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Need London hotel advice (central 3-star w/parking)

Need London hotel advice (central 3-star w/parking)

Old Feb 26th, 2007, 12:19 AM
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Need London hotel advice (central 3-star w/parking)

We will be in London for just 2 nights for a first-time visit. Our intent is just to get a taste of a few of the major sights such as the Tower of London, Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace, and maybe a park or two. We love to walk so want something relatively central. We will NOT be visiting any museums or doing any shopping. Given all that, I'm thinking Mayfair might be a good area but I am simply staring at a map with no actual knowledge of what constitutes a good neighborhood.

We're looking for a comfortable 3-star, preferably not a huge chain hotel, something a little cozier with some character. I'd like to keep it around US$300 but I know breakfast and VAT will probably push it up a bit. We will be driving our own car, so we need access to parking (I see that some hotels have arrangements with nearby garages). I know about the congestion zone but I think we will be arriving late enough on Friday that we can avoid the fee.

Some possibilities:
Westbury Mayfair
Montcalm Nikko
London Bridge
Montague on the Gardens
Renaissance Chancery Court
Rembrandt

Any advice on these or other suggestions would be most appreciated.
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Old Feb 26th, 2007, 01:09 AM
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Funnily enough the hotels that you mention are all (or at least the majority are - I can't be bothered to check) four star. So please make your mind up as to what you want. If you're arriving after 6pm then you will avoid the Congestion Charge.

However, I am not sure why you can't ditch your rental car (i.e. return it to the company) for your stay in London and then pick up another one when you leave. Parking will set you back around 20GBP per day unless the hotel has a very special arrangement with nearby garages.

Out of your choices, the Westbury has the best location. You will be able to walk to most places from there if you are keen walkers as I believe you state.
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Old Feb 26th, 2007, 01:41 AM
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I realized after I posted that I probably was listing 4-star hotels. I don't usually bother to check whether a place is 3 or 4 stars - I just wanted to give an idea of what we are looking for. We don't care about the extra amenities that come with the extra star, we just want a nice comfortable room with a well-appointed bathroom.

I should clarify that we will be driving our own car from Germany. It's a long story (on another thread) but we've decided to drive our own automatic trans car w/navi from Germany rather than fly to the UK and rent. We understand that driving in London is insane but we will try to minimize it!

I do think the Westbury looks like a good location; thanks for confirming!

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Old Feb 26th, 2007, 02:10 AM
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The only one you listed that I have first-hand knowledge of is the Rembrandt. It's close to the S. Kensington tube station & not far from the Knightsbridge station. Buses stop outside the door. It's a few blocks south of Hyde Park & includes a nice breakfast. It's not in Mayfair, however.

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Old Feb 26th, 2007, 06:21 AM
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Thanks, Carrybean.

So is Mayfair the best location if we want to walk as much as possible to the sights I've mentioned?

The hotels I've listed have the sort of room quality we want but they are all pushing $400 with VAT and breakfast added. We don't need all the extras of a 4- or 5-star hotel, so any suggestions for similar hotels closer to the $300-350 range would be greatly appreciated!
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Old Feb 26th, 2007, 06:30 AM
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Since you're driving from continental Europe, have you thought about ditching the car in a Gatwick parking lot? Would be a lot easier for getting in and out of town.
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Old Feb 26th, 2007, 06:39 AM
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Hausfrau: Get Google earth and open london eye out of preset sightseeing links. You can then turn on lodging and know hotels and sites.

$300 or even less should get you a nice 3-star hotel and saving less than 10% towards parking for couple days is not too significant to bother about. Cheerio! Lucy
 
Old Feb 26th, 2007, 07:22 AM
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Whichever hotel you choose, it'll be cheaper to leave your car at Ashford International station than in the carpark the hotel has an "arrangement" (= costs a bit less than the fortune the rest of us pay) with.

With the list of places you want to see, there's simply no point in having a car. Apart from anything else, you'll be paying £5-6 an hour for wherever you put it when it's out of the hotel, and there's a VERY high chance a newcomer will get it towed away.

Congestion charge doesn't apply at weekends. But most parking restrictions do, and the towing people will have you like a shot if you're not familiar with the very complicated rules around the centre.
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Old Feb 26th, 2007, 07:28 AM
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The only day on which you'll have to pay for parking will be the Saturday. If you arrive after half past six on the Friday then you can park on a single yellow line for free until 0830 the following morning. Then from 1830 on the Saturday until 0830 on the Monday morning, parking on a single yellow is free again. However, to be practical, you would have to use a carpark on the Friday and until Saturday evening which would cost around 40GBP. The Westbury has about 3-5 spaces of its own, however, these are reserved for their "VIP guests" so I doubt you would be able to secure one of these.
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Old Feb 26th, 2007, 07:45 AM
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Though not on your list, we very much liked the Rubens Hotel across from the Royal Mews at Buckingham Palace and a couple of blocks from Victoria Station. Perhaps you could park your car at the airport or at one of the outer London train stations and take the train or tube into Victoria.

The Rubens is a high end 3* property with helpful staff and nicely furnished rooms. Both times we stayed there, we booked our room through www.londontown.com. There is no charge for the booking and you pay the hotel directly when you check out. You could also check directly with the Rubens for any specials.

www.rubenshotel.com
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Old Feb 26th, 2007, 11:10 AM
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Well, if you all intended to freak me out about parking in London, you are doing a fine job! We are still debating whether to even go to London on this trip because of the driving/parking challenges...I will definitely look into the possibility of leaving our car somewhere outside of London. Have any of you actually done this?

bettyk, thanks for the lead on the Rubens; it looks really nice and is in the right price range!



