London: help with picking which hotel please
 

HI again :)

I have done some looking into hotels and have found a few that are within my budget and from what I can tell, they are fairly close to transportation.

* Ambassadors Hotel 16 Collingham road London.
* Hilton London Olympia 380 Kensington High St
* Thistle Kensington Gardens Bayswater Rd
* Holiday Inn Kensington Forum 97 Cronwell Rd
* Central Park Hotel Queensborough Terrace

Has anyone stayed at any of these hotels and can you offer a little input for me.
Also am I correct in my assumption that they are close to transportation?

Thanks for the help :)

Go to www.streetmap.co.uk and enter just the street name and then click on London Street - it will give you choices and the resulting map should show if there is a tube station nearby. But if there isn't, there are buses to take or a tube station shouldn't be too far anyway.

I've stayed at the Thistle Kensington Gardens. It's an ok hotel, near the Bayswater and Queensway tube stations. I think the Queensway station is still closed, but it is not much of a walk to Lancaster Gate if you need a station on the Central line.

Ah, good to hear from you, midwestgal77. I haven't stayed at any of these hotels, but they look like they're all situated in the Bayswater/Kensington area. You're bound to be close to a tube stop! The Circle line (the yellow one) will probably suit you best, but the Central line (the red one) will be helpful, too. Remember, as long as you're near a tube stop, you can find your way to your destination, even if you change lines.

If they are all comparable and w/i you budget I'd probably choose the Ambassadors. Collingham Rd is more convenient than some of the other locations because it's near the Gloucester Rd tube station. This station is on the Circle (yellow) line AND the Piccadilly (dark blue) line which is more useful for a lot of sightseeing.

The next best location for transport is probably the HI Kensington Forum.

If you are along the Piccadilly line you can get to the S Kens Museums, Harrods, Hyde Park Corner, Piccadilly Circus, Leicester Sq, Covent Garden and the British Museum w/o any changes. Plus it is the direct line in from Heathrow.

And the Circle line will get you to Victoria station, St James Park/Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey/Big Ben/London Eye, and the Tower of London w/o any changes.

Holiday Inn Kensington Forum is very near the Gloucester Road tube station too. About 1 to 1.5 blocks. It's a pretty good hotel, in my opinion. It's large and frequented by airline crews, if that matters to you. But it's near grocery stores, restaurants, Internet cafes, and as mentioned, convenient transport.

Yes, WillTravel is right - either the Ambassadors OR the HI Kensington Forum would be equally convenient.

you guys are all terrific!!!! Thank you so much for your input!!! :)

Hey, Midwestgal77, how are your travel plans going? Any other questions?

hi Merseyheart :)

I am booked and ready to go..in 128 days, but whose counting!!!I booked flight and hotel separate, which I did find to be cheaper. I chose Holiday Inn Kensington Forum, and flying out of Chicago into Heathrow on American Airlines. I'm going to get the passport on Tuesday. I have transportation from hotel to airport when we leave London, but that transport didnt run that late at night for me to get when we arrive. Flight gets into Heathrow at 10:40pm. I have read here about London Transfers...someone named Ray?? Do you know much about that...and should I go ahead and make the arrangements now??? Its still 4 months to go.
Thank you for all your help....I have really learned alot on this site!! :)

Who's counting indeed! :) I haven't used Ray and his car service, but I know other posters on this board have. Maybe you could put that into Fodor's search engine, and see what comes up. (You can always take a taxi, too, but that will cost more.) I'm glad you're getting the passport now. I renewed mine last fall, and it took about six weeks. Let us know if you have any other questions.