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London Neighbourhoods

Please give your advice. My husband and I are staying 4 nights in London in Aug. My second visit, his first. For safety, restaurants,atmosphere and tube travel should I be looking Paddington/Bayswater or Bloomsbury, Russell Square? Any recent experiences with Bloomsbury Park (a Thistle affiliate), Southampton Row? Thanks!

I, and a lot of others on this board, like the South Kensington/Knightsbridge area. The Gloucester Road and South Ken tube stations run several of the lines (fewer changes needed) and the neighborhoods are quiet and upscale. I stayed at the Rembrandt Hotel on Brompton Road in Knightsbridge last week and it was terrific. It's a 4-star and hotel-assist.com offered it at 89GBP per night (for two people), including a full breakfast buffet that was the best I've ever had in London. The hotel is directly across the street from the Victoria & Albert Museum and just down the street from Harrod's. Have a great trip!

I stayed in the Bayswater area and thought it was a good area to stay and reasonably priced for London. There are two tube stations in the area (Bayswater and Queensway) which are on different lines. It is also across the street from north side of Kensington Park so if you enjoy walking it is great, expecially if you are there in August. I stayed at the Berjaya Eden Park Hotel, www.berjaya.com. A more upscale one right on the park is the Inverness Court Hotel http://www.cghotels.com/ There is also a Hilton down a couple of blocks. Have fun where ever you stay!

I enjoyed staying in Bloomsbury for its convenience to the West End. We were able to walk to many restaurants and to all 3 plays we bought tickets for.

Bloomsbury if you want a quieter area. Bayswater/Paddington is fine but rather busier. Both districts have easy access to shops/theatres/museums. Welcome to London

I've stayed in a number of different areas in London over the last few years, although I really like the area around the Baker Street Tube stop as a neighborhood offering a safe residential area, lovely green pastures in Regent's Park (theatre in summer at the Open Air), nice neighborhood pubs, and even the touristy area just off Marylebone with Madame Tussauds/Plantetarium and the hop on hop off bus tours departing. The baker street tube stop has access to so many lines in the staion that it's minutes from anywhere you need to go. I spent the first few trips to the area at The Blandford on Chiltern St. 1/2 block from the Tube stop and Baker St. and I never even went to Madame Tussauds, but I spent a lot of lovely mornings in Regent's Park . I see a lot of theatre and come home after pubs have closed up but have never felt unsfae in the area, even with only women traveling. No one ever really mentions it as an area to stay in which seems to suggest it's mostly residential, but residents have to eat, shop and travel around the city too.

I agree with the Baker Street suggestion. I'm just back from London after visiting several times (my husband lived there his entire life), and Baker Street is near tourist areas without feeling like it's surrounding by tourists. Enjoy!

This is great, your information is very helpful.

For Emjoy: Please can you tell us of an unsafe area in central London ? Ben Haines

For Ben - some of the areas around Kings Cross are definitely unsavoury and unsafe...

There was a change three months ago. Until about Christmas the area was indeed known for prostitutes and drug dealers. But the large excavations for installing the new Eurostar terminal have closed off large areas, and the police have regained control of the pavements. (In fact, the seedy types never bothered normal passers-by, but I agree that they did not look beautiful). Ben Haines

A private club near Waterloo was suggested. I haven't seen many hotels in that area. Can anyone advise what that neighbourhood is like?

Regarding the last post, Waterloo has a superb location as far as transport is concerned, but the area itself is not very pretty. But just as safe as anywhere. There are some good restaurants along the road called The Cut.

Ben Haines is absolutely right about the Kings Cross area. My husband and I have stayed a week, this year and last, at a hotel on St.Chads. We often came back late on the tube and never were approached by "unsavory" characters nor indeed saw many. There is a police station right on Pentonville Rd. right across from the train station and we never felt compromised regarding our safety. I have the feeling that some people are judging the place on hearsay or the past and haven't checked the place out recently. Certainly, be comfortable in your lodgings, but also, be well informed.

I travel to London and always stay in the Bloomsbury/Russell Square area. Very convenient to good tube lines (especially Piccadilly) and easy walking to theatre district. British Museum there, and it's not as crowded and touristy as many other areas. I love Blooms Hotel (which backs up to the British Museum). It's a lovely, small boutique-type hotel. I definitely think Bloomsbury is more convenient and central than Bayswater.

I lived in London last year, in both the Bloomsbury and Baker St/Marylebone areas. I can strongly recommend both for overall safety and convenience. One central hotel I've recommended before is the Holiday Inn on Welbeck St (might be called the Holiday Inn-Oxford Circus). It's a few blocks north of the Oxford St department stores, on a quiet street a few minutes walk from about 4 different tube lines, Regent's Park etc and about 10 minutes from Hyde Park. It lacks character, but it's a good price in a great location. If your budget is a little larger, there are a number of nice hotels in that neighbourhood. I know there are a lot of fans of South Kensington, which is pretty, posh and convenient for the museums/parks in that area, but I find Marylebone/Baker St and Bloomsbury more central - closer to everything - you can walk to a lot of sights (very useful late at night). If you're interested in theatre, it's probably a better choice than Kensington. A number of the moderately priced Bloomsbury/Russell Square hotels (eg Tavistock) are large "tourist-central" places full of tour groups, kids, with very little atmosphere. The B&Bs (if you're on a budget) or some of the more upscale hotels are probably a better option. Bloomsbury is full of university students out late at night, so I never felt uncomfortable walking home from anywhere - except perhaps Euston Station. I'd stay away from hotels in the few blocks adjacent to Euston Station (probably true of any train station) - not really unsafe - just a bit seedy. A beautiful hotel on a terrific street full of restaurants is the Charlotte St Hotel - if you can afford it. (It's between Bloomsbury and Soho, N of Oxford St.) I'd say Paddington/Bayswater is a poor fourth to the Marylebone/Baker St, Kensington and Bloomsbury.

Thanks Kate, that was extremely helpful!