smroan

Just got back from a wonderful first trip to London, and thought I would post some info that would be useful to first-timers.

The Strand Palace Hotel is one offered by expedia.com, and I booked it before I discovered fodors.com and other online sources of hotel ratings.

Ultimately, I enjoyed staying in a 7th floor corner room, with views of St. Paul's from both the bathroom and bedroom. Room was clean, much more spacious than I had anticipated, and comfortable.

I had read that staff at Strand was a problem, and I thought, well, I don't need to be concerned, I just need someplace to sleep.

Wrong....I had emailed the Strand in advance that I would be arriving late, as plane landed at 8 pm. Emailed I needed non smoking room and would appreciate corner room on upper floor.

Arrived around 11 or so, and was informed no non smoking left. Implication was that somehow this was my fault as I was arriving late. STuck to my guns about not accepting a non smoking room, so they put me on their business floor but told me I had to move next day. So I could not unpack and spent the next 24 hours thinking I had left maps, etc., home

Was told housekeeping would move me. Checked in from hop on off bus tour at 12. Told, very condescendingly, that "of course madam" housekeeping had to prepare rooms for incoming guests, and I would be moved after 2.

Arrived back planning to change and go to theater (Anything Goes....terrific!) Still hadn't been moved. 'Finally Asst Mngr came up to move stuff, but made me go to old room to pick up 5 items I had hung in closet as they would not move anything not packed.

At any rate, if you can deal with this type of thing, Strand probably ok, and I did nove the room. But I had planned my time and did not like having to start 8 day stay reminding myself to be flexible and to not let inefficiencies and attitudes of staff get in the way.

Strand will not let you make outgoing calls unless you bring them a credit card (they tell you nothing when you check in...( So I was trying to call out unsuccessfully and talked to operator and reception desk 3x beffore I was told reason call would not go through was that they did not have imprint of credit card. They would not take info over phone and insisted I bring card to desk. (I was fresh from bath with wet hair) Finally I asked for mgr and he did take info over phone.

Little stuff, like the look I got from young woman on reception desk the day I locked key card in room and needed her to swipe me a new one.

So, if you are willing to be aggressive about your room, etc. Strand might work. Again, I loved the room and view. Staff such as housekeeping were wonderful. But anything that had to do with the reception desk was a disaster.

I was amazed on my last day when I asked for a late checkout that I actually got it! That was the first thing pleasant generating from reception. Very condescending, arrogant attitude there.

I think Strand deals with many prepaid tour-type customers, and as they have money in advance really don't care. They do have 700 rooms. I think they do enough volume so they feel they do not have to care about individual guests.

At any rate, thought I would post this.

Rest of my trip was incredible. Highlights were going to a service on Sunday a.m. at Windsor Castle, the verger's tour of Westminster, and a day trip to Paris.

Took busses around London, trains to Oxford, Windsor, Salisbury and Hampton Palace, a Thames boat trip from Hampton Place to Westminster pier, a bus from Salisbury to Stonehenge, and found the British transportation system on time and easy to use.

Thanks to all on fodors.com that offered advice and insight.

mclaurie

So pleased you had a good trip and a great attitude about your hotel troubles! How was the second room? Did it also have a view? A recent review on tripadvisor says the hotel's under renovation. Is that true? It also says no a/c. Was that a problem?

I hope you will tell us a bit more about your trip. Sounds like you traveled alone? Many Fodorites would like to know how you managed on that score. Dining?

Welcome home.

crepes_a_go_go

Thank you for a very informative post. I always appreciate getting the nitty gritty on hotels.

smroan

It was the second room I loved so much....the first one was nice, but on the 4th floor, with not such a good view. The second room had a small entrance hall, with a sizable bathroom (big tub) off the the right. Then there was a the bedroom at the end of the small hall with a dresser and TV on the right and the bed, desk and nightstand on the left. There was also a sizable closet. When I left a note (and two pounds) and asked housekeeping to leave me more hangers and pillows, I got them. I have stayed in a smaller room in NYC at a Best Western. I have found 3 star hotels very acceptable for what I want.

The key with the Strand is to ask for a corner room (mine was 749), along with any other requests. My mistake was to make the requests too far in advance, I think. I meant to email them on the day before I departed, to remind them, and then forgot in the rush of getting ready. Maybe if I had emailed them, I would have been spared the inconvenience. I think the trick with the Strand would be to assume nothing and nag them prior to going.

Next time I would be inclined to stay nearer Charing Cross or Paddington. I forget the name of the hotel at Charing Cross, but it is part of a chain, and one of the women who was on the Eurostar with me recommended it highly. There is a hotel in the same chain near Victoria. I'm sure someone will come up with the name; I am just drawing a blank right now.