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Old Feb 26th, 2007, 11:34 AM
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London is a great city to visit. America like but worth a visit. I found this valuable when I went last year:

http://tinyurl.com/224djw

The costs of car parks are not any different from Manhattan.
 
Old Feb 26th, 2007, 11:39 AM
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"We are still debating whether to even go to London on this trip because of the driving/parking challenges"

Eh?

Look. Millions of people visit London every year. They do it the sensible way: get on a plane or train, get off and travel round by public transport.

I simply don't believe the cost of a ferry or Channel Tunnel fare, plus the petrol, to an out of town station ("has anyone ever done this?" How on earth do you think a couple of million commuters a day get in?) is cheaper than a pair of plane tickets. And from - presumably - Germany, this messing about with a carbon-emitting dinosaur adds hours, if not days, to your journey time.

Now if coming here the intelligent way confuses you, by all means drive pointlessly round some other country.

But driving a car from Germany to the middle of London when you don't have to - then paying more than a Hahn-Stansted air fare to park it anbd still having to buy a Travel Card to get to places like the Tower - is seriously dozy.

Whether you want to be that dozy is up to you.
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Old Feb 26th, 2007, 11:56 AM
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Wow, flanner! Could it be that OP enjoys driving? Could it be that she has relatives and friends between Germany and London that she wants to greet one at a time? Could it be that she has the time to enjoy life slower than took-the-plane-got-there-came-back? Could it be that this is her first ever trip to a large metro, and she is a like-the-countryside type? I mean how do you know? Geez!
 
Old Feb 26th, 2007, 11:57 AM
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hausfrau,

It might help if you tell us about the "rest of your trip"....before traveling to London. I can see why many think it insane to drive into London, park your car at an expensive car park, and spend a few days seeing the sights. Are you traveling around to several different cities in Europe before coming to London? You can easily get a very nice hotel or B&B for less than $300. Check Priceline, and hotelsclick.com. they have some very good deals.
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Old Feb 26th, 2007, 11:58 AM
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flanner, I'm not trying to be dozy (that's a new one for me!). And rhapsody, thanks for sticking up for me. I didn't mean this to turn into a debate about to drive or not to drive - I was just asking about hotels, after all!

We are in fact planning to spend two weeks driving around the U.K. countryside (most likely Cornwall, northern Wales, Lake District) in our own car rather than paying for airfare and a rental car, which, frankly, would cost more in money AND fossil fuels. We would be going to London at the end of the trip (once we are fully acquainted with driving our German car on the "unfamiliar" side of the road). The question is whether to save London for another trip when we would not be tied to a car. We are not big city people and the idea of driving our car into the middle of London is not exactly our idea of fun. When I asked if anyone has left their car outside of London, I meant it from the perspective of two first-time visitors to England, leaving their personal vehicle in an unknown location. I'm sorry if asking for some clarification sounds idiotic, but I don't know "Ashford International station" from a hole in the wall.

Let's put it this way: We'll decide whether we want to drive into London. Right now I'm just looking for hotel advice!

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Old Feb 27th, 2007, 03:25 AM
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Since you plan to be doing some exploring around the UK, then you might prefer to leave the car at one of the airports (Heathrow/Gatwick) and then picking it up elsewhere.

If you want (reasonably) safe and FREE parking, you're more than welcome to toss it in our Maidenhead driveway for a couple of days. We don't have a car in the UK, so we volunteer our driveway to neighbors or friends who need extra parking. No reason why a Fodorite can't use it as well.

Let me know if you're interested!
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Old Feb 27th, 2007, 04:03 AM
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I can understand taking the car. We often do. There's 5 of us; 5 plane tickets usually cost more than taking one car, even with parking. I do not find driving in London difficult, even with a non-british car, but I've done it often. I find that drivers are usually courteous to non-british drivers. I'd rather drive in London than in Brussels any day!

Haufrau; do check the prices of garages. Even when the hotel has an arrangement with a garage, it will be expensive. You can check rates at www.ncp.co.uk (I think that's the website for NCP garages). I think parking is free on the streets on Sundays (if that's still the case).

Otherwise, take up BTilke's kind offer!
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Old Feb 27th, 2007, 05:54 AM
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hausfrau, aside from the parking questions, I would think that you would be able to take advantage of weekend rates at some of the hotels.

We have stayed at the Holiday Inn Mayfair, which is incredibly convenient to the tube and buses and is withing walking distance of Buckingham Palace and Westminster Abbey - through Green Park and St. James Park. On weekends, we pay £135 per night (two double beds.) Breakfast is not included in that rate, but there are several places for breakfast within a stone's throw.

On our March visit, we were able to book the Royal Horseguards, with a river view, for £129 (without breakfast) per night. Rooms without a river view were around £20 cheaper, I think. This location, right on the Victoria Embankment, is very accessible to Wesminster Abbey, parks, the South Bank.
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Old Feb 27th, 2007, 10:57 PM
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Now there's that good old-fashioned hospitality I expect from my fellow Fodorites! BTilke, thank you for your kind offer. We are still debating our options but will certainly keep your driveway in mind!

Tulips, thanks for the vote of confidence and parking info.

noe, those rates are excellent! I had looked at the Royal Horseguards but it was way out of the ballpark. I have so far not encountered these low weekend rates everyone talks about, at least when searching for availability on the hotels' own websites. Is it better to phone or email them directly, or use an external hotel search site?
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