bc

My husband, mother, and I are planning on traveling to London sometime late summer/fall. We have only been there once--in 2002. For some reason my 75 year old mother has expressed a desire to go again and since she seldom makes those kind of requests, I want to be able to fulfill it for her. The last time we went we used a travel agent. Since that travel agent has retired, I am trying to book things myself (which I normally do with our other vacations--USA and cruises). I have been looking at some of the airline websites for package deals. So far it seems that there are better deals with Orbitz and Hotels.com. I have always been hesitant about using any of those types of services though. Does anyone have any experience with a particular type of package? We are not interested in a group tour---my mother moves pretty slowly, so we need to go at our own pace, and we found London very easy to get around. Our budget is limited, but not shoestring. We normally stay in 2-3 star "tourist" or "budget" type hotels. Clean, decent location, but not big or fancy. Just wondering if you have any good advice for me. Thanks.

Lori

Book it yourself I would suggest NOT using any service where you had to pay the full amount for hotel in advance tho. If anything happens between now and the trip to your mother (75 is not old, but things can happen, I am not trying to be morbid here) you may need to change plans.

Also - look real carefully at the price quoted. If it looks to good to be true the VAT (tax) is probably not included and that is one heavy hunk of money.

Since you are not going for a luxury hotel perhaps an apartment might be a better choice. It would give you more room and a place to prepare snacks, etc. You did not mention if you want two hotel rooms or one (I'd opt for two). We stay at Scala House apartments when we are in London, it's very convenient as the tube is right around the corner and there is a TESCO grocery store across the street. All apts. are two bedroom and there is a full bathroom as well as a "clockroom" which has a toilet and sink. Full kitchen too (great for a quick meal or keeping snacks around). You might want to check their website.

British Airways (as well as AA, etc.) offer hotel packages which I am sure are fine. Do some research on the hotel itself tho before you make a decision. The lower category hotels may be less then wonderful.

bc

Thanks for your response. I guess I always thought (or heard) that booking the hotel/air together as a "bundle" save money. Is that not always true? The price I am finding on Hotels.com is about half of what I am seeing on the airline websites. Has anyone had experience with them? Thanks for the info. on Scale House.

Intrepid1

For London I would <b>also</b> look at the www.londontown.com website if you decide to book a hotel &quot;indivdiually.&quot; if for no other erason than for price comparison purposes.


I have found their prices to be sometimes considerably cheaper than for the same hotels found at other discounter sites such as discounthotel.com

I would definitely not use Orbitz or any other service which required the entire payment upfront UNLESS the prices were significantly better.

hs26

My family of 3 just returned from London. I booked an airfare and hotel package from Go Today and was very happy. When we go again I will book the exact same package. They give you a choice of hotels at different price points. Pick out a few hotels and then research the hotels using trip advisor or even the Go Today website. We stayed at the Hotel Nikko Montcalm which is in the Marble Arch area. I believe we were able to stay in a nicer hotel than would otherwise have been able to afford if we booked air and hotel separately.

Lori

I might add that if you go with a hotel package price it out separately before booking. Sometimes the hotel's own website may offer &quot;deals&quot; too. Again, be very sure VAT is included. Also note if breakfast is included. Amongst some travelers there is still a misconception that all European hotels inlcude it -- not so. Some do, some don't, and with some that do it is a continental breakfast only, not &quot;full English Breakast&quot;. With the Pound what it is against the Dollar you want to figure out everything very carefully.

bc, I'd also like to suggest you consider a car pickup service for the 3 of you when you arrive/depart. For 3 people the cost will be less then Heathrow Express/taxi combo. While I love the London tube I would never recommend it as transport in/out from Heathrow after a long flight (and with an older person). Comfort goes a long way at that point and door to door service is great. There are several companies recommended on this board all the time and all are good. It's one price for the car (not per person) plus tip. If you come into Gatwick then the Gatwick Express to Victoria makes sense and then a taxi to the hotel.

These are just my opinions, I realize others on this forum are great advocates of taking the tube/public transport from Heathrow, but if I were taking my mother I'd opt for a car service (heck, I do it for myself !!)

bc

Thanks for the info. I have looked at Go-Today, but after all of the &quot;add-ons&quot; to their advertised prices (we don't live in one of their gateway cities), it was too expensive for us. I will keep trying. As far as paying the cost upfront, that does not worry me too much....even if I book myself, I will have to pay for the airline tickets upfront, and that seems to be the most significant expense (vs. hotel cost). When we were in London in 2002, we used one of the shuttles from the airport to the hotel. It stopped at several different hotels (we were lucky, we were first to be dropped off and last to be picked up). Does that still seem to be a good option, or is the car service worth the extra price?

