restaurant is really nice.

The Goodnight policy - if anything is bothering you tell the staff. They will work really hard to put it right. If they can't, you will get a FULL refund for your entire stay. This happened to me once in Manchester when the heating in my room would not work and they could not move me due to a full house, they gave me an electric heater but still gave me a full refund.

Amazing service. I have never encountered a member of staff who has not wanted to go the extra mile to make it a good stay for me.

On the other hand, I tend to avoid travelodges because of the type of people staying in them (more likely to get smokers/ drunk people) and the beds can be quite uncomfortable. But for the price a newer travelodge can be a great option and usually you do not have any problems with guests (if you do let the staff know - they are used to sorting people out!)

Rubens at the Palace - a gray location near the Buckingham Palace and Victoria Station for access, very friendly staff. Check luxury link dot com for good packages

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