Hotel Recommendations for London in the Summer with A/C
 

I am thinking of a short trip to London at the end of August (yeah, I know, not the greatest time in terms of weather but I cannot change dates). Therefore I absolutely MUST have good working a/c in the room.

Since this is not an easy commodity to find, I pose the question to your Fodorites and wonder whether someone can suggest a good place for me.

It does not have to be fancy, all I need is a nice clean room, central location, and the a/c which is most important.

I have already checked several possibilities (Luna & Simone, B&B Belgravia, and others) and they are booked solid!!!

I am waiting on a answer from Parkcity hotel. And I got a positive answer from a new place called Montagu Place which looks fabulous but it quite over the top expensive (about 149 British pounds for a double without even breakfast).

Appreciate any help you can give.

Try Londontown.com. I plugged in 7 days at the ensd of August and found 4 stars starting at 60£ per night for a double for 2 people. The Copthorne Tara averaged 100£/night

http://tinyurl.com/2a6ecm

What EXACTLY to you expect the temperature to be in London at the end of August?

Unless you are lucky it will be pouring with rain and under 20C.

Why the need for a/c?

Why not get a little more informed?

here we go again! The above poster thinks anyone who wants a/c is nuts. Me personally - makes no difference one way or the other. But if you want a/c you should have it. A lot of London hotels have a/c.

One thing though - £149 certainly isn't "over the top" for a nice London Hotel. That is low to mid-level for a full service property.

jody - thanks for the great tip about londontown.com. Have you ever used them? Are they reliable? Do you end up getting the lesser rooms by booking through a place like this?

chimani - if you have nothing useful to say, please refrain from attacking other people's questions and answering them in the wrong!!

janisj - THANKS !!!!!!

I had a quick look on www.lastminute.com, entering the random dates of 25-28 August, and there are 4* hotels coming up for around 100 GBP a night.

For example this "Top Secret" Mystery hotel on the banks of the river close to Big Ben has A/C, and is on offer at 48 % discount.

http://tinyurl.com/39t58c

I have used lastminute.com and taken advantage of the mystery hotel deal, and have not been disappointed in my choices.

I've used Londontown.com and have found them to be totally reliable and I agree with wanting A/C in HUMID London in August just as I agree with having that other "A/C" in London in the Winter which used to be called "heat."

That Top-Secret hotel that Julia mentioned is likely the Riverbank Plaza. You might want to check Hotwire too - I don't know if that hotel would be available there, or if the price would be cheaper.

Thanks again to all of you for more good suggestions and advice. And especially you Dukey for the A/C support!!! YAY !!

I will continue looking through the sites you suggest and await others for more, if any.

I don't think AC is that hard to find if you are willing to pay for it, that's just the issue. I suspect it may not be so great in less than a 3* hotel, and I wouldn't look to B&Bs for it (I know there are some B&Bs that are just very expensive hotels).

I stayed in the 4* Millenium Bailey's hotel in Kensington, a very good location right across from a tube stop -- in August -- and the AC was very good. It wasn't really that hot a couple days, but I know it worked fine. I used Londontown for that, also.

I stayed just after the London bombing two years ago at the Hilton Euston hotel. It has AC and they had then a good offer of 80 pounds/night. I liked the location with lots of buses nearby (one almost at the door) and also the tube is near. The street where it is was closed sometime after the bombings, and I had exchanged emails with them to see how was the situation (I have a disability , so I wanted to arrive at the door) and they were very resposive and accomodating.
It's not a luxury Hilton, but I liked it a lot and wouldn't hesitate to turn back if the price is right for me :)

I've used Londontown 7 or 8 times a have found them completely reliable. On our last trip this past March, I had booked 3 days at Bailey's, then we were leaving London for 3 days, then another 3 days at Bailey's. About a month after I nade the reservation we decided to stay the whole 9 days in London. It took me 5 minutes to cancel our previous reservations and make new one.

I especially like that you pay the hotel directly, though you do have to supply a CC number at the time of reservation, you are not charged.

We've stayed at the Renbrandt, Bailey's and Harrington Hall, booking throuh Londontown and we have never been given a sub standard room. In fact on our last trip we were upgraded to a Club room at Bailey's for no extra charge.

A few days before your trip they also send you a nice information newsletter on current shows and events in London during your stay.

Christina - thanks for the tip about Millenium Baileys. Looked at their web site, looks good and price is very reasonable.

Kenderina - Hilton Euston gets very mixed reviews on tripadvisor, some pretty bad so I think I would pass on this one but thanks anyway.

Jody - thanks for the good info, especially about londontown.com. I have never used any web site like this, I always deal directly with a hotel I want through e-mails. I may very well try this now though because the savings are pretty great. Can you tell me how it works? I mean how do you deal directly with the hotel if you are going through some sort of agency, which I assume this londontown web site is? Thanks.

It's not an agency, exactly. It's a website that has deals with hotels to advertise them on their website, more or less. So the hotel gets advertising, and marks down rates if they need business, I imagine. So the hotel can get full occupancy when they need it, and respond more directly to pricing as they need in order to get the hotel full. Hotels can't be changing their official room rates constantly, after all. I'm sure the website gets some fee for that advertising, and maybe even a percentage based on bookings.

Just follow the instructions, it works fine. I don't remember them exactly, but as I recall when you put in your order on the website, you get back an email from the hotel itself with the confirmation, and you can email them directly if you want, from that point, if you have any questions or problems.

Flame123, yes, I know it has bad reviews..they had them when I visited.
That's why I don't trust tripadvisor very much.

re the Euston Hilton - there is absolutely nothing wrong w/ it especially for the price. It is similar to The Olympia Hilton in that the rooms are fine and pretty modern - but the location isn't picture perfect.

Euston isn't dangerous or way out in the sticks or anything - just not the nicest of locations.

My personal opinion is that the Hilton Euston is more convenient and more walkable to tourist sights than the Hilton Olympia.

I don't know why you are apologizing for visiting at the end of August - it sounds like a great time to me. But be prepared for weather that is not at all hot.

I just meant both Hiltons are perfectly acceptable properties for the prices - but are not in areas "picky" travelers would appreciate.

Christina - thanks for the more detailed info on how londontown.com works. It sounds great. I will study it some more.

Kenderina - I have always used tripadvisor and found them to be reliable. I guess everyone has different experiences. I wish there would be a way to find out which posts are true and which may be "planted".

Thanks everyone.

I paid 115 pounds including English breakfast and tax at Millennium Knightsbridge, which is a great rate for that location. Hotel was fine, but the a/c didn't work very well.