Hi,
Me and a good friend will be doing a tour of Europe in December. The tour starts and ends in London, but it is not included in the trip. So, we will be exploring London on our own for about 5 days on the start of the trip and two days on the end. We are both in our early 20s and really don't know much about London (yet!). Really any advice would be great, but a hotel is a great start! We are looking to spend around $100 a night on the hotel, but since it's going to be cold we think we want to be near a tube station. We don't know which area to stay in though. We would like somewhere with a good night life because we are not really sure about taking public transportation at night.
Any suggestions about what to see, and what to see when would be great also!
Thanks,
L

You could start with

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...wenties.cfm?15

and the destination guides here, or a range of guidebooks, to start you off with an overview of what's where so you can decide what is important to you and what isn't. Everyone firing off their own personal favourites here may not be particularly helpful to you; but once you have some ideas of what you might want to do and where you want to stay, we can fill in any gaps or spot any potential pitfalls.

On one point, you can be re-assured now. Public transport in London at night is not a problem, provided you keep your street-smarts about you, just as you would at any other time. It's as busy with as varied a collection of people as during the day. If you're out late enough to be on the night buses (from out 00:30 onwards), you will find that many of the people on it are just tired shift-workers.

I would stay at B&B Belgravia. It is a short 2 block walk from Victoria Station. It is in a quiet neighborhood with a nice breakfast included. They do have a website that you can book directly on. Our last visit was at this B&B and very well done.
Again it is an easy two block walk to Victoria...there is a nice local pub/steak restaurant on the corner among others. Margaret Thatcher lives just round the corner.

I would suggest you take a look at Priceline.com and consider bidding on a hotel. Priceline lists 13 areas of London with Kensington/Earls Court as the area for the best deal. You certainly don't have to bid on that area alone. One my last trip, I stayed at a Hilton across the street from the Edgeware Road tube station and paid $65 a night. I prefer the Marble Arch area, but that's just personal preference. Do a little research and decide what area you like to stay. I've been to London maybe 25 times and have never stayed more than a 15 minute walk to an underground station.

December is a great time to use Priceline and the rooms are really cheap. I've stayed in B&B's, small hotels, and the German YMCA, but since I discovered I can stay in a Hilton or a Marriott for less money, I always use Priceline. In December I am going to Belgium, Netherlands and Cologne Germany and used Priceline to book rooms at all locations. $65 for the Renaissance Marrott in Cologne was the cheapest and $77 for the NH Center in Amsterdam was the most expensive. All listed as 4 or 5 star hotels.

Check out Betterbidding.com or Biddingfortravel if you are unfamiliar with Priceline. They can give you instructions on how to bid and have listing of winning prices of others who've booked hotels.

I did a quick check of prices of the B&B Belgravia and a double room in December war 154 pounds a night, or about $225 if you are an American. You could probably find something cheaper at a B&B on Sussex Garden Road, but I feel pretty confident you can get a 4* anywhere in London for $70 - 100 dollars if you use Priceline.

$100 a night is low for London, even in winter. I suggest you try bidding on Priceline for a room. See biddingfortravel.com or betterbidding.com for bidding strategies.

If you don't feel comfortable with Priceline, some budget options to consider are:

<u>Vandon House Hotel</u>: Victoria/Westminster area. £75($116) per night for twin room, shared bathroom. http://www.vandonhouse.com/rooms.html
http://goo.gl/TTEpu

<u>Ridgemount Hotel</u>: in Bloomsbury. £66 ($102) per night for a twin-bedded room with shared bathroom; £86 ($133) for ensuite.
http://www.ridgemounthotel.co.uk/
http://goo.gl/qDu97

<u>Morgan Guest House</u>: near Victoria Station. £78 ($121) for twin room with shared bathroom. http://www.morganhouse.co.uk/
http://goo.gl/v4VwA

<u>London School of Economics</u>: Offers vacation rentals from December 10, 2011 to January 7, 2012 and year-round residences in central locations. http://www.lsetopfloor.co.uk/

You can check Tripadvisor for traveler reviews and traveler pictures of these and other hotels. Pretty much anywhere in central London is near a tube station.

For travel around London, check out Oyster pay-as-you-go cards. Much cheaper than paying for point-to-point single tickets. http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tickets/14836.aspx

agedude, I stepped away from my computer as I was writing this post, so didn't realize you had already suggested Priceline, bidding for travel, and betterbidding. It looks goofy to suggest something someone else has just suggested. Oh, well, won't be the first time I have looked goofy

No problem my friend. You gave great advice and offered inexpensive alternatives should the traveler choose not to use Priceline.

A good website for accommodation and also loads of things to see and do is www.londontown.com

They have a map which shows where the hotels are and how much for your dates. It also shows proximity to the tube stations. I agree with Patrick, above, public transport in London is used by everyone, from all walks of life. If you are staying in central London and have some commonsense then you should be fine using public transport at all times. The tube runs to about midnight and starts again around 5.30am. Good info from Transport for London, including maps and Oyster Cards, www.tfl.gov.uk

Do you mean US$? There are lots of countries that use dollars. If it's US$100, that's not much, London hotels are expensive. Check out LSE, website given above, they are student rooms they let at break times, some great central locations.

Kay

http://www.london30.com/

$100 is quite low for London. As you see in walkabout's post - those are all well located budget/basic hotels, and all are a bit above your $100 at today's exchange rate. (Of course, if the rate changes significantly between now and then they could be better or worse deals)

And be aware w/ Priceline. Yes you can usually get a nice 4 star property for around $100, but after adding taxes/fees you'll be up around $125.

You'll be able to find something, but it may take a hunt - even hostels will be close to your budget.

Me personally - I'd prefer a well located/well run place w/ a shared bath like the Morgan GH than a dump near Paddington w/ a private bath if that ends up your options.

(Just in case/FYI: There are MANY recommendations on Fodors for 'the Morgan' but most of those are for the Morgan Hotel near the British Museum -different place altogether)

Darlin38, you are very smart to want a lodging near a tube station in the cold moist air of December in London.
Also, as JaniceJ often correctly poits out, Priceline will guarantee a room for only 2--so you and friend may have to share a bed. As long is that is not a problems, PL could work for you.

We stayed in several YHA hostels and were very pleased with the rooms. www.yha.org.uk You should be able to get a private room for somewhere near your price.

Lee Ann