realtor7

Headed to London in the fall with a new twist. I have had both knees replaced in March and as of now still on canes. I think trip is doable and I have reviewed access tube stations on a wonderful new map.
Bloomsbury Fitzrovia and British museum area have the most new updates and like the south bank but need hotel suggestions. Just had a friend really burned by Air BnB so no desire to share her experience. I have been to London but not recently. TIA!

janisj

OK -- forget about the tube -- almost entirely. I did London in on one cane and just a severely strained MCL. Yes- there are a lot of step free stations, but almost every journey will involve one or more stations that are not step free. and if they are step free/there are often still very long walks underground. Plus getting on downward escalators with one cane is hard enough, trying it with two canes is treacherous. Especially in busy stations. And even the 'good' lines like the Jubilee still have several really inconvenient stations.

But not to worry -- the buses are great and very accessible, So I'd plan on buses and occasional taxis plus the DLR.

TDudette

Good luck realtor7!

My problem with stairs is because of asthma but I avoided the Tube altogether. Cabs and busses worked fine. I stayed at:

Strand Palace Hotel
372 Strand, London WC2R 0JJ
https://www.strandpalacehotel.co.uk/us/

It is about 5-10 minutes walk from Trafalgar Square and there were all kinds of busses in front of the hotel. Would the few steps up into the bus be a problem?

Here's my TR--hope it helps: Madrid and London

janisj

. . . can't advise re hotels without knowing your budget. Renting flats is fine, but I haven't used airbnb in London because there are quite a few reputable agencies and Aparthotels so no real need to.

starrs

A fellow Fodorite, amwosu, told me about the hub hotels. I LOVED them!
https://www.premierinn.com/gb/en/hub.html
Virtually brand new when I stayed there last April. New. High tech. VERY comfortable. Small-ish rooms but small prices too! The "small" room has a full bed but set up in daybed style. VERY comfortable bed. Their "bigger" room has a walk around bed. Full sized bathrooms. Great TVs, etc. that you can control via your smartphone app. A casual restaurant / eating area downstairs for breakfast and light meals. Truly one of my favorite hotels at a great price.

I stayed at the one at Westminster St James Park for the first part of my visit. After a quick trip to Paris I returned to stay at the Covent Garden location for the West End shows part of my trip.

I agree about skipping the tube. I loaded up an Oyster car with plans to use it primarily, but ended up taking black cabs most of the time. I like SEEING the city rather than traveling underneath it. I gave my Oyster card away friends who were headed out a few weeks later for their trip.

Take a serious look at the hubs. They are fantastic at fantastic prices!

PalenQ

https://www.travelodge.co.uk/search/...YaApxVEALw_wcB

Travel Lodges are all over London and like Premier Inns a good value and modern.

starrs

They may be "good value" and "modern" and comparable to Premier Inns' tradtional rooms.

The hubs are VERY different - from both the Travelodge rooms as well as the Premier Inns' traditional rooms.

Take the time to actually LOOK at the hub hotels' website. A few extra minutes comparing the reviews, example Covent Garden locations, will demonstrate the difference in style, value and outsanding reviews for hubs.

janisj

starrs

Just to clarify - I am not recommending Premier Inns' room.
I am recommending hub hotels, which are a new brand owned by Premier. They are not Premier Inns.
I'm not sure how to make that more clear, but maybe these examples may help,

A Hampton Inn would be comparable to a Holiday Inn Express. They are similar price points with amentities (free breakfast and wifi) by two different major hotel groups (Hilton and IHG)
A Holiday Inn Express hotel is different from a Holiday Inn hotel. They are both very different from an Intercontinental, although all three are in the IHG group.
An Intercontinental (IHG) could be compared to a Conrad (Hilton) - and while I'm mentioning a Conrad, the afternoon tea at the Conrad near the hub Kensington St. James may be one of the best afternoon teas I've ever had.
The IHG group created the first boutique hotel "chain" with the Indigo hotels. They were created to compete with the Kmpton group hotels, but then IHG bought Kimpton and now owns both brands.

So, compare Premier Inns with Travellodges all day long if you want.

But a hub by Premier hotel is VERY different from a Premier Inns hotel, although they are owned by the same chain, they are VERY different.

In fact, the hub concept is VERY different from any hotel group's brand. They've created a new niche market. It's fabulous - very high tech and very low priced. The original rooms were about 67 euros a night. Then they added the "bigger room" (their name for the bigger room because the original ones were too small for many) and their high tech concept is VERY different. Note: hubs are not good for more than 2 in a room.

walkinaround

Pricing with Premier Inn can vary greatly day to day as well as by location so it can be difficult to compare. I think the ones up near Kings Cross are usually significantly cheaper than the ones just a little south and KX is a great location. County Hall (housing a Premier Inn and a Marriott), although often highly praised on this board for some reason, wouldn't be my first choice as the very immediate area around it is pretty dreadful. Southbank is nice but County Hall...no thanks. Except if you have a room with a nice Thames view, I don't know why anyone would seek it out for location.

