Good morning/evening . . .
I am a mom travelling with two kids, 10 and 7 to London in two weeks and am on the hunt for an hotel.
Specifically, I'd like to find something, clean, comfortable, centrally-located (West End, Hyde Park-area etc.) for around $300US (OR LESS) with a room large enough to comfortably accommodate myself and the kids.
Breakfast included, would be a bonus, but not critical.
Preferred location would have some ambience, more equivalent to Upper West Side of Manhattan--NOT Times Square.
Any ideas????
Thanks!

Look into the Rembrandt. I only stayed there one night but found it nice & you can't beat the location directly across from the Victoria & Albert museum & S. Kensington tube station. It included breakfast. Lots of people recommend using Priceline also for other hotels.

http://tinyurl.com/z8rbu

I would totally recommend the Holiday Inn Mayfair. The neighborhood is refined, with lovely streets and squars (Berkeley Square, St. James Square). The shopping is quite upscale (eg. Savile Row, Bond Street, Jermyn Street, Fortnum and Mason), you can walk to many things, and transportation is within a block (Green Park tube station and bus lines).

We stayed there for a week in March 2006, and will be returning in August for 5 nights. It is fully air conditioned. We booked the AAA rate, no breakfast, which is £144 on weeknights and £126 for weekend nights.

Here is what I wrote about the Holiday Inn Mayfair in my trip report in March 2006:

"The hotel is just off Piccadilly in Mayfair. The Green Park tube station (3 tube lines connect there) is within a block, and busses run along Piccadilly. It is a short walk to the West End, Westminster, Buckingham Palace, Oxford Street and Hyde Park. The hotel reviews on TripAdvisor were mixed (as usual) but we found the rooms have all been redone recently. Our room was very nice, small but not as tiny as I expected. We were able to find corners and tables for our luggage so we wouldn’t trip over our stuff. Bathroom was also good. With the minimal amount of time that we were in the hotel, one room worked out fine for the three of us."

"We did not book our reservations to include breakfast, which is pretty expensive. For simple baked goods/coffee, Starbucks is directly across the street and Café Nero around the corner. The Wolseley is about a block away with very good breakfasts (about the same price as the hotel’s). For take out options, Sainsbury’s is about a block and there’s a Marks and Spencer food hall right at the Green Park tube station, also a block."

I agree with Carrybean...Rembrandt Hotel is good and in a great location. Never stayed there myself, but, others in my family have and liked it!

Also, check out the Harrington Hall Hotel in South Kensington.
http://www.harringtonhallhotel.co.uk/
Another good place....this one I have stayed at,(last week to be exact) and the location is great. Short walk to Gloucester Road tube station!!!

We stayed at the Rembrandt several years ago and really liked it and South Kensington is our favorite area. It is nearly impossible to get this hotel on priceline. We hope to get it in for our October trip to London and I saw it on www.hotel-assist.com and it was around $212 per night. The Rembrandt is walking distance to Harrod's and all those neat shops on Walton Street and Beauchamp Place. Lots of restaurants nearby also.

Thank you, all!
If any of you have leads on good apartments, that would also help.

Scala House is always mentioned but I've not used it. I have used this one:

http://www.londonguestsuites.com/

Assuming you want a hotel and not a flat (w/ kids I'd definitely prefer a flat) - The three I'd recommend most would be the Rembrandt, Rubens at the Palace, and Royal Horseguards. All are w/i you budget and in terrific locations -- and are wonderful hotels.

Be sure to check out the rates offered on Londontown.com

London Serviced Apartments has a good selection in 3 price groups. I've stayed in The Mansions in Earls Court!
http://www.londonservicedapartments.co.uk/

Thanks! Shifted to apartment hunt. Great idea.

Hi

These look great - http://www.london-house.com. Location is excellent and great value. This is good too but available only on a weekly basis - http://tinyurl.com/lrxkq

Buon voyage

I was searching the datails regarding serviced apartment in London.I read your communication above.Thanks very much ..Bhaskar

Take a look at this place that I came across in my search for hotels last night. They are recommened by Fodors in one of their London guide books

http://www.barryhouse.co.uk/

I stayed at a very good new aparthotel last month in South Kensington. The surrounding area is great with many restaurants and its also very safe. For your kids, there are some great museums within a 10 minute walk including the Natural History Museum with its dinosaur exhibition and also the Science Museum with a childrens exploration area. These are both excellent options on a rainy day and free to enter. For the grown ups, Harrods is only a 15 walk away. The nearby tube station is Gloucester Road and it has links all round the capital even London Tower. We travelled there in about 30 minutes with no changes and afterwards travelled to the London Eye by river ferry which was fantastic!
The hotel is called Base2Stay and was in a square with no road noise at night. Its a very nice place to stay although I did find the bed a little soft. Great walk in shower and a small but comprehensive kitchenette with microwave, basin, fridge etc. Right across the road was a huge 24 hour Sainsbury store for provisions.
All in all a great place in terms of hotel and area.
I found the link
http://www.hotel-assist.com/base2sta...ts-london.html

Navigator, the OP went on her trip over a year ago.