Just returned from London-GoToday.com experience
 

First, thank you to Ben Haines, Wes Fowler and others for great tips and suggestions! Go-Today excellent! Documents arrived 6-8 weeks prior..everything in order. Flight was Virgin Atlantic direct from Boston. Hotelink was transfer company from Heathrow to hotel..Excellent service...waited about 5 minutes after we landed and were the first dropped off. On the return, hotelink was at the hotel at exactly the time they stated and again service was fine. Kensington Posthouse (Kensington Close) was the perfect location for us. Room definitely small by American standards but clean and well kept. Bathroom immaculate! Hotel reception staff extremely cooperative..I was not feeling well when we arrived (7:00 AM) and they allowed us to check in at that time. Less than 5 minute walk to Tube and great shopping, dining on Kensington High Street. Also less than 10 minute walk to Kensington Palace, Gardens and Notiing HIll Area. Would absolutely use this hotel again! No complaints at all for Go-Today.com! One more thing..flew on a Thursday..have in the past flown on Friday night or Saturday (British Airways) Virgin Atlantic flight less than half full...just about everyone had their own ROW! See a lot of questions regarding hotel choices on this board..Bit of advice..concentrate more on the proximity of your hotel to a Tube station than to all the amenities the hotel may offer..you probably won't spend much time in the hotel but if like us you will be on that Tube quite a bit. Will answer any question!

dear earthmover1,<BR><BR>Good advice about the tube station. My last trip to london we had a really good hotel but the tube station was 8-10 blocks away. by the time we got to the tube station each morning I was already tired. <BR><BR>this next trip, the station is right across from our hotel. <BR><BR>How long were you in london and what was your basic iteniary?<BR><BR>erinb

dear erinB:<BR>We were in London Jan 25-30...We have been to London before and have seen the major sites, so our days went like this..definitely try to group things by the area of the city.. DAY 1 -Science museum (James Bond Exhibit) .Serpentine Gallery, walked to Kensington Palace, walked to Notting Hill Gate. (great fish &amp; chips @ Costa's) Dinner at Windsor Castle Pub. Day 2- Portobello Market, Leicester Square to check out Theater Tkts (No Luck) Harrods on a Saturday was nuts (didn't stay long) Took the Jack the Ripper walk on Saturday night with guide Steve..we loved this. Sunday, Day 3 took the London walks to Greenwich..definitely a must for a Sunday..boat ride, guided tour with London Walks and Greenwich Market ( arts and crafts type) Ate pies and mash in Greenwich. Did Soho Pub Walk on Sunday night.Monday-Imperial War museum ( a must see in our opinion), London Eye opened today after winter maintenance, no lines, got right on...Tate Modern (only a must if you are into Modern Art..I am..not many great reviews if not into modern art)Did Madame Tussauds, British Museum for a few hours, Ceremony of the Keys...whew..no wonder we're tired!

Thanks for your report. We've been wondering about Go-Today.<BR>What was your departure city in the U.S.? We have to fly all the way from SFO so are concerned about (relatively) comfortable airplane seats as we're both tall.<BR>

Dear Suzy,<BR>Our departure city was Boston....we live in the Boston area. Originally Go-Today had us booked on a United flight that went from Boston to Washington DC and then to London. As Boston is a major &quot;gateway&quot; city to London I wondered why we were being routed to Dc an then on. Called Go-Today and asked about a direct flight and was given the Virgin Atlantic option. We are experienced travelers and have previously flown British Airways to London. For us all planes seem to have similar seating size. The difference we have noticed is that flying on days other than Friday or Saturday the planes do not seem to be at full capacity, therefore giving more room to spread out.

I'm just reviewing posts now to see what people have to say about the Jack the Ripper tour, as I'm dying to take it, LOL. Yours is one vote up, thanks!<BR><BR>(I hope it's okay to make comments like these; I'm new here.) I know it's not advice I'm giving!

Suzie, I fly from SFO too. Try to get a bulkhead seat. Makes all the difference in the world! I am going in 2 weeks and have bulkhead both directions.<BR><BR>Harrie, Welcome! You can say whatever you like, as long as it's not mean and pertains to travel.<BR><BR>Question: I want to go on the London Eye, after many trips without doing it. Do I get tickets in advance or just show up? Will be there March 7-11. Any day of the week that's better than others? Any ideal time of day?

Earthmover1 - I'm also taking the go-today London trip - mine is mid March, also flying on a Thursday. I noticed you went to Portobello market on Saturday. What was your reaction to it? I've heard it can be really really crowded so not worth while, others say it's great. I'm just interested in the flavor of a London market, maybe getting some inexpensive stuff - no big antiques. What did you think of it?

harrie - we did a number of london walks last june and we're going back this spring with our teens to do more. my wife, the mystery buff, loved jack the ripper. i liked other walking tours more. b-t-w, the sunday ripper crowd was enormous. make sure you tour when the author lectures, not his assistants).

EARTHMOVER: how was the James Bond Exhibit? Did you buy your tickets in advance or the day of? Thanks!!

earthmover-<BR>glad to hear your review of gotoday. Have long considered using them, but hadn't heard many reviews.<BR>Isabel-<BR>I went to the Portobello market on a Sat. It was in Febuary, so probably much less crowded than summer. There still was a crowd there...but great people watching. I no nothing about antiques, so just bought a few small things, but I wound up spending much more time than intended just rambling around watching the &quot;regulars&quot;<BR>grace

Grasshopper: I'm interested to know how you are able to reserve bulkhead seats in advance. I've always been told by different airlines that they do not release those until the day of flight. What am I doing wrong?

JJ, I'm flying United and I booked on the website. They come up on the &quot;book your seat&quot; link. I'm thinking maybe because of my FF status?

Thanks so much for the welcomes! I'm finding out so much just reading the posts here, and getting very excited about my trip in April! Thanks for the tips!

My husband and I just did the go-today thing as well (2/12 through 2/19). It was so cheap we didn't even have to stay with his parents (who live there)! The hotel room was small and noisy (Ramada Marylebone), but the tube station was so close it was worth it. I even LOST our tickets and vouchers on the way in from Heathrow, but we had no problem with the hotel or return air. Flew out of Newark on United (flight 3/4 full) and back to Newark through a VERY small hopper from Dulles (D.C.). That was the only negative part of the trip. Tried to switch to a direct flight back, but United only had one scheduled from Heathrow and/or Gatwick--booked solid. I will try to change this beforehand if I use go-today again.<BR><BR>Otherwise, it was great!

We used Go-Today a couple of years ago and had a great experience. Just booked a London excursion with them for this summer.

Harrie, I took the Jack the Ripper walk in London last October and loved it. I strongly suggest that you schedule your tour on a night that Donald Rumbelow is conducting the walk. He is considered &quot;the&quot; authority on Jack the Ripper. He always draws a large crowd but it's definitely worth it. He does a great job of keeping everyone together and making sure that he is heard. Enjoy!! (check [email protected])