I had a few quick questions and I was hoping that some of the experienced travelers out there could help me. A little background, me and my girlfriend will be traveling to London at the end of March. This is both of our first times to London. We have already booked our flights and are very excited. We are flying in Heathrow and staying for 4 nights until we leave for Rome.
I am having some issues regarding where to book our hotel. I have done extensive research and have gotten no where. I have no clue where to stay as tourists, and then when I think I find something great its well over my budget. I am looking to spend 100-150 euro a night, approx 800 total. I have no clue what area we should stay, what hotel we should stay at etc. I am asking for any sort of advice as to what area we start looking at or any hotels you think we be a great fit. We are young, looking forward to traveling and having a good time. Any and all help is greatly appreciated, thanks!!
I am having some issues regarding where to book our hotel. I have done extensive research and have gotten no where. I have no clue where to stay as tourists, and then when I think I find something great its well over my budget. I am looking to spend 100-150 euro a night, approx 800 total. I have no clue what area we should stay, what hotel we should stay at etc. I am asking for any sort of advice as to what area we start looking at or any hotels you think we be a great fit. We are young, looking forward to traveling and having a good time. Any and all help is greatly appreciated, thanks!!
I really liked http://www.base2stay.com/. It is near the Earls Court tube station.
I would start by plugging your budget into a search site like booking.com and then narrow down by location--you'll probably be taking the tube a lot anyway, so try to fond an area that has walkable attractions too.
I would start by plugging your budget into a search site like booking.com and then narrow down by location--you'll probably be taking the tube a lot anyway, so try to fond an area that has walkable attractions too.
Try Londontown.com Ijust booked Grosvenor Kensington, right across from South Ken tube , on several bus lines and in a lively area for 150 dollars a night includes breakfast. I like South Ken because you can walk to several museums and are a short bus or tube ride fror most of what you will want to see/ LOts of services and eating places nearby
Well, first you should know that the UK does not use the euro - I'm guessing that was just a typo, but that's an important piece of information!
Anywhere in central London (and by "central" I mean generally Zone 1 of the Underground zones, which go in concentric circles - see maps at tfl.gov.uk) will be pretty convenient. If you want to walk to a lot of things, I personally like staying in the Bloomsbury/Covent Garden area. Mayfair is also very good for that purpose, but more expensive. The Kensington and Victoria areas are also fine for tourists. I would not stay near Paddington or Earls Court - there's just not much in walking distance (nothing wrong with the areas themselves, and I believe Earls Court does tend to be less expensive).
Londontown.com does have lots of places at discount prices. If you're looking for a hotel, those will tend to be more expensive, but there are tons of smaller b&b type hotels in London which will easily fit your budget. I have stayed at the Morgan Hotel in Bloomsbury (morganhotel.co.uk) and found it perfect for me, but there are many similar ones in the area. Check TripAdvisor for reviews and be sure to check the "B&B/Inn" section.
Anywhere in central London (and by "central" I mean generally Zone 1 of the Underground zones, which go in concentric circles - see maps at tfl.gov.uk) will be pretty convenient. If you want to walk to a lot of things, I personally like staying in the Bloomsbury/Covent Garden area. Mayfair is also very good for that purpose, but more expensive. The Kensington and Victoria areas are also fine for tourists. I would not stay near Paddington or Earls Court - there's just not much in walking distance (nothing wrong with the areas themselves, and I believe Earls Court does tend to be less expensive).
Londontown.com does have lots of places at discount prices. If you're looking for a hotel, those will tend to be more expensive, but there are tons of smaller b&b type hotels in London which will easily fit your budget. I have stayed at the Morgan Hotel in Bloomsbury (morganhotel.co.uk) and found it perfect for me, but there are many similar ones in the area. Check TripAdvisor for reviews and be sure to check the "B&B/Inn" section.
I like Bloomsbury area. There are quite a few B&Bs (e.g. Harlingford Hotel) and I stayed at the Ambassador Hotel last May and got a good deal (Expedia)
This post seems trollish. VERY trollish.
Don't stay in Earl's Court, that's too far.
What are you actually budgeting, 800 Euro for four nights, 800 GBP for four nights or 800 USD for four nights?
Mayfair is probably the most expensive area of London.
Don't stay in Earl's Court, that's too far.
What are you actually budgeting, 800 Euro for four nights, 800 GBP for four nights or 800 USD for four nights?
Mayfair is probably the most expensive area of London.
