We are contemplating making reservations at the Thistle Kensington Palace hotel. I've read that the hotel is about 5-6 blocks from a tube stop. Is that too far? Would it be better to book another hotel closer to the tube for convenience? Thanks for your help.<BR>Jane
Jane, I am also planning a trip to London. In order to help me get a sense for the city I went to Borders book store and purchased a map of London. It has really helped me see where the sights are and the tube stops are. A tube map is also essential because some neighborhoods and their hotels are not on main tube lines. This would mean more travel time as your transfer from one line to the another to get to the main sights. If you get these resources in hand you will be able to make your decision better. Search london tube on this board and you will find the web address for the tube map. The handy map I bought includes all the sights, bus lines and a tube map. A good paper map should be all that you need. Personally, location is critical to me. I do not want to waste precious vacation time commuting!
Just returned from London and stayed at the Thistle Kensington Palace. It is about a 5 or 6 block walk from the High Street Kensington Tube. It was about a 8 or 10 minute walk. There are lots of stores and shopping on High Street so it makes it a nice walk. There is also the Gloucestor Road Tube stop which is a little further of a walk, probably 15 minutes or more but it is through a wonderful neighborhood.<BR><BR>What I loved about London was walking through the neighborhoods, so the walks to the tube were fine for us. Once your in the Tube, your like a hamster in a habitrail.<BR><BR>If you are not into walking, there is a bus stop right across the street from the hotel on High Street.
I guess how far is too far is personal preference. Ric does a nice job of summarizing the distance of the two closest tube stops. We used HS Kens most often, but used Glocester Rd occasionally as well, especially for return to heathrow. The Copthorne Tara is closer to High Street Kensington, if that helps.
Barbara's suggestion of buying some maps prior to booking your hotel is a very good one. Personally, I don't think you will waste all that much time having to do transfers at different stations, so I wouldn't worry all that much about it. If you are very concerned about location, why not choose another Thistle hotel? From reading this board I have learned that the Thistle Victoria is basically on top of the Victoria station (still very quiet, though). Its my understanding that you don't even have to go outside- the hotel has a door directly into the station below.
