London Advice (disabled traveller)
 

I'm going to London from Spain for the second time on July 28th for a weekend. I am disabled (not wheelchair user) and my boyfriend is not :) We will arrive at Stansted Airport. I cannot walk for more than five minutes without being exhausted, no tubes (but some stations on Jubilee Line), can climb to buses. First time I went, I was in a Bayswater hotel and I loved the place but I had to go by taxi without exception, the buses stops were too far for me and I don't want to use so much taxis this time, too expensive !! So my question is ..can you tell me hotels you know that have a bus stop just in front of them ? I mean, not 5 minutes walking (keep in mind that your 5 minutes for me are maybe 15).
In order not to lose valuable time in buses , I would like to be more central than Bayswater, but I'm getting mad thinking about it...a hotel near Liverpool Street ? a hotel near Bankside (which I'm very interested on visiting), a hotel near Covent Garden ? I want to hear you advice, specially about the first question, bus stops at the front door !!! :)))

Best wishes

Patty

Perhaps you could try Thistle Charing Cross: most centrally located for sightseeing, concert halls and theatres, with more than a dozen bus stops right in front of the hotel.

Thank you very much , Judy !! It's a good advice :)) I forgot to add my budget is not in the Ritz band , it's very much down (round 200 euros). But still I can an effort for a very confortable situation :)

many places have multiple bus stops very close by.

But for absolute ease of travel I also think about the Thistle Charing Cross, or maybe the Thistle Victoria. Both are right at mainline train stations and have many bus routes right outside. Victoria is good because tour buses leave from there plus it is also very close to Victoria Coach Station for any out of town trips you might want to take.

Here's one (I haven't stayed there)
Sherlock Holmes Hotel
108 Baker Street--bus stop in front of the hotel

has very good reviews at
tripadvisor.com

It occurs to me: I understand that you don't want to spend a lot of time and effort walking 15 minutes to a bus stop (though in almost all areas of London, there seem to be bus stops every couple of blocks), but on the other hand, I think it would be more important to be on a
<u> main</u> bus line, even if you had to walk a couple of extra blocks to start out. No point in getting off the bus and then having to walk a long distance to most tourist destinations.

You could check any hotels you find/are offered against these bus maps, which show routes in relation to the main attractions (both as a stylised diagram and a 'real' map)

http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tfl/tourist_map.shtml

unfortunately, elaine is right. it's not good enough to be near any bus station and even a choice of a &quot;main&quot; bus station does not solve the problem as no matter how major the bus stop is, it's useless if it is not going your way.

the bus stops are designated by letters depending on where you are going and unfortunately one bus stop &quot;cachement&quot; area has individual stops spread out easily 5 min walk apart.

sorry this is more problem than solution. UK has a very strong &quot;shop-mobility&quot; programme that hires/lends electric scooters to disabled people. perhaps this would be a solution for some of the getting around. from what i know, it is only for short periods like 1/2 day or something like that.

i understand that this is not a overall solution but something to look into.

http://www.justmobility.co.uk/shop/

some of these websites might also be of use

http://www.accessunlimited.com/links.html many links to traveling with disabilities

www.everybody.co.uk


www.wheelchair-travel.co.uk disabled travelers in the UK (info may not be limited to wheelchair use)

www.undiscoveredbritain.com A travel agency that plans trips for the disabled traveler, slow walkers, or others who wish to travel independently with a little help.

The Waldorf Hilton on Aldwych is superbly located for using the buses. Three bus stops (for more than half a dozen different routes) RIGHT outside the front door.

This hotel comes up regularly with Priceline, too.

I agree with djk, we stayed at the Waldorf Hilton on Auldwich which we got on Priceline for $115 USD a night and it is VERY bus friendly. Just bid for a 4* in the SOHO/Mayfair area.

Before advising Priceline, though, it's possible that some of the 4* hotels in the Mayfair-Soho zone are not friendly to buses. Given that any 4* hotel in that zone is a possibility - it does a disservice to suggest a Priceline gamble in this instance.

But Priceline savings might pay for a lot of cabs! Caution is in order, but a bit of research (biddingfortravel.com etc.) might pay off in convenience and savings.

Thank you very much all of you for the great suggestions !! I've looked for them and studied carefully :)
Most of them are too expensive for me on this particular moment but they are valuable options in the future (I'm thinking on going again next year). Mmm, can I use priceline ?? I thought it only worked for US citizens. I will take a look of its website to see if they have any problem with an euro user, haahaha.
Also noted down the disability sites, some of which I didn't know, thanks :)
I've found five posibilities on my range of price and according to the spider maps on buses they seem pretty good..they are Hilton London Euston, Novotel Euston,Mercure London City Bankside and Kensington Close (I really don't want to be in Kensington again but the location seems to be good). ¿What do you think ?
Going to see priceline, see you later :)))

Perhaps you would like to check: www.Londontown.com, there are many hotels (such as Thistle Victoria, Hilton Green Park, Thistle Trafalgar Sqaure) in good locations under your price range.

I have booked rooms in London through the site for 4-5 weeks annually last few years.

Thanks, Judy , I know this web. It's my most visited site in the last weeks along with www.visitlondon.com , looks like a competition between both them :))

I looked at Priceline but it's not suitable for me, I need to be sure I have a twin room or my friend will kill me, hehehe. I've seen you can't choose the hotel there :)

Finally , I took a decision thanks to you all.
Someone told me here about Waldorf Hilton so I visited the website and although this one is out of my budget, I found a nice offer for the Hilton Euston. I &quot;studied&quot; the spider buses maps as you suggested and found it is very well served of buses (I mean, a short distance for me from the hotel) and places to eat :)
I'll tell you how good my decision was when I come back :))