If you know your dates and are open to the idea (and can pay by credit card and so on), I recommend seeing what you can price on PriceLine.com.
I used them a couple of years ago (January, 2008)and we got nice rooms for about $85 a night. It was in a chain type hotel (Copthorne Tara) and you can get rooms in Hiltons, Holiday Inns or other common brands as well. You don't know until you "win" a bid (i.e. some hotel accpets your bidding price) what brand you will be in, but they are all roughly the same. I suggest you bid on a 4 star hotel (but they are really more like 3 star places) or if you want to spend more, then a 5 star.
You can find lots of information on this on line or even on this forum I believe. What you can get are acceptable rooms in a chain type hotel - not usually boutique or specialty hotels, just chains.
I have done it twice to London (2008 and 2004) and I was happy both times. Read posts on biddignfortravel.com
I used them a couple of years ago (January, 2008)and we got nice rooms for about $85 a night. It was in a chain type hotel (Copthorne Tara) and you can get rooms in Hiltons, Holiday Inns or other common brands as well. You don't know until you "win" a bid (i.e. some hotel accpets your bidding price) what brand you will be in, but they are all roughly the same. I suggest you bid on a 4 star hotel (but they are really more like 3 star places) or if you want to spend more, then a 5 star.
You can find lots of information on this on line or even on this forum I believe. What you can get are acceptable rooms in a chain type hotel - not usually boutique or specialty hotels, just chains.
I have done it twice to London (2008 and 2004) and I was happy both times. Read posts on biddignfortravel.com
A few Fodories recommend base2stay/Earls Court -- I personally would not . . .
Nothing wrong w/ the place. But it is not cheap by any means, and it is in Earls Court which is convenient for travel but otherwise isn't the most central/nicest location. It is OK. But unless I was getting really REALLY low rates, I would not stay in Earls Court (nor in Paddington)
If you are not comfortable bidding on Priceline, then Londontown.com is a very good site.
If you really did mean €100-€150 - that is £85-£125. For those sorts of rates probably the best areas to look will be Bloomsbury/Russell Square, Victoria/Westminster, and South Kensington. Some central areas like Mayfair, Covent Garden, and Knightsbridge will have few hotels w/i that budget. Another decent budget area is Bayswater - but it would be a sort of last resort for me. Or possibly Marble Arch/Marylebone.
Nothing wrong w/ the place. But it is not cheap by any means, and it is in Earls Court which is convenient for travel but otherwise isn't the most central/nicest location. It is OK. But unless I was getting really REALLY low rates, I would not stay in Earls Court (nor in Paddington)
If you are not comfortable bidding on Priceline, then Londontown.com is a very good site.
If you really did mean €100-€150 - that is £85-£125. For those sorts of rates probably the best areas to look will be Bloomsbury/Russell Square, Victoria/Westminster, and South Kensington. Some central areas like Mayfair, Covent Garden, and Knightsbridge will have few hotels w/i that budget. Another decent budget area is Bayswater - but it would be a sort of last resort for me. Or possibly Marble Arch/Marylebone.
Jent-- that was a typo, thanks for pointing that out! Between planning London and Rome for the first time you can understand how confusing it can get.
Thank you for all your advice, I definitely appreciate it. I am going to continue to research and look into rooms.
I am currently looking at biddingfortravel.com and it is very cool! Thanks for the info.
We are 23 years old so we will of course want to go out to dinner and some pubs at night, so obviously we want to book somewhere that is lively. All this help is great and I will keep everyone posted, thanks!
Thank you for all your advice, I definitely appreciate it. I am going to continue to research and look into rooms.
I am currently looking at biddingfortravel.com and it is very cool! Thanks for the info.
We are 23 years old so we will of course want to go out to dinner and some pubs at night, so obviously we want to book somewhere that is lively. All this help is great and I will keep everyone posted, thanks!
I'll try. Check bidding for travel to see what recent winning bids have been. That gives you an idea on where to begin. But with priceline I would never bid more than $100 tops for a 4 star. (At or above that price point go to Londontown as others have mentioned). 5 stars cost more - maybe in the $150 a night range.
So you begin by bidding say $70 for a 4 star in...whatever section you might be willing to stay in (check the maps on the site). You have to give a credit card because if they take it, they charge right away. Whatever you get you are stuck with. But again, it worked out fine for me and many people like it. They are usually older chain hotels - not the best Hilton in town, but a Hilton all the same.
