London : where to stay?
 

my husband and i will be in london for the first time at the end of october for 3 days. we are on a strict budget and am hoping to spend less that $175 a night. We found an apartment through expedia in " THE CITY" area near Bishopgate called MiNC apartments in Spitalfields. Has anyone had any experience with this group? Is this area reasonably close to most tourist sites / museums? Are there some access to restaurants/pubs in the area. Is it a convenient location to get a train to St. Pancreas/Kings Cross to catch a 6:30 am train to paris. Thanks for the feedback.

I've no idea about the letting company, but the flat is in one of the swish new developments in the old Spitalfields Market. A posh enclave, the surroundings are very busy at the weekends with the Spitalfields arts and crafts market, Petticoat Lane, Brick Lane and so on. There are good public transport links, but you should be aware this is to the east of most of the places first-time visitors to London are likely to want to see.

The first train from Liverpool St to King's Cross/St Pancras, Mondays to Saturdays, is at 0520 and takes 8 minutes. However, the first train is about an hour later on Sundays, so if that's when your train to Paris is, you'd need a taxi.

Alternatively, you could see if you could get somewhere in Bloomsbury within walking distance of St Pancras - that would also be a bit more central for the various things you're likely to want to visit.

thank you, patrick, for the feedback..we will be in london wednesday thru saturday(am). will the area be dead on the weekdays? we figure we will be taking a train everywhere regardless of where we stay, how long is the train rides to the more central areas? i will also look to see if there is anything closer to St Pancras.

The markets won't be doing much on those days, but plenty of people work in the area, so restaurants will be open for business.

You should be able to get from Liverpool St to most places you're likely to want to get to by tube in about 10-20 minutes, depending on where exactly you want to go. Buses will take longer, but you will see more en route.

Your other option is to use Priceline, and try to get a 4* hotel in Kensington, Victoria, Westminster or Mayfair within your budget, which is definitely a possibility.
Check out biddingfortravel.com and betterbidding.com to see what others have bid on successfully.

I like the Radisson Edwardian Vanderbilt...nicely located, near a tube stop & you can get a rate that includes a full breakfast (you may be too full for lunch!). Standard rooms are small, typically European, but the deluxe rooms are quite spacious. I think you might be able to get a room close to your budget amount.

thanks everyone for all the ideas, tried the priceline bidding with no luck for the past 2 weeks. i will check out the edwardian vanderbilt... a hearty english breakfast before a day of sight seeing would hit the spot.... thanks patrick for the travel times by the tube... we are new yorkers and are no strangers to walking and taking public transportation....so if nothing else pans out we still might book the apartment

What PL zones are you bidding and how much?

I'm almost 100% certain the Radisson property mentioned will be out of your budget - it runs around 175-200 pounds/night. Without breakfast.

You might want to take a look at the Ibis London Euston St. Pancras. It gets pretty good reviews on tripadvisor, and it's in your price range. It's also more conveniently located than Spitalfields.

http://www.ibishotel.com/gb/hotel-09...as/index.shtml

http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserR...n_England.html

I got Millenium Gloucester for 85 GBP , no breakfast howeever but there is a Paul and an Illy and a cafe right across the road. Try Londontown.com

A second vote for The Ibis Euston. We have stayed there 3 times because of the fact it is in within walking distance from St.Pancrass and the Eurostar.
Try and book online and see if they have a 'Happy 20' deal available.

We bid on PL for a **** hotel and got one in South Kensington for $105 -will be there in early October. The bidding process took five days. Our first choices were Knightsbridge and Mayfair but our bids were too low-someone on Fodors got a hotel in that area for $150 but we did not want to go that high. Good luck!

I checked the Radisson Edwardian Vanderbilt's website & they do have weekday pricing of 119 to 149 pounds per night for a standard room and 139 to 169 for deluxe. They have a breakfast package for 161 to 208 pounds per night. These are weekday prices which are higher than the weekend rates (at least they used to be). You can easily check your dates and options on their website.

Try

www.laterooms.com
www.lastminute.com

for hotels in all areas of the capital.

I am a big fan of Ibis (huge French chain) when I have no definite recommendations and refuse to pay obscene prices charged by other chains. I've not previously seen them mentioned on this forum There's a good one at CDG.

thank you to avalon for recommending Londontown.com--this has been enormously helpful to me in planning my next visit to one of my favorite cities.

also thanks to those recommending the Ibis hotels, i was unaware of this chain, and i am impressed with their prices and locations.

We used the Ibis Euston in 2002 when I took 10 people to London, including three "tweena" and a set of grandparents. The rooms were small but clean and nice. The location was great for us. Short walk to Russel Square Tube. Believe it or not, we got flight and hotel for three nights back then for $349. Definitely, the "good ole days"!