tropo

I often see postings on this board, where intending travellers going to London, want to stay in a moderate or cheap "Hotel", somewhere close to London city. Over the years of travelling to London, I now find, staying in a nice B&B in a suburb not far out of the city, is much more relaxing and enjoyable. I enjoy the quaint local restaurants/cafes, and the much quieter pace, away from central London.
Do you ever stay in B&B's in London? if not, why not? is because your not acqainted with the London Tube system, or other reasons.
I know its a strange question, but all my friends who visit London on numerous occasions, all now seem to stay in a B&B, as they find it cheaper, and still have access to the city via the local tube station.

rj007

After I found my B&B in the suburbs I have said goodbye to staying in central London for good. The money I saved over what I would have paid on my recent trip paid for my plane ticket. I love going to the pubs or restaurants and there are no other tourists around. When I arrive at Heathrow, I hop on the Piccadilly line and it drops me off right near the B&B.

Another nice thing is that prices at the B&B have stayed the same for several years. More importantly, the couple that runs the B&B have become 2 of my best friends. Can't wait to see them and London again!

onthegogo

I like the idea of B&B - as you've experienced. Can you each share the names, locations and where to find info of the ones you've stayed at in the London area? Thanks!

janis

I know rj007 enjoys staying outside of the city center. But I really prefer being right in the middle of things - so I can make last minute decisions and get back w/i a few minutes to change clothes, whatever. I tend to go out every night in London so being w/i a few minutes of "home" is one of my most important criteria.

But I almost never stay in hotels in the UK. In London I usually rent flats, and out in the country I stay in B&Bs, rent self-catering cottages, or occasionally do a time share.

I find a comfy studio or 1-bdrm flat in London will only be a little more expensive than a B&B outside when you factor in the extra transport cost/time. But you do sacrifice getting a full cooked breakfast so a flat does cost a bit more.

But if I was on a really tight budget, I would definitely consider a B&B a little farther out.

nytraveler

I always stay in a hotel in the center.

I can;t imagine going to a city like London and then staying out in the burbs - why waste all that time in local transit? (And yes, I am familliar with the tube - have been using it for years - but I'll be damned if I'll waste an hour a day on it). Also - I much prefer the big city atmosphere/resources - I want big city - not cute/quaint (for that I'll do the Cotswolds).

Also, I don;t like the idea of B&Bs. I want a full service hotel - not to sleep in a converted attic with no amenities (I need 24 hour room service, AC, minibar, hair dryer and CNN).

I suppose if you're desperate it might be an option - but to tell you the truth - I would wait and save some money and go comfortably.

rj007

onthegogo

The B&B I stay at is in North Harrow -website serenade.ndirect.co.uk It is a 3 min walk from the tube (Metropolitan line). It's a 25 min ride to central London. Janis has a good point about staying in central London if you need to get back to your hotel room, but since I leave my B&B in the morning and don't come back until late at night it's no big deal for me. Plus, I am paying 45% less than what I used to pay in central London. That helped in allowing me to take 4 trips to Europe in 12 months.

I don't go to Europe to hang around hotel rooms. To go to London to sit in a hotel room drinking from the minibar watching CNN strikes me as a complete waste of time.

Loisde

I adore B & Bs and have stayed in quite a number of them in the US. I made reservations for a B & B on a trip to London 2 years ago and it did not turn out quite as I had hoped.

The first B & B location was sumptuous. Unfortunately, it was also the site of a commissioned photo shoot and we would have had the full run of this enormous house after 11 p.m., the rest of the time, we would have shared it with dozens of models and crew members. (Don't misunderstand. These were not swimsuit models -- rather, they were rather scary looking.) Nor could we have secured our possessions in our rooms as the only washer/dryer was located adjacent to our rooms and we were told upon arrival that access needed to be available to those all the time.

Thankfully, I had been advised that if a property did not suit upon arrival, we should say so and ask to be moved to another property.

