2-3 night stay in London

Starting to make plans for our 40th Anniversary, Celebrity, Infinity 10 day cruise around the British Isles for next June. Will be flying into London for a couple of days before the cruise. Any suggestions on a nice place to stay in a "touristy" area? (Big Ben, Parliament etc.) Not looking for B&B. Not looking for Holiday Inn budget hotel. Also NOT looking for a place that's too too expensive. Even suggestions on which part of London to stay in will be helpful. I expect that we will do a little walking, a little taxiing, and maybe even a private tour or two of a few major tourist historical/cultural spots over those two days. Priceline, Hotwire,TripAdvisor, etc all have sooooo many listings that it's a little overwhelming. Fortunately, we are starting our research 9 months in advance!!! Thanks so much, Geoff and Donna.

We stayed at the Doubletree Westminister on John Islip Street this past July. It is an easy walk to Westminster Abbey, Houses of Parliment, Buckingham Palace, etc. It was a short walk to Victoria Station area, also.

Tube station across from Houses of Parliment easily got to other places in the city we wanted to see like the area around St. Paul's.

It's rate was reasonable and ours included a full English buffet breakfast. It was clean and staff very helpful. We were even able to check in when we arrived after our overnight flight.

Not budget, but simply the nicest, most welcoming hotel in the capital, with the most obliging staff. The Montague on the Gardens is close to the British Museum and walkable to Covent Garden, Shaftesbury Avenue and is served by Russell Square tube station. We always stay here, we have tried others but this is the one we always return to.

http://www.montaguehotel.com/microsites/free-breakfast?gclid=CLyC-I6w7rkCFRMftAodVU8A5g

Most convenient without paying a huge premium for location would be in or near one of the County Hall hotels. Right by the London Eye & boat pier, easy walking over Westminster Bridge to Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, Churchill's War Rooms, Whitehall, Downing Street, even up to Trafalgar Square & on to Leicester Square & The Strand for theatres & nightlife. Or beyond Westminster Abbey to Buckingham Palace. Riverside walk (plenty of bars & restaurants) to Shakespeare's Globe & Tate Modern, even over the wibbly-wobbly bridge (Millennium Bridge) from there to St Pauls Cathedral. Handy to Waterloo Station if your ship leaves from Southampton, or a short taxi ride to Victoria for London's best train & coach connections.

If County Hall area is too rich for you, Victoria (Buckingham Palace, Green Park) or Paddington (Marble Arch, Hyde Park, Oxford Street, Heathrow Express).

London's famous taxis are plentiful, but quite expensive. With luggage they're well worth the cost for travel within the city (not airports) but for sight-seeing around the city everyone uses the tube. For purely transport the ho-hos are nowhere as quick as the tube.

Close to a ho-ho stop would be useful and, because nowhere is within walking distance of everywhere, close to a tube (metro) station.

The red or yellow ho-ho routes give you an idea of where most sights are located, blue & green are mainly feeder routes hotel concentrations:

http://www.theoriginaltour.com/tour-information/tour-routes.htm:

http://www.theoriginaltour.com/UserFiles/OriginalLondonTourMap(2).pdf

http://eng.bigbustours.com/london/home.html

http://eng.bigbustours.com/london/route-map.html

Other useful websites:

http://www.londontoolkit.com/

http://www.tfl.gov.uk/assets/downloads/standard-tube-map.pdf

JB :)

Not budget, but simply the nicest, most welcoming hotel in the capital, with the most obliging staff. The Montague on the Gardens is close to the British Museum and walkable to Covent Garden, Shaftesbury Avenue and is served by Russell Square tube station. We always stay here, we have tried others but this is the one we always return to.

 

http://www.montaguehotel.com/microsites/free-breakfast?gclid=CLyC-I6w7rkCFRMftAodVU8A5g

+1

The rooms are not huge, especially if you select a room with a king-sized bed, but everything about the hotel -- décor, staff, location -- makes up for the tight fit.

If you get a room on the street side rather than the garden side, don't worry about noise. Montague Street is busy during the day but the car traffic really dies down in the evening.

We stayed this August at the Park Plaza Westminster Bridge. It is a modern hotel. It is close to Big Ben, Parliament, London Eye, Westminster Bridge, Westminster Abbey, Waterloo Station, tube, HOHO bus, regular bus, stores, pubs, restaurants.

The building behind the Park Plaza Westminster Bridge, was their Park Plaza County Hall hotel. Also, in the area was Premier Inn Westminster and the Marriott.

We stayed this August at the Park Plaza Westminster Bridge. It is a modern hotel. It is close to Big Ben, Parliament, London Eye, Westminster Bridge, Westminster Abbey, Waterloo Station, tube, HOHO bus, regular bus, stores, pubs, restaurants.

 

The building behind the Park Plaza Westminster Bridge, was their Park Plaza County Hall hotel. Also, in the area was Premier Inn Westminster and the Marriott.

