hikrchick

London experts, I need some guidance. I need to book a hotel for one night in London on our way back from Cornwall, on Tuesday June 26. Our flight from LHR home to EWR the next day is at 4 p.m., so we are planning to spend the morning walking around and then leave by Tube around noon-ish. I did some reading here last night and it seems from various threads that the most convenient area to stay, so that we don't have to switch stations, is around the Piccadilly tube stops. Our budget is up to £225 for a hotel with air conditioning. I would be grateful for some recommendations. We prefer something that is a bit quieter if that's at all possible.

We are experienced travelers. For the past several months I have not done a thing with planning this trip; I have some health issues and some other stuff going on and I just can't seem to get my head together right now to do a ton of research. Any and all suggestions are gratefully accepted. Thank you!

Dukey1

Does it HAVE to be by Tube?

Prairie

Sounds like a good plan.. I like staying near Green Park tube because it has an elevator to the street. I
like the following hotels:

Citadines Trafalgar Square. https://www.citadines.com/en/united-...don/index.html
Chesterfield https://www.chesterfieldmayfair.com/...BoCCA0QAvD_BwE

Stafford https://thestafford.grandluxuryhotel...BoCiOoQAvD_BwE

When I stayed at the Stafford, I got a much better deal by not booking it on the hotel website.

janisj

Anywhere along the Piccadilly line from Earls Court to Kings Cross, or the District line between Earl's Court and Tower Hill would be easy to LHR. Piccadilly line with no changes, and District line with a very easy exchange at Hammersmith (about a 30 foot walk across the same platform). So as you can see you have a huge selection. I'd just look on booking.com or londontown.com to see what's available for your date in your budget. Before booking just check a map to see how close it is to which station.

janisj

Didn't see Prairie's post:

The Citadines could get close to £225 if you pre-pay non-refundable.

The Chesterfield maybe £300 or a little under

The Stafford for £225? Not likely in this lifetime. On June 26 the very cheapest room is running nearly $700/£500

BigRuss

I have no idea why you'd drop $310 on a room for a night and then take the Tube instead of staying someplace less costly and taking a car service.

And why do you need AC? It's London, not Rome.

hikrchick

Prairie and janisj, thank you so much for the suggestions and advice. I feel like I can research now!
We stayed in a Citadines in Paris in October 2016. We liked it a lot and would do it again but maybe not this trip.

Big Russ and Dukey1, transportation needs to be cheap. This trip was planned a long time ago and unfortunately I lost my job since then so we are budgeting and prioritizing. I read right here that the Heathrow express is £20 a person. That's $55 for two, each way! Express Saver return tickets for two = $104. Maybe I can find it in my budget, and maybe I can't. Taking the subway to the airport is not hard. We live in the NYC metro area. Getting a good night of sleep with a/c if necessary (in case of heat or humidity -- I heard April is very hot in London now) so that we are not miserable is most important.

janisj

Don't use the Heathrow Express. But that doesn't mean it has to be the tube.

Heck, a private car service from arrivals to your hotel anywhere in central London will only cost about $45. But as long as you travel light the tube is absolutely fine.

If you look for a travelodge and (a little more expensive) Premier Inns you can stay under your budget and be close to a Piccadilly or District line station.

Odin

Who could have predicted temps in the 80s this past few days in London. In June it might also be hot but it could also be quite cool, around the low 70s.

Tube to LHR will be the cheapest, Premier Inn would be a good option for less expensive accommodation. The K Hotel Kensington (which is Cromwell Road near Gloucester Road tube) has rates for about £145 a night on your dates, the reviews are good, has AC, I have not stayed there but know the location and it is very convenient for central London and LHR.

hikrchick

Thank you, janisj and Odin! I'm very grateful. I prefer not to spend a ton of money in London because our trip is actually to be visiting Cornwall and walking the South West Coast Path for 9 days and the budget should really go for that. I'll check out the K Hotel Kensington.

and good to know that a private car would be in our budget. Maybe we could do that.
I appreciate your help.

janisj

>>good to know that a private car would be in our budget. Maybe we could do that.<<

There are private cars and then there are private cars. One of the cheap ones is justairports.com. They charge significantly less for a cash payment -- the the difference between £30 or £35 cash and £45 or £50 bu creditcard.

hikrchick

wow, that is good to know. Thank you!

BigRuss

By cheap, she doesn't mean crappy. Just Airports was completely reliable for us when we used it. Sheeyoot, the driver arrived like 20 minutes early and just hung out waiting for us to clear out of our flat, which is great - last da-n thing you need is to worry about whether your driver's even going to show. And plenty comfortable for a family of approximately 4 (2 full people, 2 hobbits). The Heathrow Express is useless unless you're staying hard by Paddington, which wouldn't make any bloody sense anyway, because you'd need to taxi to Paddington and then take the train.

And whatever your notion of "hot" is, it's not happening in London in the foreseeable future - the next 30 days on Accuweather doesn't even hit 20C (68F). Weather in London is NOT like the Southwestern US - there's no near-linear increase from April through the summer.

mjs

The cost of a car service is not that different than the cost of the tube to LHR if there are two or more of you

janisj

>>By cheap, she doesn't mean crappy.<<

Oh to clarify - I didn't mean to imply just airports is crappy. Far from it. Its just that some car services can be very expensive. One of the cheap (and good) ones is Just Airports.

isabel

Travelodge Waterloo and Comfort Inn Buckingham Palace Road are the two hotels I stay at (which ever one is less expensive for the dates I need, they seem to switch back and forth). Not sure if they have AC but otherwise are perfectly serviceable for one night and as others have said, it's highly unlikely you'll need it. They are usually well under £150 double. Unless you have unmanageable amount of luggage the tube is fine to the airport.

janisj

But Waterloo isn't a convenient location for LHR by tube (if one use uses a car service its not that relevant)

That comfort Inn would work being so close to Victoria.

newtome

It's like Heathrow express only slower and for us at least slightly more pleasant. 10 pounds and change one way.

janisj

That works for sure - if one stays at Paddington, Otherwise there is the extra cost of a taxi to one's final destination.