Dear all Fodorites:

One last question before our summer vacation in Germany/France/Italy. We are connecting our flights via British Airways in London. Please offer suggestions for overnight accommodation in London. There is a family of 6 adults and of course we would like to try and talke in as many sights as we can while we are overnighting in London.

Thanks for all your kind assistance

Joechan

A couple of questions first:

1) What's your budget per room?
2) When do you arrive and leave (and from which airport)?
3) What's important to you regarding a hotel room? Is it just going to be clean place to lay your head? Sounds like you'd like something convenient for the airport transfers and sightseeing. How many people to a room?

If you're not too fussed about getting a specific hotel, I'd recommend Priceline - bidding for Kensington, Mayfair-Soho, and possibly Regent's Park Baker St. (In that order - in terms of convenience for airport connections and central location for sightseeing.) You could get a great price for a decent room; bid for the highest star level you can afford. For example, if you normally stay in 3*s, bid for 4* or 5*. The point is to get something you might not otherwise afford if you were picking a specific hotel. If you're going to bid for a 3* and you're normally willing to pay for 3*, you might as well book normally and get a refundable reservation at a hotel where you know what you're getting beforehand.

In addition to traditional hotel rooms, you might check Citadines.com. It has "apartment/hotels with suites". You might be able to get a 2-bedroom suite that all of you can sleep in.

Kate W:

Thanks for the information. We are flying into Gatwick Airport and departing from Heathrow. Yes, I know. But we have no choice due to airline reservations. Can you offer suggesiton for a centrally located area for hotel
accommodation ?

Thanks

Joechan

Fodorites:

We now found a nice apartment in Trafalgar Square. Please can any one give me some idea the best way to get to Trafalgar Square from London Gatwick ?


We will be departing from London Heathrow Airport so going to the airport from Trafalgar Square would also be helpful.

Thank you all !

Joe Chan

For Gatwick to Trafalgar Sq, Thameslink to London Bridge. Get off, stay on the platform and there are trains every 5 mins or so to Charing Cross from the other side. Charing Cross station is 50 yards from Traf Sq.

For Heathrow, get the Bakerloo line tube from Charing Cross tube station (a separate station from the railway station, with entrances actually in the square) north either to Piccadilly Circus (where you change for the Piccadilly line tube) or to Paddington for the much faster but much pricier Heathrow Express train.

With six of you, it might be cheaper - and only a bit slower and less reliable, at least outside rush hours - to use one of the car operations discussed widely on this board for the trip to Heathrow. But it will be a very great deal slower to mess about with cars coming in from Gatwick.

I am guessing that you have using the Citadines Apartments in Northumberland Avenue, a 2 minute walk from Trafalgar Square?

If so, then from Gatwick I would use the fast and comfortable Gatwick Express that runs every 15 minutes and takes just half an hour to get to Victoria. From there, as long as you don't have too much luggage, take the and Circle or District tube eastbound 3 stops to Embankment. From there, it is less than a 5 minute walk to the apartments.

I would also consider using a car and driver for the journey to Heathrow.

From your apartment you could easily see loads of sights in a walk that would take in Trafalgar Square, St James Park, Buckingham Palace, Whitehall, Parliament Square, Westminster Bridge, The London Eye, The Jubilee Footbridge and possibly Covent Garden and Leicester Square.

Flanneruk/Adamhornets/Kate W:

Thanks for all your recommendations. Yes, I have selected the Citadines Apartment located at Northumberland.
I feel more confident now that I have all the instructions I need to explore London !

Thanks a bunch all !

Joechan

You could take the tube (Piccadilly Line) to Heathrow from Trafalgar Square, but it will cost about 3.80 pounds per person and will take about an hour. Also, if you're flying out of Terminal 4, you have to transfer to a bus or hop the free Heathrow Express from T1/2/3 to T4. So a car service might be a better deal for you. Of course, six of you and your luggage won't fit into a regular car (they're usually fairly small - not big London cabs). But some car services have "people movers" (a British term for a mini-van). They'll be more expensive than mini-cabs, but still might be a good value in terms of convenience and cost. Check other threads for names of car services.