<y wife and I are looking for a nice hotel in London for our one night layover on our way to South Africa. I have posted about this before and was going to try to use priceline, and some Fodorites suggested to check out biddingfortravel, so I did and almost all the hotels that people had got thru priceline they HATED! So now I am posting again We fly into Gatwick and out of Heathrow and I think about the only thing we want to see is the tower of london, we are looking to spend about $200 for the night. Any ideas would be great, also if you could tell me why you like a specific place. We just got back from Thailand last month, and am trying to remember that our hotel in europe will not be the same as in asia!
one final question, is big ben far from the tower of london? I think we might want to see it just so we could say our favorite line from one of our favorite movies( look kids, big ben, parliment!)? thanks for your time and your help! Jeffrey

hi travelduo,

If you can afford $200 a night, pic the Millennium Bailey's on Gloucester road or the Millennium Gloucester. The area is so convienent and has a lot to offer.

As far a siteseeing, I do not know how much time you have, but I would consider an original london bus tour which would take you buy all the main sites in just a couple of hours. One of the bus tours include a river cruise ride back from the tower to the westminster abbey, big ben area.

The MB hotel regularly goes for about 100 pds for a double.

hope this helps!

enjoy!

Both good suggestions above..they are in a very nice neighborhood, close to the tube and bus lines,and lots of restaurants nearby. Also you might try the Rembrandt..in the same area, just a bit closer to Harrods!
I got very good prices on both the Baileys and the Rembrandt (£80 at www.londontown.com) for 2 stays in November. The Rembrandt included a huge buffet breakfast.

We loved our 4* Priceline hotel in London. And if you're willing to spend up to $200/night, you could bid on a 5*. You might want to reconsider.

Getting from The Tower to Big Ben takes 33 minutes on the District Line (11 minutes under ground). You would walk to Tower Hill station, ride the tube to Westminster, then walk to Big Ben.

Option 2: Take a city bus (this will involve a change of buses, which could be complicated for a first-timer, but fun nonetheless). Take a 15 bus at Tower Hill and ride to Trafalgar Square. Get a 12, 159, 453, 11, or 26 to Westminster. You could also hike the second leg; it's probably a 10-minute walk.

Option C: Get on a riverboat at Tower Pier and see a bit of central London from river level. Alight at Westminster Pier.

Thank you all very much! Going to look at all the options now.