Renovich

What is the best location for a 3 day stay in London? Need suggestions for nice hotels, not too pricey, but at least a 3 or 4 star. Thanks.

taggie

The "best" location depends on what your interests are and what you plan to do. 3 days is not long.

Mayfair is close to most of the major sights. South Kensington is also a good area, quieter, close to museums, with many restaurants and conveniences close by. S. Ken tube station and Gloucester Rd. tube station are great as they have 3 main lines running through them.
Bloomsbury is another popular area, less expensive than the other 2 areas I mentioned but has lots of hotel choices.

The Holiday Inn Mayfair seems to be quite popular on here. In S. Kensington, try the Rembrandt or Jurys. Also Rubens at the Palace is close to Buckingham Palace and is popular.

Do a search on this forum for London Hotels and you will get hundreds of suggestions. Also try looking on tripadvisor.com
And priceline is suggested by many who have bid on hotels and gotten very good prices.

Renovich

Thanks for your suggestions. Do you know anything about the Grovenor Hotel?

taggie

Do you mean the Grosvenor House Hotel?
It's big. Not in the most convenient location, but a nice hotel I believe. I have not stayed there.
Search on here by typing Grosvenor Hotel London in the search box. There are numerous references.

SydneySteve

I think London hotels are about what one is prepared to pay. More so than in most other Euopean destinations I feel. I always think that i have to simply begrudgingly accept the price premium. Clearly others have commented in this forum about the ability to cut good price points at the Marriott and Holiday Inn type properties. Some use Priceline, Orbitz, Expedia etc for that. It is a long time since we stayed at Grosevnor House - my impressions were that it was not in a great location - service very good - a bit old world - rooms not great but good - its not far from Oxford Street or Piccadilly but the area lacks connection to what is London. I prefer the Athenaeum on Piccadilly for about the same money and my friend MKingdom2 prefers Claridges and tells me the Athenaeum is for business travelers. i think to the contrary. Many Australian visitors tell me that Flemings in Half Moon Street is pretty good - certainly a good location close to Piccadilly Circus. They seem to get good rates on the net or by phoning. The further you move out from the Center of London the discount of course appears.

flanneruk

Renovich asked about the 'Grovenor Hotel'.

Apart from le Meridien Grosvenor House, there's a largeish Victorian pile called the Grosvenor Hotel in South Ken, handy both for the museums and for Horrids.

The hotel built into Victoria Station was called the Grosvenor Hotel from its opening in 1860 till some time in the 1990s: it's now the Westminster Thistle. An Australian colleague always insisted on staying there because ihe said it had decent-sized rooms.

To add to the fun, the Marriott in Mayfair calls itself the Marriott Grosvenor Square: odd, since it isn't in the square, and most Brits would be slightly leery of staying in a square with a reputation for excessive, overly visible, security anyway.

Why, with half a million words in the English language to choose from, London hoteliers have such a fixation with "Grosvenor" as a name would make a fascinating post. Presumably most visitors mispronounce it, so they can be put in their place from the start.

Or is that uncharitable?

SydneySteve

I was commenting on the Grosvenor House Hotel on Park Lane between Marble Arch and the intersection with oxford St.

mikemo

We enjoyed the Rembrandt X from Victoria and Albert and two blocks W of Harrod's and close to the tube and busses. Paid 99 GBP for a queen exec (+ the 17.5% VAT) which included a VG breakfast 8 and 9 July. Took the tube everywhere with ease. It's about a 5 GBP cab ride from Victoria Station if you're arriving via LGW with luggage and companions.
South Kensington is a very nice quiet area and I would stay there again (if the USD ever strengthens)
The prices in London, when paying in USDs are really stunning, so have tons of cash in your ATM and/or lots of credit on your cards.
M

mclaurie

Grosvenor House is indeed old world. So old world that many of the rooms feel like they've not been touched for a century--musty, dusty. It's a very big hotel that is used for big banquet dinners and antique shows.

There really is no "best" location as others have said. Staying close to a tube stop and picking one that has several lines stopping like Gloucester Road is a good idea as taggie says. On my last trip I stayed at the Landmark Hotel which is across the street from the Marylebone train station. Looking at the map I thought it would be inconvenient and it wasn't at all. I quite liked the neighborhood.

Here's one of many good previous threads to read.
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34513218

mamc

I was in London twice last year - once on business, once for pleasure. In May, on vacation we stayed in S. Kensington and loved the area and the hotel - the Gallery, a boutique. In November, on business, I stayed at the Grosvenor House. It is a lovely old world hotel, not at all musty or dusty but beautifully maintained with great rooms and baths. The service was excellent in a formal kind of way. That said, I much preferred the Gallery for its pleasant staff, ambiance and location. Taggie lists many of the benefits of S. Ken. and we have been very happy staying in that area for the past few trips.

risab

We stayed at the Meridien Grosvenor House Hotel (in Mayfair)- near Marble Arch in 2001. This was in April after 9/11 so we got a very good package through a travel agent. We were traveling with our 11 year old at the time so we were given an upgrade to a larger room. We had a huge king bed and the room was large enough to fit a cot in a little alcove in the room that made it comfy for our daughter. The bathroom was large and lovely- towel warmer, fluffy towels (no washcloths), and nice toiletries- and a bidet. Breakfast was included in our package and this was the highlight for my husband because the selection was amazing and the service excellent. It was a busy hotel and a tad bit stuffy- but overall we found it to be a lovely hotel and not at all a bad location. We're New Yorkers so we are use to walking. Mayfair is a really lovely area and we also liked Kensington and if we go back to london we'd like to stay in that area.

Spygirl

That's true, isn't it Flanneruk? Everything in London does seem to be "Grovenor-fixated" as it were! (come to think of it, there's quite a few places around where I live that like to tack that name on as well!)

My London friends who travel (there are those who don't-too busy working, and aspiring to run for a seat in Parliament!) also advise staying at the Rembrandt hotel in So. Ken. It gets very good reviews on tripadvisor.com, and is, as pointed out, right across from the V and A, plus So. Ken. has all kinds of great little ethnic restaurants, and take-away shops where you can pick up a sandwich or a vegetable samosa and a diet Coke (like I like to do) and that will be your lunch. It's very convenient.

rj007

I definitely don't accept the price premium of London. That is why I stay in the suburbs in a very quiet neighborhood 3 min walk to the tube. I am paying nearly 45% less than when I stayed in Central London. The money I have saved paid for my plane tickets.

Renovich

What about Claridges? I'm finding of the better hotels, it's the best priced right now.

FromAtlanta

This thread is along the same lines...and also good for a little Laugh

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...amp;dirtyBit=1

FromAtlanta

UGH!! Major goof-up. That was not the link ... and now I am not sure HOW to properly copy and paste a thread on here.

I was thinking of the topic "Tufnell Park, London?"