Best Neighbourhood for London Home Base
 

Hi.

Just wondering about the best area in which to stay while visiting London. It is my first trip and I will be travelling with my mother. Being centrally located is important as I don't want to have a long commute to an outlying area in late evening. Any suggestions. We are hoping to keep in under $200/night (CAN). Thanks.

We like South Kensington. The Millennium Bailey’s and Millennium Gloucester are sister hotels located just at the Gloucester Road tube stop. We stayed at the MB through Priceline and were very happy with the hotel and the price. As long as you are close to a Zone 1 tube stop, you can get anywhere quickly.

"We are hoping to keep in under $200/night (CAN). Thanks."

You have zero chance of getting anything decent that cheap in a central location in season, except perhaps for Priceline.

Bella, try priceline.

"You have zero chance of getting anything decent that cheap in a central location in season, except perhaps for Priceline."

I would say not true, if you don't expect luxury, just a clean, decent place to stay. There are plently of B&Bs in London that are centrally located (eg. Bloomsbury) that are priced in the 80GBP range. You just have to research - check out guidebooks like Let's Go, Frommers, Fodors etc for their budget picks.

Three years ago we stayed at the Arosfa B&B in Bloomsbury for 50GBP per night. The bathroom was down the hall, but it was immaculate and we were the only ones who used it.

We stayed at Sheraton Park Lane on Piccadily which is with in easy walking distance to the Buckinham Palace and very centrally located, close to tube stop, parks. Don't know about $200 a night though. Sometimes they have deals on the weekends.
Luda.

We enjoyed staying at the Comfort Inn at Notting Hill. It is not a luxury hotel, but was comfortable and had an excellent breakfast. It is right at the tube stop for the Circle/District and Central lines, and near Kensington Gardens, in a "real" neighborhood. I cannot recall how much we paid, but it was very reasonable.