We are a family of 5 adults and are going to London for our first time. We will be there 3nights. Where is a good "base" for a hotel, for us to do all the first time tourist things? Also--any suggestions for hotels in the $125 range (we will need two rooms).

Also--we are arriving at London Stansted airport. What is a good and realiable transfer service?

You'd be very hard pushed to find one room for that price, let alone two. Unless you stay in a B&B perhaps, but that could put you off London for life.

we were very pleased with JustAirports.com for hotel/airport transfers. Very reasonable and reliable (cheaper if pay by cash instead of credit card). Do you want to pay $125 per room or total? London i quite pricey, $125 for 2 rooms would be difficult, per room you would have some options. From what I've read, an apartment rental may be a good arrangement for a family if 5. There was 4 of us and we had 2 (small) rooms.

To clarify- we will most likely need two rooms and want them to be in the $125 price range EACH.

With the 2 rooms, one would have to be a triple. In the 2 rooms we had, an extra (rollaway) bed couldn't fit in either room (we had 1 double and 1 twin). $125 is about 70GBPs at the currrent rates, we paid 89GBP each for our rooms. We stayed in the So. Kens. area. There are some posts here for family accommodations, try doing a search here on "London and Family and hotel" for some info.

danen5: Your message does not indicate when you will be travelling but I can tell you that just now plenty of travellers are obtaining 4* hotel rooms, for a variety of dates into the summer season, in Central London (SOHO/Mayfair district) through Priceline in the range of $100 to $105 per night, plus taxes and fees. These rooms normally go for anywhere from $200 to $400 per night. If you are certain of your dates, certain of your desired approximate location in London and willing to take a chance, Priceline might be for you. However, you must do some advance homework by checking out non-Priceline availability and rates, becoming very familiar with www.biddingfortravel.com and otherwise fully informing yourself on all the rules and strategies associated with Priceline bidding before jumping into the hotel bidding game. Good luck and bon boyage!

The one problem that may arrise with priceline, they only guarantee rooms for 2, and many of the hotels have small rooms and couldn't squeeze in an extra bed. You can get great deals using priceline (although I've only done it in the states), but with 3 in a room it may be risky.

We have not gone yet, but I've booked us at The Oxford Hotel in the Bayswater area for the end of May. It got good reviews on VirtualTourist, and I've been pleased with their phone service. We are paying 60 GBP per night. I found the deal on easylondonhotels.com, but also dealt directly with the hotel.

Good luck!

You are talking about £135-£140 per night total. For that much you can rent a 2 bedroom apartment w/ sofabed in a nice area like South Kensington or Victoria. This would give you a LOT more space plus you'd have a kitchen for those late night snacks, early morning coffees.

Try these:

E&E Apartments (no website but they do have e-mail) [email protected] phone 011-44-171-828-0453
Moderately priced flats in Pimlico and Victoria. Near the Thames, Tate Britain, Chelsea and Victoria Station. 3-night minimum. 2 bdrms go for about £105-£110 per night

Scala House www.scala-house.co.uk Phone 011-44-171-580-6644. An Apartment bldg with 2-bedroom flats near Tottenham Court Rd and Oxford Street in central London. 2 night minimum. about £130 per night.

Oh - forgot to answer that Stansted question. there is a direct train from Stansted into London. Couldn't be easier.

A cab or driver would probably be near/over £100 so just take the train.

From Stansted,take the train into the city.From the station you take the tubes<subway> or a cab< depending on where you are staying.With five adults you will probably need two cabs....do the tubes.
The Hart House Hotel <near Marble Arch> is a small Georgian Hotel that may be perfect for you.Go to their web site and check it out. They include breakfast and are convenient to buses and tubes.The rooms are very nice.People are friendly and accommodating I have stayed there for years. It is two blocks from an Intercontinental Hotel ,which offers a very nice restaurant <open to all> .A good place to stop for a coffee or drink on the way back to the little hotel.