Plan on taking a few nights to get something as they restrict how often you can bid - i think i took a week to do this last time. Be careful if they respond with an offer - it just means you are getting close so dont jump at the first offer you get. Keep bidding to get a lower price. By this i mean that you have bid say...$80 for a 4 star. The site may come back saying they have a 4 star available to you for $110 if you buy now. You can take it or keep bidding (offer $85 the next time).
The nicer areas cost more - but Earls Court or Bloomsbury or south Kensington are all ok to me. As i recall the more central areas cost more. We stayed in Kensington last time...took the tube in from Heathrow - no problems.
Anyway, bid and wait a day. Once you make one bid you have to change to bid again on the same day - for example you can bid on a 5 star in a different area or whatever. The site explains this. Again, look and see what people are saying they got. Don't be discouraged - but take a week or two so that you can bid multiple times - raise your bids by about $5 each time.
The hotels are nice enough to sleep in but you probably wont get breakfast included. Go out and have breakfast in the neighborhood - it will be more fun anyway.
Good luck and just keep trying...
So you begin by bidding say $70 for a 4 star in...whatever section you might be willing to stay in (check the maps on the site). You have to give a credit card because if they take it, they charge right away. Whatever you get you are stuck with. But again, it worked out fine for me and many people like it. They are usually older chain hotels - not the best Hilton in town, but a Hilton all the same.
Plan on taking a few nights to get something as they restrict how often you can bid - i think i took a week to do this last time. Be careful if they respond with an offer - it just means you are getting close so dont jump at the first offer you get. Keep bidding to get a lower price. By this i mean that you have bid say...$80 for a 4 star. The site may come back saying they have a 4 star available to you for $110 if you buy now. You can take it or keep bidding (offer $85 the next time).
The nicer areas cost more - but Earls Court or Bloomsbury or south Kensington are all ok to me. As i recall the more central areas cost more. We stayed in Kensington last time...took the tube in from Heathrow - no problems.
Anyway, bid and wait a day. Once you make one bid you have to change to bid again on the same day - for example you can bid on a 5 star in a different area or whatever. The site explains this. Again, look and see what people are saying they got. Don't be discouraged - but take a week or two so that you can bid multiple times - raise your bids by about $5 each time.
The hotels are nice enough to sleep in but you probably wont get breakfast included. Go out and have breakfast in the neighborhood - it will be more fun anyway.
Good luck and just keep trying...
Of course you have to pick based on your own travel preferences, but I don't get why people are saying Earl's Court is too far. It was a 20 minute walk to the V&A and Natural History museum, not much farther to Hyde Park, right near a tube station, and there were some restaurants and pubs in the neighborhood. Granted I am a big walker, and I am sure that there are many more central locations, but given that you will be taking the tube no matter where you stay in London, it was as good as anywhere to me.
yorkshire, I think it's just a matter of what you want to be close to. If I stay at the Morgan in Bloomsbury, I'm within five minutes' walk of the British Museum, Oxford Street and one tube stop; ten minutes' walk of Covent Garden and another tube stop; and 15 minutes from Leicester Square and Trafalgar Square. There are good bus connections in the area and tube rides to other places (say, St Paul's or the Tower) will be shorter than from South Kensington or Earls Court. If I found similar options in both areas, to me it's hands down Bloomsbury. That's just based on my usual plans, though.
I actually was just in London a last week and have two suggestions. This was my fifth trip to London, previously I stayed in Victoria and in the area just north of Hyde Park (Bayswater). Bayswater is nice, but like Earl's Court, it's a nice place but you really need bus or tube to get to much. So this time - I was there on two different weekends so ended up with two different hotels - I stayed in Victoria one weekend and Waterloo the next. They were both fine - from Victoria you can walk to Westminster Bridge/London Eye, Buckingham Palace, Trafalgar Square. From Waterloo you can also walk to the London Eye, Trafalgar Square, Covent Garden. What's more, both have excellent tube and bus connections to the rest of London.
We stayed at the Comfort Inn Buckingham Palace Road near Victoria for 89£ including breakfast. However the following weekend for some reason it was going to be almost twice as much so we stayed at the Travelodge Waterloo for 90£, not including breakfast. It's a brand new Travelodge so everything is very clean and spiffy (the less expensive London hotels tend to be pretty shabby, and by less expensive I mean under 150£). Dates for most London hotels vary greatly by date so even a week apart can make a big difference. But I would stay in either of those hotels again. The only drawback to the Travelodge is that they won't store bags so if you get to London early you'll need to pay to leave your bag at the left luggage at one of the train stations.