Lori

bc, we prefer the car service option simply because they meet you as you exit customs (holding sign with your name) and you are driven straight to your hotel with no stops. It's a comfort issue for us, we have a 10+ hour flight to London and a 90 min. drive to the airport (plus needing to be there 2-3 hrs ahead of time). For us it's a LONG day/night so not dealing with any sort of public transport (even a shuttle bus) makes sense. To us, it is money well spent, we might cut back on something else, but always use a car service to get to/from airport.

We use Ray Skinner at www.london-transfers.com (Ray is a real character, we really enjoy him) but www.justforairports is wildly recommended on this board as well.

Intrepid1

If you are flying in and out of Heathrow the cheapest option into Central London is probably using the Tube. It isn't necessarily the fastest but it would be cheaper than any car service and the Heathrow Express.

if you are coming in from Gatwick I think the train is your best bet since the traffic can apparently be horrendous and that would affect any car service or bus transfers..as will the congestion in Central London.

others may have differing opinions.

starfish1

bc, I will jump in here just to caution you about booking with a service like Hotels.com. If you do end up booking with them or a similar service, make sure you confirm directly with the hotel that you do in fact have a reservation. I recently read about a couple who booked a room using Hotels.com in Thailand. They received a fax confirmation from the booking company but when they arrived at the hotel, no reservation existed and there were no rooms available. Four hours later they finally found a vacancy at a less than desireable hotel and ended up paying more than their original room. Hotels.com did refund them the difference but the hassle would not be a great way to start a trip. So, a good idea always to confirm anyway, whether you book through a service or if you book yourself.

janisj

Air/hotel packages seldom are a bargain. remember, you have to pay X 3. Rooms, suites and apartments are priced as a unit

You can almost certainly get a nice large 1-bedroom flat (w/ a sofa sleeper) or a 2bdrm place for much less than the hotel portion of three air/hotel packages

bc

Thanks so much to all of you. That is exactly what I was wondering....if I could actually do better pricing things individually. So far, the airfare is sooooo expensive. Hotels.com had such a great price, but that is exactly what I wanted to know....if there were any problems with them. I don't want to be stuck in London with nowhere to sleep so I guess I will stick with booking my own hotel/airfare. If anyone else has any &quot;tips&quot; I will be grateful.

Merseyheart

bc, the &quot;shuttle&quot; you're thinking of is probably the Airbus, which has been discontinued (or so I'm told). So, you might have an easier time taking a car service from the airport, just because of the luggage. It depends on how mobile your mother is--it can vary at that age. I love the tube, but not for luggage (it requires a lot of walking, as you may know already.) I like the idea of you renting an apartment. It seems that would be easier way to accommodate a family group while in London, although I haven't done that myself.

jsmith

We have used the airline air/hotel packages numerous times (8-10) to London, Paris, Rome, and Amsterdam. We've found them competively priced compared to DIY.

The shuttle that bc refers to is HotelLink and it is still in operation and we have used it. For one or two it has been a good deal, not sure about a party of three.

The packages sometimes include free goodies which may or not be of interest.

DeborahAnn

bc, it sounds like you are working this the right way. Consider all the possibilities and then make your decision.

With our travels we have always booked our flights and hotels independently. To me the per person costs always seemed more expensive. Would all three of you share a room, most of the per person are based on two sharing a room and the single has to pay a supplement.

You are certainly correct about airline prices seeming to be high right now. I think that is something we will just have to get used to seeing.

I would agree with a car service, rather than shuttle. You might find for three people that the cost vs convenience make it a better price

I think it is wonderful that you are going with you mother. Hope all three of you enjoy the planning. Deborah

xxxx

We used hotels.com to book our London hotel last November. We had absolutely no problems. Hotels.com had, by far, the best price available. We had stayed at the hotel before and knew exactly what we were getting.

How ever you choose to book, make sure you compare apples to apples. For example, is breakfast included? Are there taxes or fees that are not apparent?

The downside to hotels.com was that the balance was charged to your credit card immediately upon booking. Be sure you know the cancellation/change policy. There is a $25 for changes. However, when I had to change our reservation, the fee was waived without my evening having to ask.