Greetings -

I looked at the Hilton's webisite and for directions from Gatwick it indicates to call the hotel. I wanted to see if anyone can recommend a car service or how to do public transportion? My arrival time is 1:40 pm.

Thank you in advance,
Dawn

I'm assuming your hotel is in central London? You can easily catch the train into London then hop on the tube. Be aware though there are usually steps to contend with on the tube so if your luggage is very heavy it might make things difficult. The answer is to pack light!

Have a look at this site, click on the second map from the top -

http://www.tfl.gov.uk/gettingaround/1106.aspx

There is a sign at the bottom of the map pointing to Gatwick airport. The train goes directly to the south terminal, with a link to the north terminal. You can catch the train to either Victoria or Blackfriars which are on the tube line then connect from there to your hotel. You can buy a train ticket at Gatwick airport and also an Oyster card to use on the tube.

Hope this helps.
Kay

Referring to this map...

http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tfl/gettingaro...quad-11500.pdf

Ride Southern Railway from Gatwick to Victoria Station.* Then take a #11 bus (towards Liverpool Street) to Aldwych (bus stop <font color="red"><b>D</b></font.

Your hotel is in the next block, right at the stop lettered <font color="red"><b>F</b></font>.

* Two to four people can ride on a DaySave pass for &pound;20. See http://southernrailway.com/main.php?page_id=189

We stayed there after a flight to
Gatwick.We took the train to Victoria Station and the
tube from Victoria to Covent Garden. The hotel is a very
easy walk from Covent Garden tube
station. The Covent Garden station
had an elevator which helped. We each
had one roller bag and a backpack
and had no problems.

You definitely don't want a car service - LGW is more than 30 miles south of London. Driving would take <u>forever</u>.

Train to Victoria - either the Express or Southern works. The Express is less crowded, a bit faster and more expensive. But arriving in the afternoon, you'd be going against the commute flow so the Southern trains would be just fine. You can buy Express tickets right on the train after it is on the way to London - ticket checkers/sellers will come right to your seat. For Southern, you need to buy your ticket at the window before boarding the train.

From Victoria you can take the tube, a bus, or a taxi to your hotel - all would work.

Have I mentioned how much I love this board? As always - many thanks,
Dawn

Doesn't the Southern Train also goes to Charing Cross Station (with a change)???

It's ~10 min walk from Charing Cross station, and a very short bus or taxi ride.

Sorry, it's the First Capital Connect train from Gatwick. You can take the FCC from Gatwick to either East Croydon or to London Bridge, then change for a train to Charing Cross. [which train depends on what time you actually get to the train station.]

BTW, we stayed at the Waldorf Hilton back in 2005. A very, very nice hotel!

I think I got it.

I am glad the Waldorf is nice - we are using Hilton points

Yes - you can take the train to Charing Cross - and that would be a definite option. But if you don't want to deal w/ transfers/changing trains - if it was me after an overnight flight and maybe being quite jetlagged, I'd take the Express to Victoria and then a cab from there. It would cost more, but be easy as can be.

No worrying about queueing to buy tickets, no tube or bus or 10+ minute walk. Just step on the Express and settle in. Wait for the ticket seller to come through your car. Pay. Get off the train at Victoria and step over to the taxi rank and you will be dropped at the door of the hotel.

If the Express/taxi won't fit in your budget - the train to Charing Cross and walk to the hotel is certainly a good choice . . . . .

Piggybacking - please remind me again - if I take the Southern or FCC, and plan to take a taxi from the train station to the hotel, where should I get off (Victoria, King's Cross, etc.) -- our hotel (Renaissance Chancery Court) is near the Holborn and Chancery Court tube stops. Thanks again.

dmlove - it looks to me that if you take FCC from Gatwick, the Farringdon station would be closest to your hotel. It is about 3/4 mile. Per FCC's website, they may be service disruption on weekends. Which day of the week will you be arriving?

We'll be arriving on a Friday afternoon.

Just following up. We did take the First Capital Connect from Gatwick to St. Pancras (8.90 pounds per person), and then walked through to the King's Cross tube station to get our Oyster Cards. It was very simple - we bought our tickets at Gatwick, but they never even came through to collect them). Since we were already at the tube, rather than take a taxi from there, we just took the tube to Holborn, which turned out to be only 1/2 a block from our hotel. There were a few steps to lug the suitcases up, but not bad. (Janisj, my daughter's leg is much improved! We walked a ton, in Egypt, Madrid and London).