We stayed at the Comfort Inn Buckingham Palace Road near Victoria for 89£ including breakfast. However the following weekend for some reason it was going to be almost twice as much so we stayed at the Travelodge Waterloo for 90£, not including breakfast. It's a brand new Travelodge so everything is very clean and spiffy (the less expensive London hotels tend to be pretty shabby, and by less expensive I mean under 150£). Dates for most London hotels vary greatly by date so even a week apart can make a big difference. But I would stay in either of those hotels again. The only drawback to the Travelodge is that they won't store bags so if you get to London early you'll need to pay to leave your bag at the left luggage at one of the train stations.
I just checked the bidding for travel site and I see some 2,000 plus comments in the London forum. If you are still interested in trying this (and I do recommend this for inexpensive London stays, read the posts) I saw several Marriott stays for under $100 a night. Also one I remember is the Hilton Olympia that I saw some guy got a good price on ($80 a night) and is a good example of what this site can do. Not that this is a great hotel - it wasn't last I saw. Old, tired, but a Hilton and accptable for sleeping and so on. Priceline buys left over rooms at usually larger chain hotels. I also see posts where people were frustrated that even with a high $250 bid they could not get the 5 star in an area they wanted. It takes perserverance and serendipity.
The closer to downtown the more expensive and harder to get. Kennsington, south Kennsignton, Bayswater and Earls Court are relatively easy to get. Marble arch and Bllomsbury - well, I never got there..
The times I have done this, I took about a week to land a hotel. Once was a Holiday Inn - tall high rise. American chain and probably built in the early '70's. But it was clean and I didn't go to London just to sit in my room - and I didn't want to spend $200 a night to sleep. But the bus was right ourside (I always say take the bus so you can see something - if you're in a hurry, then take the tube) and so was the tube station. I never felt we were too far out of the action. The VA and Harrods were within a nice walk. When I stayed at the Copthorne Tara - again - tube and bus at your feet and Kennsington palace not very far away at all. Lots to do, lots to see and plenty of places to eat.
If money is not an issue - then I agree with some other posters and say to look on the Londontown or other sites. But Priceline works - if you have the patience and some flexibility in your plans. (And both hotels were acceptable to me - and i could leave luggage and had tv's that work and all that stuff. The furniture is more tired, the breakfast is usually extra and you have to take transportation to get to downtown. But taking the tube or the bus is part of the London experience...why not save $100 a night and spend $2 on a bus ride instead).
By the way, if I recall you were going in March - it is easier to bid and get hotels in the off months than in the height of summer, needless to say.
The closer to downtown the more expensive and harder to get. Kennsington, south Kennsignton, Bayswater and Earls Court are relatively easy to get. Marble arch and Bllomsbury - well, I never got there..
The times I have done this, I took about a week to land a hotel. Once was a Holiday Inn - tall high rise. American chain and probably built in the early '70's. But it was clean and I didn't go to London just to sit in my room - and I didn't want to spend $200 a night to sleep. But the bus was right ourside (I always say take the bus so you can see something - if you're in a hurry, then take the tube) and so was the tube station. I never felt we were too far out of the action. The VA and Harrods were within a nice walk. When I stayed at the Copthorne Tara - again - tube and bus at your feet and Kennsington palace not very far away at all. Lots to do, lots to see and plenty of places to eat.
If money is not an issue - then I agree with some other posters and say to look on the Londontown or other sites. But Priceline works - if you have the patience and some flexibility in your plans. (And both hotels were acceptable to me - and i could leave luggage and had tv's that work and all that stuff. The furniture is more tired, the breakfast is usually extra and you have to take transportation to get to downtown. But taking the tube or the bus is part of the London experience...why not save $100 a night and spend $2 on a bus ride instead).
By the way, if I recall you were going in March - it is easier to bid and get hotels in the off months than in the height of summer, needless to say.
FWIW I've just had a couple of family members stay at the Hilton Olympia pre and post Trafalgar tour (for significantly less than what Trafalgar was charging, but still well above a likely PL rate) and they thought it was fine/ much better than some reviews suggest. Enthusiastic walkers, they also made use of bus routes 9 & 10 which stop very close by. Older style ("Heritage") Routemaster buses are also used on part of route 9 during 'tourist hours'.
http://www.londonbusroutes.net/routes.htm
http://www.londonbusroutes.net/routes.htm
