London pre-cruise hotel with Celebrity

[Buffalo Man]

We will be going on the Baltic cruise July 11, 2009 and want to get to London 2 days early. We will do it through Celebrity as it is our 1st time and don't want to have to "deal" with anything. So our choices are Grosvenor House, City Inn Westminster, or Royal Garden in Kensington.

It will just be my wife and I, 57 years old, like history, but not so keen on more than moderate walking. Love to hear from those who have used any of those hotels.

Thanks,

Richard

[Dale]

We will be going on the Baltic cruise July 11, 2009 and want to get to London 2 days early. We will do it through Celebrity as it is our 1st time and don't want to have to "deal" with anything. So our choices are Grosvenor House, City Inn Westminster, or Royal Garden in Kensington.

It will just be my wife and I, 57 years old, like history, but not so keen on more than moderate walking. Love to hear from those who have used any of those hotels.

Thanks,

Richard

These sites may help.

 

Grosvenor House

 

Royal Garden

 

City Inn Westminster

[Plumfy]

I regularly stay at the Royal Garden when on buisness in London. It is a great hotel overlooking Hyde Park. I always choose to stay there. Seen quite a few famous people staying at same time which makes for interesting lift journeys!

 

Grovenor house is in a more central position (for Oxford St etc) and although I haven't stayed there I have attended many functions there.

 

A short taxi ride from any will take you to the sites of London.

[swigso]

Hi

We have stayed at the Royal Kensington,it is right next door to Kensington Palace which is well worth a visit.This was the official residence of Princess Margaret and also Diana.The tube is about a 7/8minute walk away and there is Kensington High Street outside the hotel.

The restaurant on the 10th florr has spectacular views over London

and while you will be staying in Central London the hotel has a country feel because of its location overlooking Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens. Make sure you have an executive room which have excellent facilities.

[Buffalo Man]

Thanks for the info. Anyone out there ever stay at the City Inn, Westminster? It appears to be a bunch less expensive.

Richard

[Shelley G]

We stayed at the City Inn Westminster from August 2-4 this year after our July Baltic cruise. It is a very modern hotel, located near the Parliament Buildings and Westminster Abbey. The location was just OK, not as good as the Royal Horseguards where we stayed 2 years ago. It is about a 10 minute walk to a tube station. The hotel is nice though and a continental breakfast was included.We are walkers, so the distance to attractions didn't bother us. It took about 15 minutes to walk to Victoria Station.

Shelley

[BrendaJ]

We stayed at the City Inn Westminster a few years ago and really enjoyed it. We found the location fine for our interests. We walked to the London Eye, the Parliament buildings, Westminster Abbey, Victoria Station etc. We even walked to Harrod's although that is a long walk for someone not used to walking long distances. It is right beside the Tate Britain, which has free admission. The hotel is in more of a residential area, and the closest pubs and shops are on Vauxhall Road, a few blocks away.

 

We liked the clean, modern hotel, and found the breakfast to be excellent.

[honeyclair]

you might want to visit http://www.tripadvisor.com and their london forum. they discuss london hotels constantly and all three hotels have been mentioned recently.

[Kathie44]

Buffalo Man--We sailed on Jewel to the Brit. Isles/Nor. Fjords in June '06 and stayed at the City Inn Westminster for 3 nights pre-cruise. There was a large group for our ship and also a large group for Constellation, which sailed the day before we did.

It's a very nice hotel, within walking distance of the main sightseeing area. It was the middle-priced one offered by the cruiseline. Kensington Gardens was less $$ but farther from the center of London and the Horse Guards was a lot more $$$.

We did a walking tour the day we arrived, lead by our British friends we met on our first cruise. The next day we did a motorcoach tour, Treasures of Kent, booked in advance on-line through Evan-Evans, a UK company. I highly recommend them. This was half the cost of the same tour RCCL offered.

On the last day we bought tickets from the Royal Carib/Celeb rep in the hotel for the Hop On-Hop Off bus and the London Eye. The bus stop was 1/2 block away on the corner. We went to the Tower of London, a boat ride on the Thames (included with the HO-HO ticket) and the Eye, St. Paul's Cathedral and rode around town.

Ii would not hesitate to stay there again.

[CelebrityMan]

Hi,

 

We, too, would suggest the City Inn Westminster. We stayed there for 3 nights pre-cruise (Hi, BrendaJ!!!) and enjoyed it immensely. This hotel is very Euro-chic, and we found the service to be attentive, unobtrusive, and the included breakfast most enjoyable.

 

Located at #30 John Islip St, to us, the location was ideal. It is close to the River Thames, a block off the Millbank, and just south of Lambeth Bridge and Victoria Tower Gardens. We found it a short, pleasant stroll along the river, through/past the gardens to the heart of historic London at the Houses of Parliament, Westminster Abbey, Westminster Bridge, and the London Eye (don't miss a ride on this!!). We felt quite safe strolling this area at all hours of the day or evening.

