Best area to stay in London
 

A few friends and I are going to London for the Olympics this fall. I have rooms reserved at the Hotel Indigo Paddington. Is this a good area to stay for nightlife, restaurants, etc? We want to stay where we will be hanging out and do not mind commuting to the games. This is our first time in London so any help with nightlife, bars, restaurants, lounges, etc. would be very helpful.

Thanks!

"<i>London for the Olympics this <u>fall</u></i>"

Bit confusing that - since the Games are finished on August 12. Unless you mean the ParaOlympics that do run til early Sept, but that still isn't Fall.

I personally would not stay at the Indigo since it is right AT Paddington and you won't likely be hanging out in that area. But at this late date you might need to leave well enough alone.

Agree with janisj - Paddington isn't nightlife central really and isn't that central for sightseeing either. However, you are very close to the Paddington tube station which will get you to, say, Soho pretty easily (Bakerloo line to Piccadilly Circus - TFL estimates 11 minutes). So especially if accommodations are hard to find, you'll be all right.

You might check out Lonely Planet's Thorntree forum for specific suggestions on nightlife. In general, Fodorites aren't that into clubs or lounges, so while some may have specific suggestions for you, the demographic at Thorntree is more likely to. Soho has several clubs, I believe (very roughly the area just south of Oxford Street and just west of Charing Cross). If you're looking for pubs to have a pint, though, those are everywhere, and there are many restaurant threads here if you do a search. It's hard to give specific recommendations for those without knowing your budget.

Check out Dalston.

This hotel is in the same price range as the Indigo. Look at reviews since I've not stayed there.

http://www.avohotel.com/index.php

This is a link you might want to have no matter where you stay:

http://www.notfortourists.com/hood.a...lstonkingsland

The tacky IMO Paddington area would be low on my list of areas in London to stay in - you will be commuting out for just about anything you seem to want.

Why did you choose the Paddington Indigo without checking out areas of London that have good "nightlife"?

Dunno if Paddington area is "tacky" but it's certainly neither a hotspot, a trendy area, nor convenient to your hang out spots.

Go to Londontown.com or timeout.com for recommendations. SouthBank, the West End, Leicester Square, Covent Garden areas are all more desirable from your perspective, but you may be SOL by now.

London is the largest city in Western Europe by far (like New York vs Chicago - it's more than double the size of Rome, Madrid or Paris) so there are always restaurants or bars near where you'll stay if you're in central London. The question of what's best, however, is not answered "Paddington station area."

I'll be there in early August as well; there are quite a few hotels still available, some are cheap and basic and others are a step up but pricey, so it really depends on what area you want to be in, and how much online research you can stand! I've booked in Bloomsbury and Belgravia, still haven't decided.

Wow, thank you for all of your replies. I booked at the Indigo Paddington because it was the closest hotel to the city that accepted my Priority Club points, all of the others were unavailable. Since I am a platinum member, I can reserve something anywhere and at any of their properties but I'll also be subject to their high Olympic rates. I am considering it just based on everyone's review on the Paddington area. If I'm understanding correctly, it's a consensus that Paddinton is not an ideal area for us nor very convenient to commute to these places. The event that we have tickets for in is the ExCel venue. In your opinions, where are the ideal areas for us to stay and have the ability to easily commute to ExCel? Thank you.

The Excel is accesible by DLR only. You can either take the DLR direct from Tower Gateway, or with 1 change from Bank (change at Canning Town). The DLR might run differently at that time so maybe they will have a direct link from Bank as well.

The areas around Tower Hill or St Katherine's Dock would be the most convenient for this. Or The City by Bank but there arent many hotels around that area and it is quite quiet in the evenings and weekends.

The Jubilee line also runs to Canning Town and you can change to the DLR to get to Excel (which is at Custom House DLR stop) so anywhere along the Jubilee Line should be fairly convenient as well but you may want to look at the Waterloo, London Bridge, South Bank areas which are all quite lively at night.

Jubilee Line also runs through Bond St so anywhere around Marble Arch/Oxford St would work. And it runs through Green Park so anywhere in Mayfair would also be ok. Although these options are farther out and the tube ride will be longer.

Also, check Baker Street area, although this would be my last choice.

Hope this helps!

Thank you jamikins! Your info is much appreciated!

Mike

I have no idea which hotels are part of your group but The Tower Guoman has spectacular views of Tower Bridge and was very reasonable when we stayed there 3 weeks ago. It is less than 5 minutes to the tube station for Excel.

Oh yeah, the Paddington area will SUCK for your purposes.

You could try to stay on South Bank near the Jubilee line, which will get you to the Excel pretty quickly with one transfer. This is a very good option for restaurants, bars, pubs, etc., far better than near Bank and likely far less expensive than Mayfair.

London Transport should have tons of Jubilee lines running during the Olympics to meet demand (although it runs a lot of them generally just because the line connects so many key areas and the O2 to central London). The Jubilee also runs fast - no 15 mph slogs between stops.