I am starting to plan a large family celebration in London in fall of next year. I will have many guests coming from the states. I am looking for suggestions for a hotel that has connecting rooms or family rooms suites, that wont break the bank. I would like to keep it under 200 gbp per night on the connecting rooms(for two rooms), or similar on a family room. I would love them to be convenient to baker street tube. I am also looking for apartment companies that will rent apartments for less than one week. Any suggestions appreciated. I know the budget is tight, but I am hoping to find a 3 or 4 star small that this might work for.

Knowing how many such rooms you'll need might help people advise you.

You might also consider looking into B&Bs near Baker St and booking an entire B&B if there are enough of you, and especially if you can get away with a few shared baths.

&quot;<i>I would like to keep it under 200 gbp per night on the connecting rooms</i>&quot; Not totally clear - are you are looking for connecting rooms for under &pound;100 each room?

You won't get a 4 start in that range.

Lots of apartments rent for less than a week - but yes, we need to know how many rooms you are talking about. Somes flats are privately owned one-offs. If you have a large group and if everyone wants to stay in the same building, you might have to check some of the apartment hotels like Citadines.

When I've taken groups of up to 13 to London, we've rented flats in the same neighborhood but not necessarily in the same building.

oops - &quot;4 star&quot;

Thanks, forgot one of the most important pieces of info.I am expecting 60 guests from the states. Many families of 2 adults and 2 kids. The family events will be near regents park, but I am hoping for a hotel that is convenient to that, and touring. An apartment company that will rent for less than a week would be great, as many guests are coming for 5 days.

146 Suites could take a few people, and children are welcome. They rent for less than a week and it's close to Baker Street and the park. See:
http://www.citybaseapartments.com/

The Travelodge at Marylebone is also worth considering for bargain rooms. It's one stop on the tube from Baker Street, but within easy walking distance.

I'll bet Buckingham Palace can be had for a price these days.

I think you need a travel agent.

I agree with zeppole, you should get yourself a good travel agent.

You might do well with some chain hotel like one of the Express by Holiday Inn options that have family rooms. Many, but not all, of the London ones do. But since you will be booking something akin to a convention, I think a travel agent or some sort of planner is a good idea.

Many hotels won't deal with private groups like that, it's too risky for them. That's why you may need a travel agent (I mean some hotels will not allow some private person to reserve that many rooms without paying in advance).

Now hotel suggestions are a good idea if you just want to give names to your relatives and let them book the rooms themselves, individually.

sorry, I realize you may be perfectly willing to prepay 30 rooms yourself, but perhaps a travel agent is still a good idea.

You have too many people to book this yourself. And even w/ more than a year's lead time - it will be hard to find flats for that large a group.

Unfortunately, most TAs don't deal w/ apartments other than those like Citadines which are really hotels w/ small flats instead of rooms.

And getting that many rooms in a hotel - and expecting several to be connecting suites might be a tall order.

I'd hook up w/ a good travel agent and turn this over to him/her. . . . . .

For so many rooms I would contact the London Convention &amp; Visitor's Bureau - who can give you a list of hotels that will have the # and types of rooms you want. But - do expect to be treated as a group - which means putting substantial money down in advance (no hotel is going to risk so many rooms for one group on just a CC reservation).

Thanks for the info. I am not looking to book the hotels myself, but put together a list of suggestions to send to family members. I will put a block in at one or two hotels, but really just looking for a list to send to friends and family. The Travelodge is a great suggestion as it is in an ideal location.

If you mean by putting &quot;a block in&quot; that you will have them hold rooms for others to reserve, be very careful. I don't know if you can do that in London in the same way that you would for something like a wedding here. My sister-in-law did that in US for a wedding, and the hotel (a well-known chain) tried to charge her for the rooms that were not reserved by guests. She had the contract that explained the terms, but they still tried to do it. I would advise that you should not give your credit card number to hold, and be sure you understand the terms.

I'd contact the British head office of the major chains and ask what discounts they will give you.

I'd also push for a few freebies. Breakfasts or kids eat free deals.

Alternatively you could take over a smaller place completely.

Tell your friends and family to look at TripAdvisor.

Or -- since you have pinpointed the place you want to stay, go to londontown.com and TripAdvisor, look up hotels in that area, read the reviews, and send the list to your friends.

You can make a group booking with Travelodge from their homepage:

www.travelodge.co.uk/index.php

Try The White House near Regents Park. My grandmother used to get a block of rooms for all of our family there and they always accomodated us. She paid the base rate for a tourist room in advance for a wower rate and then we could upgrade if we wanted at check-in. She always said she'd pay for the room for everyone who could get their under their own steam.

It's a bit out of the way, but I know they do accomodate large parties.