SydneySteve

Does anyone know which is the best of the hotels in that convenient location of Hammersmith ? Thank you for any help you can provide us.

Travelnick

Novotel is right near the tube station. MAssive, impersonal and some catastrophic views over motorway (but actually still might see the river if high enough), but will have a certain minimum standard. Other hotels in the area are typically b & b - all those that I used to walk past going down the main road from Shepherds Bush looked 3rd rate, a fair few would probably be dominated by long term unemployment benefit recipients. MAybe there are a couple of others but its not a great area for hotels and other than the river which is a 15 min walk away not an area that I would choose to stay in. I would go for closer in for more convenience of further out for more charm.

janis

I agree w/ Travelnick. Are you going to London for business and need to be near Hammersmith for some reason. If not, if you are on holiday, I would definitely stay in a more central location.

francophile03

We stayed in Hammersmith as part of the Globus Tour group. Hotel and Hammersmith were not memorable and the hotel was not a Novotel. I wouldn't say the area is convenient.
If you do not need to stay in Hammersmith I'd suggest staying in another part of London that is convenient and central.

SydneySteve

Thank you all for your replies. Maybe I was a bit off track when I thought of Hammersmith. So was my spelling - apologies. In September we will stay in Mayfair for a few days, then for the following three days we would like to be close to friends who live in Kingston-on-Thames. We wanted to be able to commute back into London on occasions during that time. The Piccadilly Line is so good/fast/convenient that I immediately thought of Hammersmith, but must confess that I have never walked around there before. Maybe I should be looking in Kingston itself or at the end of the tube in either Richmond or Wimbledon? Any further thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

PatrickLondon

South of the river the tube is less important than the surface suburban trains. Trains from Kingston go to central London via Richmond or Wimbledon. I have no idea about hotels in any of the three, but I would put either Richmond or Kingston above Wimbledon in terms of the balance of convenience and ambiance.

Anywhere near the station in Wimbledon is likely to be OK but workaday: up the hill and a around the Common it's lovely, but that's a bit away from the station.

The immediate surroundings of Kingston station are equally workaday, but the town itself has a pleasant riverside, and is a big shopping centre.

Richmond is smaller and also on the riverside, and has perhaps a more leisurely ambiance for the visitor, and is closer to central London for train services, as well as having the option of the tube.

It poebbaly comes down to the balance you want between being close to your friends and close to central London.

www.swtrains.co.uk for timetables and maps.

Travelnick

Given your further detail re:Kingston. I would strongly recommend you look at 3 Richmond Hotels - Richmond Gate, Richmond Hill and the Petersham - all with websites. The first 2 are next to each other and share a very nice health club with 20metre swimming pool, but if the priority is view (really one of the best in London if you get a riverside view - over the meadows ) and room quality, the Petersham stands out - web site will sell you. I have stayed there once and my mum 3 times (I still a flat in Richmond) and the room quality is very high and certainly matches 4-5 star hotels in MAyfair at a fraction of the cost. Restaurant in all places has been in my experience very good. I rang them up a couple of months ago and was offered a rate of around 150 pounds. About 50 metres from the Petersham is the bus for the 65 - takes you direct to Kingston in 15 minutes or so., or go for a long walk through Richmond Park one day all the way to Kingston or walk along the tow path for a river walk all the way. There is also a Travellodge fairly recently opened near the centre of Kingston.
Richmond offers fast trains to Waterloo as well as district line tube, so pretty convenient and a lot nicer than Hammersmith - mind you Friday and Saturday nights can get rough in Richmond (and a bit less in Kingston) due to huge number of pubs and popularity of riverside pubs on a nice evening. I am afraid London deservedly has a rep for booze-driven aggression (same problems in Oz!)and expensive suburbs are certainly not immune.

SydneySteve

Thank you Travelnick. We greatly appreciate your help and will follow through on your detailed suggestions.

SiobhanP

Was in Hammersmith a few years ago and would not immediately think of it as a place to stay in London....I was over seeing TFI Friday (remember that one!) and it seemed a bit seedier than most places.