A good friend is taking his 11/12 yr. old grandson to London the end of this month, staying at Mill. Bailey. I've given him a few sightseeing thoughts like London Walks, Ceremony of the Keys, Cabinet War Rooms and friend has been to London before. I'd greatly appreciate:

>specific recommendations for eating around the hotel that a kid would like

>any thoughts on sports that might be playing within reasonable accessibility from London ~4/21-27.

>any recommendations for a private driver/guide who you've used and like.

>any other info you think would be helpful.

TIA

I stayed at that hotel a couple years ago and really liked it a lot.

Now I can't remember names of restaurants, but that hotel is right on a street with a lot of restaurants, so they can easily choose just by walking up and down a block or so and checking out the prices and looks. That would be Gloucester Rd. Specifically, I remember a cheap Italian restaurant on the corner of Gloucester and the next street to the south (I think--the direction away from Kensington Gardens), which I think was Brompton Rd. He'd probably like that one. A few others are a bit trendy or aiming for the hip 20s crowd, but you'll figure that out.

Lots of cafes and restaurants. The "cheap" Italian is gone but has been replaced by another, whose name I can't recall but it looked kid friendly.There's a pizza place in the shopping area of the tube station.

The Natural History Museum is just a short walk from the hotel. He really must take the GS to the Imperial War Museum, much more kid-friendly than the Cabinet War Rooms.The children in London exhibit is great and they have been having a story hour , for lack of a better word, that the kids are asked to participate in.

any other thoughts?

London Dungeon (yes yes everyone's groaning at the suggestion but 12 year old boys are exactly its target market).

Frog tour - need to book as very popular - ex-army amphibious vehicles (now painted bright yellow) do a short tour of London. The first half is on land and then it launches onto the Thames for the rest. Always packed with families and you can see the kid's grins a mile away.

Do you mean the duck tour, nona?

http://www.londonducktours.co.uk/

Okay < I'm 70 and I've been going to London almost yearly for the last 40 years...and I swear , next time I AM DOING A DUCK TOUR!

They just look like so much fun..even if I have seen everything they cover.

We stayed there 3 years ago, and there's a KFC across the street (great for kids), and also a great pub about a block down that serves really good pub fare for a decent price. Can't recall the name of it, but turn right out of the hotel and go about a block down Gloucester, it's across the street. The Bailey is in a terrific location!

Don't forget the London Eye, Trafalgar Square, and Covent Garden.

We stayed at the Millenium Bailey a few years ago and loved the location. We had breakfast at a cafe right down from the hotel, and I remember a Burger King and a pizza place.

Oh yes the duck tour sorry (but weren't they called frog tours before. Maybe not, that explains the yellow!)

Yes, they did change the name.

"The Natural History Museum is just a short walk from the hotel."

And the Science Museum and the Geology Museum. And the V&A. The only one I've been to recently is the Science Museum, which is magnificent.