Premier Inn Waterloo or Premier Inn Blackfriars

[indiesmom]

     For those of you familiar with the Premier Inn chain in London, would you please advise as to which location you would select between The Premier Inn Blackfriars and Premier Inn Waterloo?    I  am limiting my question to these two hotels since we made reservations at both hotels some time ago.  Hotel rates have gone up considerably since then so I want to pick from these two.  

   We are spending a week in London prior to our cruise and plan to visit all the normal sightseeing places as well as possibly take a day trip out of London by train.   I believe room quality is very similar between the two.  The most important consideration to us is convenience, ease, and closeness to transportation to get around London as well as restaurant availability.  We are not long distance walkers so closeness to transportation is key since I know we will have to walk quite a bit at the various tourists sights.  We will also have to arrange transportation to Southhampton cruise port from whichever hotel we choose.  

     This is our first time in London so any advice will be greatly appreciated!

 

Linda

 

[SueMo]

I can't give you advise as to the better location.  However, we stayed at the Premier Inn Waterloo before cruising out of Southampton.  We took the tube from the airport to the hotel a couple of days prior to the cruise and found the location to be fine for touring.  Waterloo tube station is close by.  On the last day we asked the hotel front desk to call us a cab and it was a 15 min ride to Victoria Coach Station where we took a National Express coach to Southampton.

[rsquare]

The other advantage of the Premier Inn Waterloo is that it is walkable to the South Bank Centre, a very nice entertainment venue where one can see/hear the London Philharmonic. 

 

Be aware that many (perhaps all) Premier Inns no longer have telephones in their rooms; apparently they expect guests in need of extra towels to use their mobile phones to call the hotel.  Other than that, I have found the chain to be consistently good, with decent breakfasts available for an extra charge.

[Island2Dweller]

Both Blackfriars and Waterloo are great locations, both are close to tube and railway stations and multiple bus routes.  The Waterloo area is a bit more "touristy", you can decide whether that's a positive or negative thing for you.

There are direct trains from Waterloo station to Southampton - so that might swing things for the ease of onward transportation to Southampton.

[markeb]

I'm going to wait for JB and others to correct me, but...

 

If it's your first time in London, I'd tend to Waterloo. There's nothing wrong with the Blackfriars location, but the Waterloo area puts you almost on Westminster Bridge, and you'll be looking across the Thames at the Elizabeth Tower (you can't see Big Ben...). The London Eye will be to your right (from the bridge). There are Tube stops, HOHO stops, Thames boat tours (across the bridge), Whitehall, Westminster Abbey, etc. You're going to walk a lot no matter what, but there's a lot to see and do on that walk.

 

The boat tours to the Tower and to Greenwich leave from the Embankment (actually I think they may still stop adjacent to the Eye as well?). I guess there's a touristy aspect as the Eye and several "attractions" are at County Hall, but it's a very convenient location.

 

Nowhere in London is perfect for all attractions, but there's a lot to like about the Waterloo area

[John Bull]

12 hours ago, markeb said:

I'm going to wait for JB and others to correct me, but...

 

If it's your first time in London, I'd tend to Waterloo. There's nothing wrong with the Blackfriars location, but the Waterloo area puts you almost on Westminster Bridge, and you'll be looking across the Thames at the Elizabeth Tower (you can't see Big Ben...). The London Eye will be to your right (from the bridge). There are Tube stops, HOHO stops, Thames boat tours (across the bridge), Whitehall, Westminster Abbey, etc. You're going to walk a lot no matter what, but there's a lot to see and do on that walk.

 

The boat tours to the Tower and to Greenwich leave from the Embankment (actually I think they may still stop adjacent to the Eye as well?). I guess there's a touristy aspect as the Eye and several "attractions" are at County Hall, but it's a very convenient location.

 

Nowhere in London is perfect for all attractions, but there's a lot to like about the Waterloo area

 

 

No corrections from me - go to the top of the class & collect a gold star 🙂

 

I don't have first-hand knowledge of either, but both are pretty good locations. Both are less than a five-minute walk from a tube station (and both tube stations have more than one line), Blackfriars is a three minute walk from a main ho-ho route & Waterloo is actually on a ho-ho route.

