BillJ

I've just read a thread on the Hilton Kensington, and since I have Hilton points, was thinking of staying in a Hilton. Now, maybe not. But hey, London hotels near all the tourist must sees are very expensive. We want to go next May. Is it possible to stay in a "nice" hotel anywhere close in for US 200 or so? Just curious. Thanks for any help.

James

Bill<BR>yes it is possible, depending on your definition of &quot;nice&quot;. A good small hotel that is very popular and one that I especially like is the Morgan Hotel on Bloomsbury street, just next to the British Musuem. It will cost you far less than $200 per night for double and will include a very good breakfast.<BR><BR>Now, this hotel is NOT a Marriott or a Hilton. It has very nicely decorated rooms, but they are small, and the bathrooms are also small. You will also not find a lobby bar or a health club or even food service other than breakfast. But is in a great location and run by a wonderful family. If you are more interested in big plush rooms and an impressive lobby then go the Hilton. If you care about value for your dollar, a good room, good breakfast, excellent location, and family owned and managed, then check out the Morgan. One hint: the hotel is so popular you had better book it way ahead of time (several months will not hurt).

Bree

If you go to http://www.charlotte.com/mld/charlot...ns/4133724.htm, you'll find an article that appeared in the Charlotte Observer in September 2002, listing 20 &quot;quality hotels&quot; (the article's term) in London where two people can stay for $150 or less a night, including breakfast and VAT. The Morgan is one of the hotels mentioned in the article. I haven't actually stayed at any of the hotels in the article, so this isn't an endorsement of any of them, but I thought you might find it a useful starting point for your research.

steve

Bill,<BR>If you want to use Hilton points, check out the Paddington Property. I used HH points for 5 nights there last Sept and it was great. Yea it is not in the center of all tourist activities, but the Hotel was great. It was reopened after an extensive renovation and is very very nice inside the common areas as well as the LARGE rooms. It is Basically inside Paddington station. You can get to the tube, national railway, and the heathrow express, by basically walking out of the hotels lobby. <BR><BR>We thought it was a great central point as we hopped the tube everywhere. Great at night when we were tired.<BR><BR>

bettyk

Four of us (two couples) went to London this past May. We stayed at the 4* Rubens Hotel across from Buckingham Palace for 99 pounds including VAT and full English Breakfast. It was a great value. Smallish, air conditioned rooms but nicely furnished. The staff was friendly and the breakfast was one of the best we had on our trip. It is close to Victoria Station and all the major sights as well as restaurants and pubs.<BR><BR>I managed to snag this great price by regularly checking www.londontown.com but you can also try the Rubens website directly (http://www.rubenshotel.com/index_flash.htm).

Christina

It's probably hard to predict about next May, but I think it probably is if this year is an example. I easily booked a nice 4-star hotel for London this August (Gloucester Bailey's) for only about 80 pounds a night (queen double), that is South Kensington (not sure where Hilton is, but I think farther out). However, I know when I booked that one I had tons to choose from and many were more central. I also used www.londontown.com<BR><BR>I think I read London hotel business wasn't so good this year so maybe there were better deals for some reason, and I don't know if May is a whole lot more expensive than August for some reason.