I'd rather have a consistently nice, clean modern room with a solid European quality bathroom (as Premier Inns generally have) and a well run hotel than a lackluster "full service" hotel with an awkward old-English bathroom (we all love wooden toilet seats in a hotel, don't we? and poor ventilation, and separate hot/cold taps) and the room just barely nice enough to look good in pictures but old, poorly maintained, musty, unclean, and poor attention to detail. Of course this isn't how all "full service" hotels are but mid-priced london hotels can be pretty poor value. With Premier Inn you will consistently get good value. They are in a great position because the competition is so far out of step. I suppose TravelLodge too but I don't stay with them as my perception (rightly or wrongly) is not very positive but I'm sure they are decent value too compared to overpriced "full service" 3 star hotels. Yes, they are cheaper but I'm happy to pay slightly more for a Premier Inn as I've grown to trust it more (just personal feeling).

Hub is good too but I have less experience with it. More with Citizen M which is like Hub but more stylish (I believe they were one of the first with the small room, high style, high quality concept. Great common areas in Citizen M hotels too which is part of the concept - i.e. get out of your small room and work/socialise/drink/eat in the smartly lit and stylish common areas.

starrs

One important lesson learned. I will NEVER use the full name again = hub hotels by Premier Inn.
From now on, I will only say "hub hotels".
Given most people don't take the time to click on links anyway, there's no need to reference the full name and complicate things by using the P word.

https://www.premierinn.com/gb/en/hub.html
Unfotunately, the P word is in the link, but since most people don't look at them or cliick on them, from now on it will be just...hub hotels.

Edited to add: I've never stayed in a P Inn. I'm not sure about the T one. MAYBE if that was the name of the chain we used by the side of the motorways when driving from London to Scotland, but that was almost 30 years ago so would not use that as a current recommendation anyway.

walkinaround

Crossed posts. I get it but there is nothing wrong with 'regular' Premier Inn either. It's not correct to say that Premier Inn created this concept/niche market with Hub. They most certainly did not. No problem with a copy as it seems to be done well but let's be clear, they copied the concept as it is a threat to the traditional Premier Inn. They did not invent it. They were pretty late with it, in fact. Others chains are yet to follow (not doubt they will).

walkinaround

No, I get it. A comment on Premier Inn does not mean that I don't understand that Hub is a separate brand. Others commented on Premier Inn, you know.

thursdaysd

I was in London last fall with knees that I would not trust to stairs. The only time I used the tube (apart from an excursion to the suburbs) was to get to Heathrow (where I had wheelchair assistance, and REALLY needed it as it is a route march to the gates).

I stayed in the Premier Inn St Pancras across from the British Library, which was very close to bus stops in both directions. I looked at the Hub hotels and preferred the Premier Inn, where I had a large room (with a view of the roofs of the beautiful and expensive St Pancras Renaissance) with a good bed, a good shower, elevators, and AC.

starrs

I know YOU do!

I didn't know there were similar high tech, smaller rooms with great beds and with natural light (sometimes creatively) at a super low price. Like I said earlier, amwsou introduced me to the hubs. What are the other chains?

janisj

I got it too - 100%. Why all the angst? It is pretty obvious Hub and Premier Inns are different. Just like HI And HI Express are different and other groups with different brands. Pal brought up Travelodges comparing them to Premier Inns -- (he didn't mention Hub at all). My comment was ONLY re his comparison of Premier Inn as a brand to Travelodge as a brand.

A lot of people would prefer larger rooms than Hub's provide, while others would appreciate the trendy/modern vibe. The so far mentioned Hub by Premier Inn, Premier Inn, Strand Palace, Travelodge - are all reasonable suggestions.

walkinaround

CitizenM (already mentioned) and Yotel for two. Zhotel is another although a later entry. Marriott has got into that game. Others too. I'm not in the hotel business but for the last 15 or so years, it seems to be a very fast growing segment.

I think CitizenM is the best example of the concept - best small rooms and cool public space where young, "digital" types are happy to work, drink, socialise. From a brand perspective, it's 100% cool and original - still independent of the big chains - originating in Netherlands. As stated, I'm a fan of (regular) Premier Inn but it's not a 'cool brand' so Hub is at a disadvantage playing in this space with the Shoreditch types. Premier Inn, as a brand, is synonymous with budget while the CitizenM brand is synonymous with cool. Hub trades strongly under the Premier Inn brand by design (rightly or wrongly). Appealing public spaces are a key part of this concept and other chains (e.g. Ibis brands) with regular style rooms are making over their public spaces to be less like a hotel and more like an independent 'cool' space. Premier Inn and TravelLodge have some of the most uninspiring public spaces which is a mystery because a little money spent there can change the character of the hotel and it's a profit centre. Generally I shy away from hotel restaurants and bars but sometimes I go into a Citizen M to work or relax and have a drink, even when I'm not staying there. Much better atmosphere than most coffee shops. I can't imagine wandering into a Hampton Inn, for example, to have a coffee.

starrs

Thanks! I'm not familiar with CitizenM at all. I did check their website and they have 4 hotels in the US, in NYC (2), Seattle and Boston. That model is obviously the inspiration for Marriott's Aloft hotels and HIlton's Tru hotels - although I had no idea (before this thread) that was the the inspiration. Thanks for the info.

And I agree about not walking into a Hampton Inn for a coffee. The coffee is free for guests and not for purchase as in a coffee shop. Interestingly, the Alofts and Trus I've stayed in (in the states) have not been in a location where one would be walking by and stroll in, given they've been in fairly isolated locations and not city centers or pedestrian areas.

Thanks for the info!

bilboburgler

I would recommend Premier Inn. I would not recommend Travel-Inn to anyone. Too often dirty, too often in the wrong place, but sometimes very cheep. Below Travel-Inn is Britannia Hotels, avoid avoid.

thursdaysd