We were moved to a B & B in Chelsea without complaint and while the neighborhood was good with a wealth of restaurants and pubs nearby, it was 8 blocks to the bus and at least an hour or more to anything we wanted to do. The accommodations were adequate, but we felt uncomfortable in any portion of the house except our bedroom, which did not have a lock on the door. The bedroom itself was small (no surprise) but the floor felt weak -- literally giving in when we stepped around the bed -- and we were given no invitation to seek refreshments other than the bottled water provided in the bedroom, which had the seal already broken. The bathroom was fine and actually was more spacious than the bedroom.

What ended up was that we spent all day out and about, not returning to the house until late at which time we were so exhausted we would shower and fall into bed, only to arise at an early enough time to make it downstairs to breakfast, which was somewhat begrudgingly provided (we thought) as we had not made our original reservation there, but landed there by default.

It would have been nice to stay closer in the middle of things we wanted to do, so we could have gone back to the room and rested a bit before heading back out.

Although we do enjoy B & Bs and have stayed in many, when we went to London this past year, we made reservations at a regular hotel. We enjoyed the location, the price wasn't outrageous, and we didn't feel as if we were intruding on someone's privacy.

nytraveler

rj007 -

Well obviously we have a different travel style. Our work week is typically 80 hours plus - so when we're on vacation - even in a major city we want a chance to relax at times - not just run 18 hours a day. And we almost always go back to the hotel after the day's activities to relax, put up our feet, shower and change before going out to dinner or the theater. Often we have a drink in the bar - or even from room service. To us - these are things any vacation MUST have.

And yes, we usually have room service for breakfast, need hairdryers and AC - and would feel naked if we couldn;t occasionally
catch up with things on CNN. (While I have been in europe we have caught up on: Mt St Helens eruption, OJ slow speed chase, OJ verdict, election results, super bowl results, etc.)

Really - it depends on what you want need/versus what you;re willing to pay. (I would love to pay less for hotels - but won;t compromise to save a few $).

nytraveler

Sorry - don;t know why we got that icky face instead of a dollar sign.

tropo

Thanks to each for your replies. When we first visited London, we stayed at Stoke Newington, unusual place, never really felt threatened, interesting restaurants though. Then each trip thereafter (usually every 2nd year), we started to stay in B&B's, and got to know the hosts, the local pubs/restaurants nearby, so much so that they remembered us on each visit.
Like Rj007, I find a "day in the city" quite draining, especially with crowds, and crowded pubs at night, etc, and I now enjoy visiting the city on alternative days, thus allowing us to travel outside of London by train to visit other towns/cities for the day.
I now stay in B&B's near Archway/Highgate area. Also nearby is Hampstead Heath, and great bars/restaurants in the village of Hampstead.
The purpose of my question was to try & gauge how many people stay in London B&B's, and why do they stay there.
I have never found a 25 minute run in the tube to the city, a problem. We use the tube to attend to soccer matches, ice hockey matches (down near Docklands)
Personally, I think once you start staying in the suburbs, you tend to explore those nearby surburban areas, both day & night, moreso than someone who stays in a central London Hotel. I guess those tourists will only explore LOndon itself.
Onthego - we use www.londonbb.com
for all our london accommodation needs, and www.bedandbreakfastnationwide.com
for our rural accommodation needs. Over the years I have both companies extremely helpful and courteous. The london B&B booked this year, is costing us 24GBP per person per night, and includes continental breakfast. Our room would put most hotel rooms to shame, so spacious, and the Edwardian house has so much character (not an attic as some people think). The house is situated in a lovely treelined street, with only 2 minute stroll to the tube station, or pubs & restaurants.
The local pub, called "Settle Inn" has great food, and the owners make everyone feel most welcome, and actually walk around & talk to patrons.
We don't need CNN news to be kept up to date with world news, we prefer to go out and talk to local people.

tropo

It would interesting to know the nationalities of which tourists use hotels more, and which use B&B's more, or self contained apartments.
Being an Australian, I find a lot of my friends who visit London, use B&B's or an apartment.

rj007

nytraveler

Point taken. I definitely don't have anything against having the extras to make your stay more comfortable. And I keep up with what is going on the world when I'm on the road as well. As long as we're traveling life is good.

twoflower

thanks rj007. I always stay at B&Bs in the UK and throughout Europe, the only exceptions (so far) being London & Paris - because I didn't know where to find them. However I did find budget priced hotels in both places, so it wasn't as expensive as it might have been.

