My family of four (myself, DH, two boys aged 13 and 14) will be traveling to London this September (most likely from the 19th to 26th). My husband will be attending a conference at the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Center in Westminster and was able to book two rooms at one of the recommended accommodations, but after reading somewhat disappointing reviews of the hotel on Tripadvisor, I am scrambling to see if we can’t come up with something better.

Does anyone have any recommendations for a hotel for us in the Westminster area or maybe Covent Garden (or anywhere else that would be an easy commute to the QEII)? Would love to have a room that can accommodate all four together, but two doubles will also do . We would also like to have an English or Continental breakfast included or available if possible. As for budget, trying to stay around 200GBP per night (per double)—but this is somewhat flexible, given the cost of rooms in London.

Thanks in advance for any advice/recos!

Where are the reservations you have now? I would hate to end up recommending the same place.

I'd personally try for an apartment. You are staying a long time and have a fairly generous budget. A flat will give you much more space for less £££.

But if you'd prefer a hotel--which one are you rejecting?

The Rubens at the Palace is a very nice property and the doubles, twins and kings are well w/i your budget. Or the Royal Horseguards would be good too.

We currently have reservations at the Jolly Hotel St. Ermins; unfortunately fully 20% of reviewers on Tripadvisor have given the hotel a "Poor" or "Terrible" rating. I hadn't considereed an apartment; I might have to look into it. Would that be pretty straight-forward, like booking a hotel room?

Thank you also for the recommendations, Janisj; I will check out the hotels you mentioned.

Who's paying?

Yes apartment rental is straight forward, except you pay in advance rather than on departure

The Premier Inn County Hall is currently available. The London Eye is right outside the door.

County Hall PI is absolutely fine - But I don't think I could stay there 8-9 days (just about any hotel would tire after that long but especially one w/ those sorts of modern/stripped down/'efficient' rooms)

Apartment, definitely. One bedroom for the boys, one bedroom for you and the other half.

Booking is less straight-forward than a hotel room, but ease of booking may depend upon who you rent from -- google london vacation apartment and also try vrbo.com.

I checked with my husband; he now says he would prefer to stay in two separate rooms as it will be easier to submit his room separately for reimbursement with his company (and not look as if he went over the top). Briefly looked at Tripadvisor reviews for the Premier Inn County Hall and they look much better than the Jolly Hotel, so I will look into that a little further. The Rubens had great reviews but was booked for our dates, but I think the Royal Horseguards might work, also. Another that looked good was the Covent Garden Hotel, but DH would be slightly further from the conference which he said is all right. Thanks for your help!

I did not want to mention Premier Inn before because I sound like a broken record - I always recommend that hotel. It is a family type place and the walk across the bridge to the conference center is a snap! The location is just so wonderful, and evening walks along the river are the best.

I wanted to throw this idea out and see what people think...found a very reasonably priced small B&B in South Kensington with very good reviews. It is 2.4 miles from the conference center for DH, who could just take a taxi in the mornings or the tube? Not ever having been to London, I am not sure if this is too far out of the way and it would be better to be more central? I'm thinking it would be nice to stay in a quieter location; looks like a nice neighborhood? I welcome any thoughts on this!

What street? (Some owners take 'literary license' when describing their location. But South Kensington is definitely NOT far out. It is close to the center of London.

S.Kens tube station is only 3 tube stops from St James's Park station which is <u>very</u> close to the conf. centre. Would just take minutes.

But again exactly where is the B&B. Street name or postal code and we can give you exact info.

Yes I agree with janisj , lots of owners use South Kensington when they are really closer to Earl's court which is not nearly as nice. An address would help. And there are loads of service and restaurants in the real SK area. Also walking distance to several museums and lots of shops

This is the address of the B&B: 3 Sumner Place | South Kensington, London SW7 3EE , England. Let me know what you think. . . We'd be saving $400US off the cost of the hotel, so if it's a good location, I think we'll go for it!

That is a <u>wonderful</u> location. Just off the Old Brompton Rd and about a block from South Kens tube station.

You'd be w/i easy walking distance of Hyde Park, the museum complex and lots of shops, restaurants, pubs etc.

Plus you are on three tube limes including the direct one in from LHR.

A hint -- for checking out addresses just enter the post code in google. In this case - SW7 3EE (nothing else needed) and it brings up the map/satellite views of the exact location of the bldg

that should be tube <i>lines

janisj, Thank you so much, you have really helped me figure this out. I think we will have a great time there and it sounds like getting around without my DH during the day will be easily done. I'm really looking forward to planning the rest of our trip with this out of the way!