I'm on the July 10th British Isles cruise, and wanted to do a pre-stay in London. Hotels are expensive, especially in the center of town. What makes it really bad is the exchange rate of dollars to pounds. But I waned to be near what I wanted to see, since I only have a day and a half to sightsee. For the price and good location and quality, the Westminster Park Plaza seemed like the best bet. A little more than I wanted to pay, but the rate I got was 239 pounds/night. By comparison, the Comfort Inn right near Victoria Station and noisy, was 219/night.

We will be on the June 13th Celebrity Infinity cruise... about 8 1/2 months and counting :D

... HOHO bus...

If you're a first-time visitor to London, I can understand why a HOHO bus might have some appeal. After all, you'll see London as the bus slowly navigates congested London traffic. But for a visitor who is making a repeat visit or for some one who cares about the destinations more than the ride through the streets, nothing beats the London underground.

It's a very easy subway system to navigate; maps are posted in all the cars near each car door and a recording and a crawler display of lights announces the sequence of stations. Admittedly, some stations require riders to climb up short flights of stairs, but the long distances up/down are handled by escalators or elevators.

Most of all, the underground speeds up the time spent commuting. Trains arrive within five minutes and speed along underground.

Purchasing an Oyster card speeds up the process, too. The first time riders want to use the system, they should either go to the machines or the live staffed help windows. The helper will patiently advise new riders about the most economical Oyster card, and card-in-hand all you have to do is quickly scan it entering and leaving the station. (Turn in your Oyster card at the end of your last ride and you'll get a refund. We forgot to do this, but we're heading back to London in 2014 so we didn't care.)

All in all, the London Underground is wonderfully convenient and user friendly.

We stayed this August at the Doubletree Tower of London. Can't get closer to the Tower or the Tower Bridge. A tube station is a 3 minute walk. Price was great... around 125Euro per night. The restaurants at Victoria Embankment were a close, pleasant walk. Two restaurants here and an rooftop bar with amazing views.

A few years ago we stayed at the Marriott County Hall. London Eye is on the premises, Westminster Abbey and Big Ben are 100 yards' walk. Tube station within 5 minutes' walk. Not a budget place by any means, but we used loyalty points there. Restaurants in the hotel were overpriced (think $25 for breakfast).

Both nice options that I'd highly recommend.

I'm on the July 10th British Isles cruise, and wanted to do a pre-stay in London. Hotels are expensive, especially in the center of town. What makes it really bad is the exchange rate of dollars to pounds. But I waned to be near what I wanted to see, since I only have a day and a half to sightsee. For the price and good location and quality, the Westminster Park Plaza seemed like the best bet. A little more than I wanted to pay, but the rate I got was 239 pounds/night. By comparison, the Comfort Inn right near Victoria Station and noisy, was 219/night.

Check out the Park Plaza County Hall, it is the building right behind the Park Plaza Westminster Bridge, it is a little cheaper. When I was looking for a hotel, I though the County Hall hotels (Park Plaza and Premier Inn) were in a different area and much further away. The Premier Inn Westminster (only opened this year) is the building right behind the Park Plaza Westminster Bridge.

We had the continental breakfast included and it is normally 17 GBP and the full buffet breakfast is 22 GBP. I felt both breakfasts were not worth the money at this hotel. We have stayed at a couple Premier Inns with buffet breakfasts for 9 GBP (worth it) and Rubens at the Palace buffet breakfasts for 22 GBP (worth it).

We have stayed 2x in the Victoria area and like this area as it is more convenient to the places we wanted to see this time.

We took the train from Southampton to Waterloo station and walked to the hotel.

I understand about the cost with the rate of exchange, being Canadian it cost us $1.67 for 1 GBP.

I'm on the July 10th British Isles cruise, and wanted to do a pre-stay in London. Hotels are expensive, especially in the center of town. What makes it really bad is the exchange rate of dollars to pounds. But I waned to be near what I wanted to see, since I only have a day and a half to sightsee. For the price and good location and quality, the Westminster Park Plaza seemed like the best bet. A little more than I wanted to pay, but the rate I got was 239 pounds/night. By comparison, the Comfort Inn right near Victoria Station and noisy, was 219/night.

Obviously the Park Plaza is the much better deal of those two, but you could save £70 a night by staying at the Premier Inn Waterloo (Westminster Bridge) which is right next to the Park Plaza Westminster Bridge.

Lots of the usual favourites mentioned already on this thread, so just a quick shout out for the Luna Simone, a little way from Victoria, which gets very well reviewed here. And DeLorean Girl, who wrote the definitive BI cruise review last year, raves about the Park Plaza Victoria, which is very convenient for the rail, tube and coach stations. And if you are looking at the Park Plazas, don't rule out the River Bank, which is about 10 minutes walk along the river from the County Hall/Westminster Bridge, near the MI6 (think James Bond :)) building.

What about the Premiere Inn Blackfrairs off of Fleet Street....??

I read several good reviews but one said they didn't have safes in the rooms........wouldn't want to pack my passport around everyday.......is this common in the UK.....or just this hotel.....??

Sorry...spelled "Blackfriars".......

Obviously the Park Plaza is the much better deal of those two, but you could save £70 a night by staying at the Premier Inn Waterloo (Westminster Bridge) which is right next to the Park Plaza Westminster Bridge.

