London accomodations
 

I am going to London at the end of October for eight days. I will be taking a side trip to the countryside as well as an overnight to Paris. I am looking for a bed and breakfast in London. I love the Notting Hill area as well as Knightsbridge but would appreciate any suggestions within any area.

Thank you.

Your budget?

Without knowing your budget its a bit hard, but we were in London in July/August and whilst we had an apartment my sister came too for a week and stayed at this B&B. She loved it and raved about the breakfast and the location, which is right by Regents Park.

Hope it helps!

www.22yorkstreet.co.uk

I would like to keep the room under $200/night. Thanks

aussiedreamer thank you, I will look into this.

My most recent stay in London was arranged through At Home in London, a B&B agency that has upmarket accommodations at very reasonable rates. I'm sure you'll find one of their homes in an area you like.

http://www.athomeinlondon.co.uk/

I should add that I'm a big fan of AirBnB for rooms and apartments:

http://www.airbnb.com/

I second the recommendation for At Home in London, which we have used most happily twice. We stayed in Belgravia once and when our daughter was with us in Bayswater. The agency is great to work with.

AirBnB is not a vacation apartment service. It has two business lines: (1) it connects people who want to rent a room in someone else's abode with the lessors - thus it's essentially paid couchsurfing; (2) it connects short-term renters with short-term lessors but does so anonymously such that neither the renters nor the lessors know the identity of the other party. That leaves little recourse when someone gets screwed either by a renter who ransacks the place or an "owner" who actually has no rights to the apartment in question: http://gawker.com/5827043/sleazy-air...your-apartment.

If you want an apartment, which is a fine idea, use A Place Like Home or any number of similar reputable agencies that market and manage rental apartments, not AirBnB, which does far less to ensure the transactions will be smooth and the properties as advertised.

Just for the record, you have plenty of recourse with AirBnB. Always did but more now since they learned their lesson the hard way. Check the website for all the new mechanisms now in place for renters and rentees. Loads of satisfied customers including me. But I'm not selling anything here, just giving opinion and experience, like anyone, we hope it's from experience, not hearsay.

"<i>we hope it's from experience, not hearsay.</i>"

But newspaper reports and e-mails from the company's CEO might carry weight. Take a look at the last few posts (dated Aug 1 and after) on this loooooong pro and con airBnB thread. Some scary stuff there.

http://www.fodors.com/community/unit...nd-lodging.cfm

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/articl...BUR41KIB6A.DTL

I personally find the email from CEO Brian Chesky particularly unsettling. Sure, they 'fixed' things this month, but talk about shutting the barn door.

Different strokes. Some are comfortable w/this sort of service -- but some are also comfortable w/ Craig's list. There are just too many other safe/secure options IMO.

I appreciate the info regarding AirBnB. Although I'm sure it has worked for many, I have read enough that it does not seem to be the way for me. I have started to look into At Home in London.

If anyone can chime in on the Cotswalds.....please do. My travel partner wants to go for a full day with an overnight. I welcome thoughts on places there as well.

Thanks to everyone for their generosity of thoughts.

"Different strokes. Some are comfortable w/this sort of service -- but some are also comfortable w/ Craig's list. There are just too many other safe/secure options IMO"

Have never used Craig's list so I can't comment on that particular comparison. What I like about AirBnB is the payment/refund system. Yes, lots of agencies all over the world but payment can be cumbersome and expensive. Since I travel on a pretty tight budget if I have to wire money or pay an owner a big deposit, even assuming I get it back, it makes it harder for me. I pay on AirBnB up front with my credit card in US$ and that's that. I choose properties with a liberal refund policy and if I find I have a concern later a refund is given instantly, no questions asked. For me it's been good. After all the recent publicity I also understand the concerns but I'm happy with my experience so far and will continue to use them.

yankee_gal: Re the Cotswolds. Do you plan on driving or relying on public transport for your overnight? Makes a difference re where is practical to stay.

Do you want to keep to the same budget (which is very generous for a country B&B) or do you want to spend less?

If you do plan to have a car, after spending quite a lot of time in the Cotswolds on the long distance paths, this is my personal favorite place to stay in the area so far:

http://www.claptonmanor.co.uk/

Right now we plan on using pubic transportation in the Cotswold. We would love to spend less if possible for a room.

I'm going to inquire about availability at Clapton Manor.

Clapton on the Hill is lovely--but essentially unreachable w/o a car.

If you want to stick to public transport the easiest place is Moreton-in-Marsh because it has a station w/ trains to/from London.

Other places you could get to by bus or taxi from M-i-M would include Stow-on-the-Wold, Chipping Campden, Broadway, etc. If was w/o a car, I'd probably choose Chipping Campden or Stow on th Wold.

This place is in the very center of Chipping Campden (but there are several others) http://www.lygonarms.co.uk/

janisj,this place seems lovely! Is it the thought that two days in this area would be enough to soak up the character?

two full days would give you a nice taste -- more would be better, naturally.

I think w/ just 2 days w/o a car: One day I'd walk or take a cab to Hidcote Manor (2 or 3 miles from Chipping Campden) and maybe to Kiftsgate which is practically next door to Hidcote, and back to Chipping Campden.

The other day I'd take a bus to one or two other villages -- the Tourist office can give you the schedules or you can find them on line. Long walk back to Chipping Campden or bus/taxi back.

Look at Londontown.com I have the Millenium Gloucester which is excellently located , Knightsbridge is nearby, and I'm paying 80 GBP . The Lygon Arms Janisj suggested is Lovely. Less ecpensive and right next to Stow is Wesley House in WInchcombe. they also have an excellent restaurant