Hotels for families in London
 

Hi all. Can anyone give me a recommended hotel for London for the 4 of us?

As usual, tripadvisor reviews were not too kind to the Holiday Inns in the area. We have some points and were hoping to get one night with these.

We'd like 2 double beds, a/c and convenient to a tube stop.

Any ideas?

We stayed at the Marriott County Hall just across the bridge from the Westminster stop. It is pretty pricey (in my mind), but if you have Marriott points it is a good choice. Otherwise, in the same building there is the Premier Travel Inn which has quads as well, at a much lower price.

Actually, the tripadvisor for Holiday Inn Kensington Forum was actually pretty good...if you read through the negative posts, they were usually from someone with unrealistic expectations...it is very convenient to Gloucester Tube...just 2 blocks.
If you don't want that one the Metropole (Hilton) has a good number of double rooms.
I actually got Holiday Inn KF for $84 US a night for 5 nights..on priceline.
Tara

two double (or queen) beds in the UK is fairly rare in the UK. Hotels usually are not set up w/ 2 big beds like is common in the States. There are family room that often have room for 2 adults -- sometimes w/ twins or a twin and a rollaway. But since the rooms also tend to be smaller than in the States that presents its own set of problems.

How old are the children. If under 15, four of you can stay in one room at the County Hall Premier Travel Inn. But if one is over 15 you are out of luck there.

For most families, renting an apartment is a much better idea. A 1-bdrm flat w/ a double bed and sofa sleeper or futons/daybeds will give you three times the space for about the same price as a hotel. Plus you'd have a kitchen and washing machine.

karens, if I had Holiday Inn points, I'd stay at the Holiday Inn Mayfair in a heartbeat. In fact, we will be staying at the Holiday Inn Mayfair again next month and I'm not using points. We stayed at this hotel in March and loved it. It has 2 double beds, has a/c, and couldn't be closer to a tube stop if it tried. The rooms have all been re-done recently and it is quite nice. The location is amazing.

Our family of four just returned from Europe about a 2 wks ago. We stayed at the Holiday Inn Kensington on 100 Cromwell. We stayed for 2 nights at 96 and 100 GPB per night.

Here are my thoughts on it;

The negatives; We were not able to check in until 4:30pm. Then once we did, the room had not been vacumned (large crumbs on the floor). Upon check-out, we were inadvertently charged for internet, which we did not access (they did deduct that)

The positives; The price was right and the location awesome. The train station is just across the street and we were really close to the Natural History Musuem and others. The hotel is smaller and more quaint than the Holiday Inn Kensington Forum that is almost directly across the street.

So even though it wasn't a "perfect" choice, it was just fine and I would probably book with them again.

Another vote for the Holiday Inn, Mayfair. Perfect location for a family in one of the nicest areas of London.

I don't know how I missed the Holiday Inn Mayfair when searching - it sounds great. It doesn't have a pool does it?

The only other option I found was maybe the Marriott kensington, which does have a pool. Poutine - the Marriott County Hall sounds wonderful, but tripadvisor says the rooms are $450/night, and that's too much for us. We only have 16,000 Marriott points, and that does NOT go far in London!

Thanks so much - I am so amazed by all the helpful info I get here!!

If you aren't able to get the Holiday Inn Mayfair, try the Premier Travel Inn County Hall. It is great value for the location, which is why it always books up early.

The Marriott County Hall is expensive, both in dollars and points (150,000 for a week).

Try Le Meridien in Piccadilly
We were able to get a rate of 150GBP per night in March/April 2007 through their starwood membership site

It does have a pool

Marriott Marble Arch does two double beds.
I think there is a pool in the basement, too.

That's funny. I thought about our hotel stay when I read your post. Ironically we stayed at a Holiday Inn but it was a Forum hotel in 2001 (was just changing ownership). It's in Kensington. And we paid alot for a so-called triple room. I think it was called a triple because we were a family of three, but it was as small as a regular double room. I know London hotel rooms are pretty small, but the Forum room was not worth the money-very basic.

Do you have a preferred area of London? Also, how much are you willing to spend?

you may want to try some apartment hotels,
try
http://www.goin2travel.com
or do a google serch for apartment hotels.

Hi all. I'd say we are willing to spend around $300 (American)/night IF it can sleep 4, has a pool and laundry facilities. (We will be forced to pack light since we'll be lugging our bags into and out of London on the trains). The Holiday Inn recommended here seemed more reasonable than that.

I am aware what I am asking for - I know London hotels are $$$. I also think that I am the only one planning travel to London right now.

If you can do without the pool, you might consider renting a flat. You'd get more bang for your buck.

Hey! We're staying at the Holiday Inn Kensington Forum for 5 nights next month...the reviews were pretty good if you know to expect it's a big non-charm hotel...but what makes it more attractive to me is that we got TWO rooms for $160 a night...they were advertising their rooms for 160+ pounds a night which would be well over $250 a night PER room or $500 a night for two...fot $160 I'm feeling I can stand any negative comments! :) I used Priceline and only requested 4 and 5* hotels...hope this helps...

It is very close to Gloucester Tube...the reviews rave about the location..so that might help.

Also the Hilton Metropole sometimes has Pound for dollar rates and they do have family rooms with 2 doubles and a sofa...keep your eye on them, too. Or go for a smaller boutique hotel where some have family rooms for four...there aren't many but you can find some for under $300. London Lodge Hotel and Knightsbridge Green both have AC and are close to a tube.

Good luck!
Tara

I was looking at the Holiday Inn Mayfair reservations online feature for next June. They expect the full non-refundable amount paid immediately upon booking! I've not run into this before. Usually a hotel just expects the first night deposit, and it's refundable should cancellation be necessary. Anything can happen in ten months - so it makes me want to wait until quite a bit closer to travel dates. Do most London hotels require the full amount up front?

My family of four stayed at the Holiday Inn in Kensington in 2005 and we had a very positive experience. The location was great with tube station right across the street.

We stayed at the Hilton in Kinsington for $99. from priceline just last month. We bid on 2 rooms/ 2 nite in the begining of our trip(newer part of hotel) 1 nite end of trip (older part of hotel)had the better rooms. Good area, we were pleased. Good luck

Got Thistle Charing Cross in April for less than $100 per night on priceline. It is a very good hotel in a great location.

Just wanted to mention the Novotel, Waterloo. A short walk from Lambeth North tube station.

We had great views of the Eye, Big Ben and glimpses of the Thames from the 6th floor. Breakfast included for 109 GBP a night. The rooms sleep 4 comfortably. We were upgraded on a week night to a suite and on the weekend we stayed in a different room which had a queen bed plus a sofa bed which actually unfolded into two twin beds (kids preferred this to sharing sheets)

To crazy,
usually London hotels don't require you to pay upfront. This sometimes happens if they offer a really good rate (internet only rates, etc)or if it's for a date a long way off....

Thank you, thank you, for the recommendations of the London Holiday Inn Mayfair. It was a GREAT location - we walked a lot. The room was nice and the tube stop was super close. Another benefit: it was on the same tube as Heathrow, so that first, jet lagged day we didn't have to change trains with our luggage.

It was sooo $$$$$, though. Thankfully, we had 2 of our 4 nights paid with priority club points.