 

If you'd enjoy seeing pictures of the area, see the following link(s):

 

http://good-times.webshots.com/album/555486731hGQDwF

 

http://good-times.webshots.com/album/555488732MKBcRQ

 

http://good-times.webshots.com/album/555494685oAFzKz

 

http://travel.webshots.com/album/555517596PbFWvs

 

Regardless of which hotel you select, we hope your stay in London will be pleasant. It's a marvelous city! Have fun hitting the highlights.

 

 

 

 

 

 

CM

[Buffalo Man]

Thanks everyone for the info, links and tips. Checking all these things out is part of the fun of the cruise!

Richard

[Buffalo Man]

Thanks, too CM for the great pictures. Can't wait!!

Richard

[CelebrityMan]

Hi,

 

You're very welcome, BuffaloMan. I'm always glad to share photos! :D

 

 

 

 

 

CM

[denton1]

We stayed at Grosvenor House last summer prior to our Baltic cruise on Jewel of the Seas. It is a beautiful hotel on Park Lane across from Hyde Park. The beds were very comfortable. Nice bathrooms and flat screen TV in room. Also, it had a 110 outlet on the wall in addition to the 220, getting rid of the need for a voltage converter. I am sure that any of the hotels suggested would be very nice. All are in central locations and would be close to a tube stop. As long as you are within a few blocks of the tube, you can get to any of the tourist sites in a short period of time. Enjoy your trip.

[CruisingKris]

I just got back from staying at the city in Westminster. And it's a great hotel. The big plus for us was that there was a computer in the room with internet access, this also doubled as the tv/dvd/cd player.

 

We had the transfers to and from the airport to the hotel also. And were told by many others who didn't have those that we saved some money. We had a big van to ourselves with a very friendly and informative driver.

 

All in all, it was one of the best hotels I've stayed in. It's in a great location with not much of a walk to the big attractions, restaurants, and a little convenience store (great for some in-room munchies).

[Buffalo Man]

Thanks CruiseKing. Sounds good. Just need to get through this school year (which I actually love, I have a great class) and we will be good to go!

Richard

[Buffalo Man]

Sorry, CruisingKris. So much for short term memory!

Richard

[Kathie44]

CelebrityMan, thanks for the pics. They brought back memories of our wonderful stay in London.

Along with the memories, some tears. Vern, my DH of 41 1/2 yrs passed away on Aug. 13. of pulmonary fibrosis.

We were smart enough and lucky enough not to put off our cruising and other trips over the last few years. We had 8 cruises in 6 years, the last one in Jan. on Mercury to Aust/NZ. DH always called each of our longer cruises the "cruise of a lifetime". How prophetic!

We had two cruises booked for next year and I thought I would have to cancel, but Joni, my step-sis and TA, convinced me to wait in case I could find someone else to go with me. She also pointed out that I would probably need a cruise by that time. Well, the good news is Vern's sister is going with me in Jan. on Galaxy to the S. Carib. It's her first cruise and I'm looking forward to "showing her the ropes". We had no problems getting the cruise reservation changed to her name. Delta couldn't have been nicer refunding Vern's airfare without even asking for a death cert. They rebooked the flight at $20 less than I paid, a big relief because I was afraid the fare had gone way up. Access America is refunding Vern's trip policy fee and issued my SIL her own. So she is all set. This cruise will be a big help getting us through the dreaded holidays.

I have a friend from my choir who said she'd go with me on the Summit Med cruise next June if I couldn't find a family member to go.

It's very weird, but life goes on even when you feel like crawling in a hole and pulling it in after you. I'm doing my best to stay out of the hole, with help from our wonderful families and friends.

[brazilgirl]

Kathie-

 

I would like to send my deepest sympathies for your loss. It is wonderful that you and DH were able to have so many beautiful memories and travels together.Keep those memories close to your heart.

Kim

[CelebrityMan]

Hi,

 

Kathie44, please allow me to extend my sincere sympathy to you in the loss of your beloved Vern.

 

Memories are sweet comfort and I'm glad that my photos helped to recall many of those happy times, times that you shared and that brought the two of you such joy.

 

Feel free to revisit those album links anytime.

 

 

 

 

 

 

CM

[socreader]

We have stayed at the Royal Garden and found it to be a great place. It is across the street from some relatively inexpensive restaurants- a pub, an Italian restaurant and a Giraffe. Given that all your meals will be $ 2 to the Pound inexpensive was what we were seeking. Yes you do see celebrities. we were in the Italian restaurant and at the next table was Kenny Rogers. There is also a Starbucks across the street . The underground is just 2 blocks away and you do feel out of the bustle of the city next door to Kensington Gardens on one side and London's Embassy Row on the other. The tenth floor restaurant was verrrrry expensive and we did not consider that at all..

 

Nancie