jonmck

I have a business meeting at the Down Hall Country House Hotel located at: Down Hall Country House Hotel, Matching Road, Hatfield Heath, Hertfordshire, CM22 7AS

Down Hall Country House Hotel, Bishop's Stortford is located on the Hertfordshire Essex border, just 15 minutes from Stansted

HOWEVER, I fly into Heathrow on a Monday morning (arrive around 7am). My business meeting does not start until Tuesday at noon.

THEN, my meeting is over after lunch on Thursday and I do not fly out of Heathrow until 2:50pm on Friday.

So...should I just stay at the Down Hall County House Hotel the entire time and take a cab (10 minutes) to Bishop's Stortford then take a train into London? I don't want to be stuck at the hotel the entire time...I at least want to spend some time in London.

Or, should I stay in a London hotel on the first night (Monday) and then in a London hotel on the last night (Thursday)?

Or, I could just stay in London on my last night....

I really don't have a clue. I would like to stay at a hotel that would be pretty easy to get to with luggage via train/tube/bus or whatever mode of transportation. I would also like to be convenient to some shopping or sites. I was on vacation in London last June...so I don't need to do the tourist thing. Just need to enjoy London.

THANKS!

spaarne

You might consider the Hilton Paddington going and coming. It is right in the train station. The Heathrow Express is about 2 minutes from the lobby and takes 15 minutes to LHR. From Paddington you can easily tube or taxi to central London.

janisj

Paddington isn't that convenient for your Hertfordshire hotel. It is served from Liverpool Street Station which is all the way across on the other side of London from Paddington. The cab fare between Liverpool Street and Paddington would be absolutely Gi-normous. There is direct tube connection between the two but it is a long way.

For Monday night - I'd stay somewhere right in the very center of town - you don't want to be stuck at Paddington when you have such limited time in London. Staying near Covent Garden, Leicester Sq or anywhere very central. You'd be on the tube line from LHR w/o any changes. (or you could use a car service in from the airport if the budget allows) Then you can take the tube or a cab to Liverpool Street on Tuesday.

If it was me - for the last night, I'd take the train in to Liverpool Street station. Then take the tube from Liverpool Street to Holborn and stay near the British Museum. This would put you walking distance to Covent Garden, the Inns of Court, Leicester Sq etc. And you'd be on the Direct tube line to LHR

spaarne

<i>stuck at Paddington</i>?

janisj, You make this so complicated. London taxis are not expensive when you compare the cost to single ticket tube tickets. Besides, the OP is on business so a few extra pounds is not a big deal. With limited time the Hilton Paddington is an ideal base in London.

janisj

spaarme: Do you know how far it is from Paddington to Liverpool Street? It is about 5.5 miles and would take at least 1/2 an hour. Paddington (honestly) makes no sense.

janisj

meant to add - you recommend the Paddington Hilton for everyone using LHR. It is a fine place to stay - in very specific situations. But for the majority of visitors, Paddington is inconvenient and expensive. And catching a cab from Paddington in the AM is a struggle . . . .

spaarne

I should have been more clear. By "going and coming" I meant to stay the first and last nights at Paddington. Stay at Hertfordshire for the meetings.

Paddington is on several tube lines, including direct lines to Westminster and Piccadilly Circus. With a one day Travelcard jonmck can get around easily.

jonmck

I arrive from USA at 7:00am...not sure if I should just go on to my convention hotel and if I want to later that day come back into London I can just catch a cab to Bishops Stortford and then on to London Liverpool and then I can head into Central London. I know that would probably take an hour to get from the hotel into London and then another hour back to the hotel?

I want to see some of London while I am there, but I don't want to be exhausted the next day. Again, convention starts at noon on Tuesday....the day after I arrive.

Friday morning will be shot as I probably need to leave the hotel in Central London around 10:30am for my 2:50pm departure.

I really just want an easy/convenient hotel that is nice (3-5 star) so that I don't have to drag my luggage very far and also it is easy to get to the tube, etc. But I also want the hotel to be fairly close to some nice parts of town so that I can go out and walk late afternoon/evening.

Thanks again

janisj

I'd personally do as I suggested - get a central London hotel (or hotels) for the two free nights.

IMO it would be more tiring to go back and forth to the conference hotel on your arrival day.

Couple of questions: How much luggage will you have/is it manageable? and are you on a tight-ish budget? If you have lots of luggage and a fairly generous budget, I'd book a car service like london-transfers.com/ or justairports.com who would give you door to doo service in from LHR for much less than a taxi and probably less than the Heathrow Express plus a taxi (w/ much less hassle)

Important note - it is Liverpool <u>STREET</u> Station - NOT Liverpool station. Makes a huge difference.