Hi, all. I'm playing travel agent for a friend at work. She's planning a trip to London in July and would like a hotel with air conditioning that is near a tube. She was quoted $262/night for the Motsyn through a package deal. I told her I would try to find out if anything less expensive is available that meets her requirements. Can anyone help? Thanks.

You might have her check out the Rubens Hotel. It is across the street from the Royal Mews at Buckingham Palace. A nice air conditioned 4* hotel that's just a couple of blocks from Victoria Station. Don't know if it will be much much cheaper than the other hotel, but it's a great place to stay.

I would check the Londontown.com for hotels. If it doesn't specify ac, you can always check hotels individually on their websites, or here on the forum. Also Londontown.com sometimes offers very good deals.

Try the Sanctuary House Hotel (http://www.fullershotels.com/). A smallish hotel with a/c in a great location, walking distance to Westminster Abbey for about £100/night. Also Holiday Inn Mayfair for £120-130 per night, advance purchase.

They are both more central locations than the Best Western Motsyn Hotel in Bayswater. But I've seen few (if any) reviews of that particular hotel.

Well - I wouldn't really call it Bayswater since the hotel is just off Edgeware Rd and around te corner from the Marble Arch tube station.

So the location is a bit better, But I personally would not pay £140 ($262) to stay in that neighborhood.

The Sanctuary House mentioned above is in a better locale for about $80 less per night. But there would be MANY hotels also in good locations, w/ ac, for less money . . . . . . .

Thanks everyone, I will pass this along. She really thought she was getting an OK deal with the Motsyn, but it didn't seem so great to me.

Looking back, I have never had the need for a/c when I was in London. Either I was there in the cool season, or it just didn't get very hot. Therefore I was unable to recommend any place I have stayed because frankly I don't remember if any of those hotels had a/c. Of course, if I tell her there's no need for a/c in London, there will surely be another heatwave.

I knew I could count on your help.

PM,

Just so you know, we've visited London for the past four summers, and always been glad to have AC in our rooms. Some hotels will simply bring in portable units, if the rooms themselves don't have built in air conditioning. It's worth asking anyway.

You might want to try some of the smaller boutique hotels like the Knightsbridge Hotel,which has a wonderful location, quite close to the tube.

Also when checking on a/c, make sure the rooms themselves have a/c. Sometimes a hotel will advertise a/c and only the public areas will actually have it.

We were in London last summer during a scorcher. We stayed at the Waldorf Hilton which most definitely had AC--ah. It was $105 on Priceline, near Covent Garden, 4* Mayfair zone. Priceline is not for everyone, but for us it was a real bargain. All rooms have a small fridge which helps with keeping bottled water and juices available.
Good planning your friends trip. Maybe she'll bring you back goodies from Fortnum and Mason!