esklader

My husband and I will be in London for 4 days in early July. I am driving myself crazy trying to figure out where to stay. Looking for a hotel that is central and easy to walk to most of the tourist sites. Need air conditioning, and if at all possible, a larger bed (queen/king). Free wi-fi would be great, too. Was hoping to keep it under $200, but that seems to be a pipe dream, so maybe around $250 if possible?

I tentatively booked the Premier Inn Victoria as a cancellable back up, but have been told that is a little out of the mainstream. It also doesn't seem to have larger beds. Any suggestions on specific areas/tube stations I should be looking at, or specific hotels would be much appreciated. Thanks -

travelgourmet

Priceline will put you into an adequate hotel for a little over $100. It won't be perfect, but at that kind of savings, who cares...

gh21

If it were a bit closer to a tube station, I would not say it was out of the way. Looks like it is a bit of a walk to Victoris tube--doable but maybe not as convenient as some others.

nytraveler

King size beds are essentilly unknown in europe and quen size is usualy nly in upscael acommodations - so you mayhve to make do with a duoble. You can;tuse Priceline if yuo want AC - since there is no guarantee. July cuold be coolish or it could be hot - I wouldn;t go without AC - but then I have a different price point.

Separately, London is a huge city and no matter where you stay wyou will have to tube to most sights - so how close the tube is may be more important than a truy central location.

janisj

"Looks like it is a bit of a walk to Victoris tube--doable but maybe not as convenient as some others."

Not sure how you mean that. The Victoria Premier Inn is VERY close to Victoria Station - could hardly be any closer w/o being on a platform. Maybe a 3 minute walk tops - probably less. If you want convenience to transport it would be difficult to do much better.

Not upscale at all but certainly a decent property in a convenient location. (I'd bid 4 star on priceline myself but if you don't want the uncertainty of PL, the Premier Inn would be just fine)

esklader

Thanks - is there a particular tube station that would be more convenient to get around to other areas? What are the prime areas I should be looking at?

texasbookworm

I don't think there is a most convenient spot, depending on what you want to see. For example, my top 4 spots are probably the Tower of London, Westminster Abbey (and area), St. Paul's/Thames, and the British Museum. These are in 4 different areas; a hotel near one would not be near the others and the Tube station most convenient for one isn't the one for the others. London's just too spread out for one hotel to be conveniently located near all the (usual) must-sees. I have stayed in Bavaria near Hyde Park Corner station, Bayswater area near the tube stop, and near the Baker Street station--each area was fine for convenience to the Tube for a start each day and we traveled to whereever we wanted. Without knowing what you think most important to visit/see it's hard to say what area might be best. If you, like me, had must-sees all over London, then just pick area that fits your budget and is at least somewhat near a Tube. Victoria certainly has good connections to the lines to the major sites.

janisj

"Thanks - is there a particular tube station that would be more convenient to get around to other areas?"

Victoria is one of the most convenient locations. Other really convenient areas are mainly along the Piccadilly tube line - but Victoria is only one stop from the Piccadilly line.

Not sure how someone could think one block from Victoria tube/train station is >>doable but maybe not as convenient as some others

esklader

Thank you all, this is really helpful information. I do plan on making it to all of those places, I hope. I am still considering Priceline (with a little help from Better Bidding), but I'm a bit concerned about winding up with a place with no a/c or too far from transportation, so if I do, we may just try for the 5* in the Mayfair/Soho or Westminster areas. Would that make sense? Keeping an eye on Hotwire too...just wasn't sure if I was looking in the right places, so thank you. If anyone has specific hotels they like in a central place, I'd love to hear about them. Appreciate all the help!