Yes, the river tour boats call at both ends of Westminster Bridge, unless things have changed. Premier Inn Waterloo is the more convenient.

And a 3-minute walk to Waterloo train station if your cruise is from Southampton (two minutes further to Waterloo East station if cruising from Dover).

 

Biggest advantage of Waterloo is the number of sights that are walkable - London Eye and river cruises almost on your doorstep, over Westminster Bridge to Big Ben & Westminster Abbey then up Whitehall past sights which come thick-and-fast - Churchill's War Rooms, the Cenotaph, Downing Street, Horse Guards Parade, Banqueting Hall (the last remaining part of the original Palace of Whitehall), the original Scotland Yard & other sights to Trafalgar Square and The National Gallery, The National Portrait Gallery, St Martin-in-the-Fields,  and Admiralty Arch which is at the top of The Mall.

Many events & Royal processions (like this year's Platinum Jubilee) go down the Mall to Buckingham House. This route from Premier Inn Waterloo to Trafalgar Square is just a mile - theoretically a 20 minute walk, but with the number of sights you might want to spread that over two days.

 

And a pleasant evening riverside stroll along the South Bank, perhaps as far as the Tate Modern (ugly building) and Shakespeare's Globe. About 25 minutes e/w with plenty of watering holes & restaurants.

 

half-hourly direct trains from Waterloo station to Windsor & Eton Riverside (50 minutes, about £14return). The station in Windsor is a five minute walk from Windsor Castle

And half-hourly direct trains to Hampton Court station (35 minute journey, £14 return), a five min. walk over the river to Henry V111's Hampton Court Palace.

 

All of which is all a long-winded way of saying I'd choose Premier Inn Waterloo.  (And well done for the foresight to book options before recent price hikes. )

 

https://ojp.nationalrail.co.uk/

 

https://tfl.gov.uk/tfl/syndication/widgets/tubemap/default-search.html

(don't bother to print-off - tube maps on all tourist maps, in hotels, at stations etc)

 

https://www.londontoolkit.com/

Very useful for London Logistics, etc (just don't book their car / van transfers -very expensive, but someone's gotta pay for the website 😉)

 

JB 🙂

 

 

[Post Captain]

I've not stayed at either of these Premier Inn locations, but know exactly where each one is, and both would be high on my list for a future visit to London.

 

I have stayed at several other Premier Inns in London and elsewhere in the UK. In every case, I've been highly satisfied -- though my wants and needs are simple.  Premier Inn room design is pretty much standardized across the whole PI chain, to the point where you can't really tell which hotel you are in when you're in the room.  I've invariably found the rooms and bathrooms modern and spotlessly clean, and the beds are very comfortable.  As is the case with hotels throughout the UK, the rooms are smaller than you might be used to in a similar hotel in North America, but everything is very well laid out. 

 

The Waterloo and Blackfriars locations each has its advantages, which previous posters have outlined above.  I do agree with Markeb in recommending the Waterloo PI for a first-time visitor to London, notwithstanding (as a long-time frequent visitor) that my own personal preference would be for Blackfriars.  As others point out, the Waterloo PI has the advantage of being super-convenient for the train from Waterloo Station to Southampton, and the proximity to the River Thames puts you within short walking distance of the riverside promenade along the South Bank, which in itself is one of the great attractions in London, as well as many other important sights that John Bull has listed.

 

But the two hotels are only about a mile apart, so you're not depriving yourself of anything by choosing one location over the other.  In short, don't agonize over your decision.  Based on the good information already given by the other posters, go with the one that appeals most to you.  You won't regret it.☺️ 

[Markanddonna]

I stayed at the Blackfriar's location in 2018 and the Paddington Basin this past May. Both were a very good experience and close to tube stations. The Waterloo would perhaps be better, but the Tube makes everything so handy. My additional advice is to get acquainted with how to take the Tube and you will be an expert in a few days. Also, consider taking  the train to York for the day and to Hampton Court Palace (you can use your Oyster card on this one.)  

 

Get an Oyster card to ride the Tube right away. You just scan it in and out and top it off when you run low on funds.

 

Also, we took the National Express Bus twice from Southampton to Victoria Coach Station. Easy peasy and very inexpensive. It's not like in the USA. Buses and trains are used by the average person all the time.