S. Kensington - hotel and area help!!!
 

Hi:

We've booked 6 nights at the Regency Hotel in S. Kensington - a 4-star hotel, got a great rate on Travelocity.

However . . . we've always stayed closer to Covent Garden (love that area) - don't know much about S. Kensington.

How is it for restaurants, people-watching, nighttime activity?

Any feedback would be much appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

South Kensington has plenty of restaurants from a lunch time snack (Try 'Brompton Cafe) to full dinner. The Cromwell Road has all the great museums- the Victoria and Albert; The Science Museum and the Natural History Museum. You're close to the Royal Albert Hall (concerts) and Hyde Park and Kensington Palace (where Princess Diana lived) If you're keen on shopping, there's Sloane Square with Harvey Nicholls department store and Harrod's, of course. The number 74 bus picks up outside the Victoria and Albert and takes you to Marble Arch/Oxford St/Baker St.
Hope this helps

HI
don't know your hotel, but I love S. Ken.
Lots of moderate (for London) and casual restaurants (good Chinese!) in the side streets around the tube station, and convenient transport from there to anywhere.

S. Ken is quite upscale and very convenient to get around as the tube station has three lines running through it. Noticed on my last visit there (Jan '03) that a number of new restaurants had popped up - mostly small Italian places. S. Ken is my favorite area to stay in London. It has a great neighborhood feel to it.

Too all who responded:

Thanks for this great advice. This is exactly what I was looking for. I think I'll keep these reservations!
Carol

We stayed there in '01. Also had a good rate. Being our first trip to London, we were a bit overwhelmed with choices. I would stay there again. Many restaurants nearby as well as a laundromat. Tube station about a block and a half away from which you could get anywhere.

Hi, clehrman. I've stayed in the Kensington area twice at Copthorne Tara and Thistle Palace - don't know if that qualifies as South Kensington. It's a very busy area, lots of traffic, vehicular and pedestrian. The area around Harrod's and V&A museum seems better, but not knowing what Covent Garden is like, I can't draw a comparison, only to say that outside of the gardens, I've never found a place in London that was good for people watching. Granted, I've only been a few times - maybe I've yet to find the best area. As people point out, the Kensington tube location is very useful and there are lots of new small restaurants with good menus. For me the area was too bustling, busy, and commercial but I think that pretty much describes London. I really liked Chelsea, but haven't stayed there. Bloomsbury is forgettable. My impression of the Marble Arch area is much like Kensington, but that was some time ago. After the recent trip in May, my future plans for England would be to stay outside of London. Maybe Johnson was right - I might be tired of life since I'm not particularly drawn to London anymore - but gosh it was fun in the 70s. No offense meant to any Londoners - just some thoughts.

Shanna is confusing South Kensington with the Kensington High St. area. South Ken is much more neighborly, and in walking distance to many tourist sites and great shopping!

My fiance and I stayed at The Regency last month. It was pretty nice but the rooms were really really tiny. Maybe they are all like that in London, I don't know. It was fine though. I loved the street it's on Queens Gate, it's so pretty! and Kensington Gardens are at the end of it. The hotel is a 2 min walk from the tube stop, very convenient. We didn't do all that much in South Kensington because we would go out and explore all day and eat wherever we happened to be at that time, and then head back to the hotel at night. I would give you one major piece of advice. Don't eat at the hotel for breakfast unless you get it 100% free. We got it 50% off for booking online, but it was really outrageous. The road between the hotel and the tube station (Old Brompton) has a lot of little outdoor cafe type places, that we enjoyed breakfast at. We also enjoyed breakfast at the italian restaurant that is right at the South Kensington tube station. These places were about 3 times less than the cost of breakfast at The Regency, and just as good if not better (Regency's breakfast was buffet style and cold).
Any other questions on the hotel you can email me.
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