We're all different - nytraveller obviously likes his/her home comforts while away; others of us have other priorities. To me, accomm as just somewhere to crash in between all the more exciting things I'm doing while away. What I save on accomm I can put towards doing even more of these exciting things.

A B&B in Europe is unmistakably a B&B in Europe. It's friendly (that's a real plus!), and a great way to interact with everyday locals and families. Plusher hotels tend to be homogenous - a Sheraton or Marriott in London could be a Sheraton or Marriott anywhere, even back in your home town. And interacting with receptionists, wait and bar staff is not quite the same thing as interacting with the people on the street.

Are there other fodorites out there who put a priority on everyday-level people-mixing when travelling, as against merely seeing sights and scenery?

tropo

twoflower, spot on, I agree with all your comments. Its good to see others who like to experience life, and meet other local people, instead of bar staff, and receptionists.

tropo

Twoflower, I remember an old saying, about taking two different routes on life, one the well trodden track, and the other, the less used track, and the cleaver tourist, took the less used track, and was much more enlightened for doing so. Everything in life, should be an "adventure and experience" not just the generic hotel way of life.

Chevrefeuille

Nytraveller, you sound a bit too pampered! But to each his own!

BTilke

I don't understand how posters claim the people who work at hotels aren't locals. What do they think, the hotel staff commute in from Mars?
When I spent 11 days at the Sofitel in Vienna, one of the front desk staff was a superb expert not only on restaurant theatre recs, etc., but also on the local gossip. He filled me in on all kinds of stuff I would never have gotten from a guidebook. I was greeted warmly (by name) every morning, offered a copy of the IHT that had been held for me and promptly seated at one of the best tables for breakfast.
OTOH, we have had some negative experiences with B&Bs, including a B&B owned by a couple that had just moved to the area three months earlier and couldn't give driving directions to well known places, much less provide some kind of in-depth insider perspective.
There's no guarantee that by staying in a B&B you'll be getting a "personal" touch.
Two weeks ago, I went back to Brussels for a couple of days and stayed at the Sofitel using my Accor Favorite Guest points. I had them make a reservation for me at a new restaurant I'd seen while walking around. The next day, the front desk staff all wanted to hear about the restaurant. We spent about 45 minutes chatting about Brussels, the immediate neighborhood, life, love, lipstick, etc.
If a B&B is your style of travel, that's fine. But remember, the people who work at hotels, even large hotels, aren't robots. They can be every bit as warm, knowledgeable, and friendly as anyone at a B&B. Sometimes more so!

nytraveler

Well, we absolutely like to relax and enjoy our vacation. We work incredibly hard most of the time - and when we're on vacation we like to be comfy - after all, why shouldn't be live as comfortably on vacation as we do at home? (Here we live in the center of the city to cut down transit time - which believe me is much more expensive than the burbs - and eat out all the time - but modestly or moderately - not breaking the bank.)

But I wouldn;t say we're pampered. We don;t stay at the Ritz or the Crillion or have chauffered limos to take us everywhere. We stay at plesant 4* and take the tube - unless our feet are really tired and then we cab it. We don;t have private guides or only 3* dinners - we do lots of casuale, modest restaurants.

I guess the key is - why should we reduce our standrd of living just because we're on vacation?

rj007

I have had nothing but postive experiences staying at B&B's. Unlike hotels where you sit in a large breakfast room sitting at a table without any interaction, at a B&B you sit at a large breakfast table and meet people from around the world. One friend I met at my London B&B lives in Holland and I stayed with him and his family a couple months ago. Staying for free beats the hell out of paying for a place.

Building a network of friends around the world has made my traveling even more enjoyable and more profitable than if I just went to a place as a tourist.