caabhi

Hello fellow travelers,

I need help on hotel or apartment recommendation meeting below 2 criterias:

1. A family room rather than 2 separate rooms. With small kids, I can't afford to have 2 separate rooms. The budget is between 100 - 150 Pounds and the area should not be far off from city (within city is always good). Room is required for 5-6 days.

2. I have been to London 5 years back and we had bad experience of carrying luggage through stairs at Underground stations. With kids, it is more difficult. So, I am looking for accomodation near Underground Station where there is an elevator or escalator. If any one of you have this specific information, please share.

Cheers

WillTravel

When are you going? At certain times, there are family flats for your price available from here:
http://www.lsevacations.co.uk/Accomm...Locations.aspx

If you find the perfect spot that is not near a station with an elevator, arrange for a private pickup. With the cost of transport for several people, it almost pays off just on that basis. It would be a shame to give up on a good spot because of elevators in the Tube.

caabhi

We will be there from May 18 onwards.

You are right about the good spot. Any suggestions for hotels.

tom_mn

Here's a Travelodge with family rooms
http://www.travelodge.co.uk/hotels/4...l-Street-hotel

However an apartment usually makes the most sense economically. There are surface rail options to the City from Luton, Gatwick, and Stansted airports (but not Heathrow) that avoid using the tube.

janisj

All Travelodges and Premier Inns will take all 4 of you in one room. There are several of both brands in central London -- but you need to plug in your specific dates on their websites since rates are VERY date dependent. Pretty much any Travelodge should fit in your budget and most Premier Inns could.

There are escalators in most tube stations -- but there are also steps in most of them. If you have 2 toddlers and the various strollers and luggage I would DEFINITELY consider a pre-booked car service in from LHR (if that is where you are arriving). jusairports.com will take all of you and all the 'stuff' for about £40-£45 to most anywhere in central London. Yes that is more than the tube, but it is door-to-door w/ no schlepping at either end, and about half the cost of a taxi.

Mimar

When you say city, do you mean the city of London or the City of London? The latter, often called the City, is a small area within the larger city. It is the business and financial center actually for the whole UK. Relatively few people live there and there are fewer restaurants open at night.

Assuming you meant city rather than City, there's a train from Heathrow airport to ground-level Paddington Station in London. You could stay around there. However this train is quite expensive.

The city of London is very large and spread out. Even staying on the edges of the city will add a lot of travel time to your daily touring. In particular, it will take a lot of time to drop back to your room for the kids' nap, then go out again. Reasonably central is better.

I agree with the suggestion of an apartment, at least a one-bedroom. The kids can sleep in another room while you talk, watch TV, etc. Also you'll get a kitchen for snacks and take-out meals. (London restaurants are expensive.) Get an apartment with a washer/dryer; that will be a great convenience with such young children.

Look for apartments at VRBO or Airbnb or check out the reviews at Slow Travel (www.slowtrav.com).

janisj

Meant to add -- you have left it quite late for booking a budget flat. So while I normally would recommend renting an apartment, I'd probably start w/ travelodge and Premier Inn . . . .

BigRuss

First choice: Bugger the hotels, get a flat.

Google London vacation apartment (or flat) and you'll get a TON(NE) of information. Don't limit yourself to VRBO or Airbnb, there's a whole industry specializing in London rental flats for tourists.

You may also be able to find something at Oakwood, a hotel chain for long-stay business travelers. Depending upon location, Oakwood is likely to be more than 150 quid, but it's worth a whack.

caabhi

Thanks a lot fellow travellers. I will start looking for apartments first and then definitely arrange for private pick up.

It is always better to get something within city so that we can go back to room to let kids rest a bit during the day.

Thanks for websites link.

WillTravel

I completely agree about resting during the day, so I suggest choosing something very central. Note that buses can often be a lot easier than the tube.