Jeff

Contemplating a one-week trip to London, but plan to also spend time outside of London (Bath, Cotswolds, etc.). I'm wondering whether we would save some money by staying outside the city center and whether there is an area near London that would form an interesting base (but not be too far from London for day trips in). As an example, we have enjoyed staying in Haarlem instead of in Amsterdam itself. Part of this inquiry is driven by money. If I cannot reduce some of the costs of traveling in the UK, I have a hard time justifying traveling to London versus elsewhere in Europe (with the great exchange rates). Last time we were in London we stayed at a dumpy hotel for $120/night. Maybe I am wrong, but it would appear we would need to up that to at least $150/night to get something simple and clean, but a hotel in Paris (such as the Champs du Mars) costs only about $85/night. Thanks.

Jeff

I should clarify that I'm looking at staying close enough to London so that it is a short (15 minute) tube or train trip in. Any longer than that would not be effective. And maybe there is no good reason financial or otherwise to stay outside of the city center. I look forward to your insight. <BR>

Dave

Assuming that rail services are back on track by the time you visit, a one-hour rail trip from Central London covers quite a lot of territory (well beyond the suburbs). So there are many places you could stay and still easily visit London during the day. If you want to spend a lot of time shopping, dining, and theatre-ing, you might want to stay in one of the outer suburbs (Hampstead Heath?). If you plan to spend a significant amount of time outside London, you can stay much farther afield. <BR> <BR>For the areas you've listed, Oxford would probably be a convenient base. It's roughly an hour to London by train, with lots of rail connections to other sites of interest (Bath, Cotswolds, Warwick, Stratford are all easy day trips from Oxford). <BR> <BR>Having stayed in Oxford a couple of times, my impression is that the cost of lodging there is mid-scale for the UK. Definitely cheaper than London, but you can do even better. <BR>

Dave

(Sorry, I started my response before your clarification was posted)

Gina

Jeff, I usually stay at a B&B called the Arran House on Gower Street in Bloomsbury, where double with shower & WC is 75 GBP per night, or about $108 U.S. It's not glamorous, but it's comfortable, clean, friendly and cozy, with a terrific staff and a very convenient location. Three tube stops and the British Museum within a couple of blocks; easy walking distance to Oxford Street, Regent Street, Piccadilly Circus, Leicester Square, and so forth. <BR> <BR>I might well be wrong, but I think that with the trains running as erratically as they are now, you probably won't be able to find accommodations far enough outside London proper to make a major difference in the price yet still close enough to get you back into the city within 15 minutes by Tube or train. It's 45 minutes by Tube (if all goes well) and 15 minutes by Express (ditto) from Heathrow to Paddington, so I'd estimate that you're basically restricted to places no further out in any given direction than Heathrow is to the west. Ben Haines may know of some good options within these constraints. <BR> <BR>Then again, for me part of the fun of being in London is being *in* the city of London, steps from the places I love. So I may be biased here anyway.

Beth Anderson

Hi Jeff, <BR> <BR>what Gina said! <BR> <BR>It's been my experience that a 15 minute tube trip to the center of London means you are just in North London (for instance). Basically you can count on about 3 mins per tube stop... <BR> <BR>I've stayed at a B&B right on Hampstead Heath (Golders Green stop) twice now. a double was 35 pounds - a little more en suite but I don't know how much. <BR> <BR>Very lovely place - posh neighborhood. <BR> <BR>call 0208-455-1417. It's called Iolanthe and Rosy and Simon Gill are the owners. <BR> <BR>It does sound like Gina's suggestion is more central though. I really liked the B&B I stayed in, but if you are that close to the British Museum etc... it may be worth the extra money!

Jeff

I am still interested in responses to my original post. However, maybe I need to try harder to find places in London such as those you have suggested, that are clean and simple, but less expensive. Thank you for all of your input. <BR>

rand

Jeff <BR>Do not forget to factor in the increased transportation costs as well as time. If you stay centrally, a zone one pass is all that is required. I thought about this concept and ended up in a cheap central place. It was clean, so I just tell myself 'well, it's bigger than a tent'.

ron

Jeff, an option to consider would be the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames (LBRuT), specifically in the area around Kew Gardens. There are a few home-type B&Bs around there at reasonable prices. That places you about 20 minutes to London Waterloo by train from Richmond or North Sheen or 30 minutes to Embankment by District Line tube. And from Richmond you can get trains west to Windsor and Reading if you wanted to get to places like Bath. The LBRuT has a web site; I know they have an accomodation booklet they can send you, but I don't think that is on the website. <BR> <BR>I stayed there in October and it makes sense if one wants to see the area attractions - Hampton Court, Kew Gardens, Richmond Park, the Thames Path - with occasional sojourns into central London. I'm not sure the money savings would be enough, however, if what I really wanted to do was visit central London and make out of town trips.

Roger

Have you thought of renting an apartment for a week. Many to choose from and I would think you could find one that fits your needs.

Liz

Hi, Jeff <BR> <BR>Have you tried Smoothhound? They claim to be the best online directory of cheap accommodation in the UK. You can search by district of London, and each hotel listing has a map showing the nearest tube station. <BR> <BR>www.smoothhound.co.uk