I just looked it up, thinking I had made a big mistake. One I couldn't undo. Actually for me it would only be 7 pounds per night, not 70. Maybe it's a larger price difference if you aren't putting three people in the room.

Now that I've booked something, I'm starting to get excited about this trip!

Obviously the Park Plaza is the much better deal of those two, but you could save £70 a night by staying at the Premier Inn Waterloo (Westminster Bridge) which is right next to the Park Plaza Westminster Bridge.

 

I just looked it up, thinking I had made a big mistake. One I couldn't undo. Actually for me it would only be 7 pounds per night, not 70. Maybe it's a larger price difference if you aren't putting three people in the room.

 

Now that I've booked something, I'm starting to get excited about this trip!

Odd, I see family rooms there for £169/night on 8 & 9 July. Still, you are in a really good full-service hotel at a pretty good rate. Have a great trip!

I have a feeling that the Premier Inn website quotes differently from the USA to when accessing it from the UK. I could be wrong but I think I have seen that mentioned somewhere on the boards.

What about the Premiere Inn Blackfrairs off of Fleet Street....??

I read several good reviews but one said they didn't have safes in the rooms........wouldn't want to pack my passport around everyday.......is this common in the UK.....or just this hotel.....??

I wouldn't anticipate a safe in a Premier Inn room, although I have read that some of them, not at this property, do (at a charge). Premier Inn is a budget chain, which is why you can get good rates in the centre of London. They tend to be quite modern and well-kept, but don't expect all the facilities of a full-service hotel. For example, there will almost certainly be significantly less space to hang clothes than in your cruise ship cabin and less places to sit (the rooms are definitely not designed for spending much time awake in :))

The Blackfriars one is a converted office building (as are many of the new hotels springing up in the Blackfriars and Southwark areas) on the edge of the City of London (the financial centre of London). Very handy for St Paul's Cathedral, but other sites are a fair walk or a tube ride away (but nowhere in London is handy for everything, of course). Very little going on in the immediate vicinity during the evening, which may be a good thing for you, of course :)

I have a feeling that the Premier Inn website quotes differently from the USA to when accessing it from the UK. I could be wrong but I think I have seen that mentioned somewhere on the boards.

I know there is often difficulty booking the advance rate through the website with American credit cards, but I looked up the flexible rate and it's on other booking sites too. Maybe I misunderstood Amster12345's dates or requirements.

For example, there will almost certainly be significantly less space to hang clothes than in your cruise ship cabin and less places to sit (the rooms are definitely not designed for spending much time awake in :)

Ouch.......that doesn't sound so great.....

Our first trip to UK and we will be extending our visit to two weeks.....

We will want to do the usual tourist trips but plan on spending a few days at the National Archives in Kew....

I thought staying closer to London and then taking a taxi to Kew........??

Do you have any suggestions on a reasonable but comfortable hotel.....??

Ouch.......that doesn't sound so great.....

Our first trip to UK and we will be extending our visit to two weeks.....

We will want to do the usual tourist trips but plan on spending a few days at the National Archives in Kew....

I thought staying closer to London and then taking a taxi to Kew........??

Do you have any suggestions on a reasonable but comfortable hotel.....??

Premier Inns are reasonable and comfortable :) You just need to be aware of what you are getting (remembering London is one of the most expensive cities in the world). Look at the photos of the rooms on one of the comparison sites and see what you think - they are all the same, more or less. They are actually quite large for London, but have one desk, an open shelving and hanging units and that's about it. Unless you snag a good deal elsewhere, they are good value.

Wherever you stay, I wouldn't get a cab to Kew - take the underground District Line (right from Blackfriars station if you stay there) and spend the £50/day you'll save by not paying cab fares on your hotel :)

Thanks.....I will definitely check this out.......!!

There's a very nice Crowne Plaza (Crowne Plaza City) opposite the station. Very convenient and with a couple of good restaurants and a nice bar etc. this could be worth looking at. Also on several easy bus routes with stops literally outside the front door. Walkable to St Paul's and the Millenium Bridge, river & Globe theatre etc.

Rowsby are you interested in renting a flat? We rented one this August, right next door to the Park Plaza Riverbank. Two bedrooms and a kitchen. Lots of closet space. We chose this as we were staying a week. I just could not bring myself to pay for the expensive hotels, but wanted to be close to the sites. Loved every minute of this wonderful city. Probably the best in the world( next to my beloved San Francisco, of course).

We have also stayed at the Park Plaza Westminster.

Lovely hotel, but everything was expensive.

At the time this flat was £109 per night.

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Rowsby are you interested in renting a flat? We rented one this August, right next door to the Park Plaza Riverbank. Two bedrooms and a kitchen. Lots of closet space. We chose this as we were staying a week. I just could not bring myself to pay for the expensive hotels, but wanted to be close to the sites. Loved every minute of this wonderful city. Probably the best in the world( next to my beloved San Francisco, of course).

 

We have also stayed at the Park Plaza Westminster.

Lovely hotel, but everything was expensive.

 

At the time this flat was £109 per night.

That sounds nice..........do they have a website....???