mcolon80

Hi! I live in Florida and my husband and I are planning on going to London the last week in Septmeber. We want to be there for the NFL game on October 2nd at Wembley Stadium. I went online to see about where to stay, but it's so overwhelming. We want to be somewhere central to sightsee. What's the best airport to fly into? Nice and safe hotel. Also, I read that public transportation is great in London. Would love some information. Actually any info or tidbits would be great!

Mel

BigRuss

You need to start your own research. Seriously, there is so much London for newbies information on the web that you cannot miss it.

29FEB

See janisj's trip report for very good information:

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...fodors-gtg.cfm

mcolon80

Thanks! Yes, I plan on doing some research just wanted to know where to start

LCBoniti

I am not the expert janisj is but I know from experience that it is very easy flying into London Heathrow (LHR). From there, I always use a car service: www.justairports.com to take me to wherever I am staying. Cost us about £36 flat rate.

There is excellent public transport from the airport, but I prefer not to deal with luggage on the underground. Many people do - just not my thing.

Christina

London has good buses and the tube (subway) of course is very extensive. So public transportation within the city is easy. As to wehre to stay, some people prefer very central, say around Covent Garden, Temple, Charing Cross -- or near the British Library. I have stayed a little farther out in South Kensington and Bayswater at different times and enjoyed them both. They aren't that far out, of course, a mile or two from the center, I suppose, and right close to a tube stop.

It doesn't really matter whta airport you fly into, you can get into the center easily from either Heathrow or Gatwick. I'd be surprised if you much of a choice from the US, most flights go to Heathrow unless you change planes in Europe somewhere.

Depends how you intend to get to that stadium but trains run from Marylebone station near Regents park. So it would be convenient to be near that tube line, I imagine. Charing Cross is on that line. Wembley Park has a stop on that line, also, but I thin it is quite farther from the stadium, although you can walk it if you wish (at least a mile).

Scootoir

Sounds like you are a first time visitor to London. Consider what your hotel budget is then try some websites like hotels.com and see what comes up. Research further on the websites of the hotels you like and look at reviews. We contacted our soon to be London hotel directly and negotiated a better rate. Look for a hotel with restaurant choices in easy walking distance and close to a tube stop. And be sure that stop doesn't close on weekends. Marylebone, Bloomsbury, Covent Garden and Mayfair are good central areas of London but they can be expensive.

Have fun planning.

janisj

Fly into which ever airport gets you the best fare/schedule. Which airport makes no difference at all. How best to get into the city needs to wait until we know <i>which</i> airport you are using.

Instead of hotels.com IME/IMO booking.com and londontown.com are better. What is your budget? You can stay in ANY part of central London and have easy access to all the sites and the game.

I can give you hints about travel back to your hotel after the game after you decide where to stay (getting to the game is no problem since arrivals are spread out over several hours. Getting 'home' again is a bigger issue because all 80,000+ are leaving at the same time.)

PatrickLondon

All about public transport in London:
http://content.tfl.gov.uk/london-visitor-guide.pdf

(but you don't really need to buy tickets and passes in advance, it's easy to sort out once you're here).

janisj

Didn't read Christina's post. I would <u>not</u> book a hotel based on proximity/transport to Wembley. Many of the game-related activities (rally in Trafalgar Square, expo in Regent Street, whatever) are no where near the stadium and all of your other sightseeing will be in other parts of London - places like the Tower of London, British Museum, Hampton Court Palace, Westminster Abbey etc etc -- so basing accommodations on one event will make for some awfully long commutes during the rest of your visit.

janisj

Meant to ask . . . Colts or Jags?

ChgoGal

Hi, mcolon80.

I just booked another stay at the Strand Palace Hotel for my trip in September. I found the location to be wonderful, very near Covent Garden, Trafalgar Square, and tube stations.

That might be an idea for you. And online bookings get a 15 GBP voucher for room service, which was actually really nice. I ordered a pizza one night when I didn't feel like hunting down a meal.

But as Janis recommends (as she's been to England SO many times), research on Londontown or booking.com, then cross check at tripadvisor. Booking direct with the hotel may also get you the lower rate. (It does at the strand palace.)

https://www.strandpalacehotel.co.uk/

Have a wonderful time! I envy you the first trip to London. No place like it in the world.

mcolon80

Thank you all so much for the great information! I'm going to start looking at flights and checking out those sites for the hotels. I'm sure I will have more questions once I get the ball rolling. I am so excited! London has been on my bucket list for a long time

My husband is a Jaguars season ticket holder. I'm a Giants fan, but I'll root for the Jaguars in London for sure

janisj

I'll let him down gently - it will be a Jag home game but if it is anything like the Niner game I attended . . . 49er jerseys out numbers Jacksonville jerseys about 4 or 5 to 1. But the Jaguar head rally towel that was on every seat was really cool souvenir. Did you get regular tickets/seats or some sort of hospitality package?

You will love London and late Sept/October is a fabulous time to visit.

mcolon80

We are in the process of looking at tickets. Haven't purchased them yet. Did you do a hospitality package?

janisj

>>Did you do a hospitality package?<<

Yes -- but all the 9er tix allotment was sold out almost immediately. So I went with a hospitality package through NFL Europe.

You can read lot about my experience in my trip report 29FEB linked up thread - including my decision process for picking the package. The first part of the TR is about the couple of days I spent in Paris before London.

One thing about going with a package is you will be in an 'official' game hotel so there will be a LOT of other supporters . . . which can be a good thing or a bad thing Plus I got a club level seat (BIG splurge) which gave me early access to the stadium.

What I did was book just two nights in the package hotel and then moved to another hotel for the rest of the visit.

mcolon80

We ended up getting the sapphire hospitality package. Club level seats with open bar and buffet. No hotel package with it. Still trying to figure out hotel. We want to be under $200 a night. We would rather splurge on the game, sightseeing and dining versus getting a fancy hotel. Just want somewhere clean and safe. I saw a few Holiday Inns that were pretty affordable. Any suggestions?

mcolon80

We found a decent package that includes a stay at the Hampton by Hilton at Waterloo, close to Waterloo station. The map looked like its in a good location. Would this be a good place to stay? Also, flight would get into Gatwick. Thanks

janisj

>>The map looked like its in a good location. Would this be a good place to stay?<<

Not particularly -- just OK-ish. Hampton Inn rooms while basic might be a tad larger than typical rooms in that price range.

If you are arriving at LGW the I would probably stay near Victoria, London Bridge or Kings Cross/St Pancras. All have direct trains from LGW.

Victoria is near the parks and Buckingham Palace. Kings Cross is near the British Museum/British Library. London Bridge is Near the Tower of London, Tate Modern, the Globe Theatre, the Shard and Borough Market.

For rooms similar to the Hampton Inn -- look at Travelodges and Premier Inns.

mcolon80

Thanks for the information. We found a good deal at the Thistle Euston on Cardington Street near the Euston station. Is that a good location? Convenient to get to from Gatwick airport? Again, all your information is much appreciated.