Another thing I would do differently would be to book a room outside of London for part of the time. It was silly to be traveling out to Bath, Oxford, Windsor, etc. when I could have stayed near to them.
The Strand is under renovation, but it was not a problem or that obvious. The workmen I ran into were very pleasant.

There was no a/c, but both the window in my bedroom and the one in the bathroom opened.

A Tennessee family who was on the Eurostar with me did have a problem with an otherwise good hotel, as their windows did not open. So maybe...do the windows in your establishment open...would be a good question to ask if traveling in summer. They had a fan but it didn't do the job for them.

I did travel alone, which I have done frequently before, but only the the U.S.

I find traveling alone very easy. I have traveled with a significant other, a group of women and alone, and although there are pros and cons to each, I think my experience is better alone.

I am thinking of either Rome or Paris for my next trip, as I have not traveled in Europe since I was in my 20's, and then it was to Grindelwald and Austria to ski. So I haven't done much touring in Europe.

I now would feel comfortable with investigating B&B's and relying on trains, maybe renting a car (but NOT in Paris! Boston lays claim, rather proudly, to having the worst drivers in the U.S, but Paris makes us look civilized.)

I would try to freshen up my high school and college French or learn some Italian before I tried either Paris or Rome, though. Even on a fully escorted tour to Paris I felt inept.

I don't mind eating out alone, although on this trip, most of my meals were on the run, as I wanted to cram in as much as possible.

I met very interesting people. Probably the most interesting one was a young man in his 20's whose hometown now is Queens, NYC. He said he originally was from Bosnia, Sarevio (sp...there is a j in there somewhere). He emigrated to first Boston, then NYC, where he had family. He was finishing off a Political Sci major with a semester in Paris.He and I were the only people on the Mall heading up to B. palace early one a.m. and tried to figure which building was what together (we did manage to recognize the Palace).

I went on the Eurostar to Paris with a group of Americans...Chicago, Philadelphia, Tennessee and had a great time.

I was in the midst of Belgravia on my last a.m. making for Harrods and asked a distinguished looking woman in a suit and pearls for directions. She was headed toward a sale at Harvey Nichols and took me right along with her until we could see Harrods. She was an art historian who had spent some time in the states,in California, and at Yale.

My Hotelink driver had been to NYC a few years ago, and the city was hit with a huge snowstorm his second day. He had some funny stories about staying in a hostel without much heat.

I mentioned to him that Magic 104.5 or a similar number....more music, less talk is the slogan, had a parallel with the same name in number in Boston. The older woman behind me, who was with her husband tapped me on the shoulder as she is from the same area (I am from Plymouth, MA, south of Boston) and entertained me with travel stories all the way to Heathrow. She and her husband were both in their 80's and were a little sad because they felt this might be their last trip to London. The jet lag got them down for a couple of days.

So I think traveling alone is fine. I have a dozen stories like the ones above. Such interesting lives people live. The woman who was going to shop at Harvey Nicks in a suit and pearls (which is way more formal than I would ever be to go sale shopping) lives in flat near Tower Bridge, on a high floor.

I kept a pretty hectic and full schedule, and I am not sure that it would have worked with other people along.

I was near the War Cabinet Rooms one midday and heard two American couples doing the "what do YOU want to do," etc. routine and felt glad I was not in that position/

I found planning each day far in advance from home, with a computer, sending my itinerary to myself on aol and hyperlinking it to relevant sites, as well as running it off and taking it with me, made maximizing time easier.

I kept in touch with my family daily by email, using internet cafes, as my mother especially worries about me traveling alone (but is getting better....I am 53!) I also had a group of fellow teachers, friends and family who kept up with me and emailed me, as most of them had been to London before and had given me advice and wanted to relive their trips a little.

My brother's line is, if you disappear we at least want to know where to start looking, so I think it is important to keep in touch.

One of my neighbors even emailed me to report my 2 cats were doing ok and printed out my trip reports for another neighbor who was taking care of them.



But I felt very safe and secure. London, especially in the theater district, where the Strand is located, is very busy around 10-11. One night I walked from Drury Lane (if you have a chance to see Anything Goes, do it....I was coming home from Mama Mia one night after I had seen Anything Goes, and a group of young people were coming down the sidewalk with one young man singing "Blow, Gabriel, Blow," and I said to him, "Good, wasn't it?" He said, YES.

m_kingdom2

In my experience, smoking rooms, if cleaned and aired regularly rarely smell of tobacco smoke. If you are flexible on this matter you can usually get better rooms!

Madison

smroan - thank you for sharing your London experience with us. I got back from London a month ago. I too travel alone and wouldn't have it any other way.

The only thing I need to improve on is traveling via the tube and metro. Other than that I'm fine.

carolyn

I really enjoyed your post. I'm in the throes of planning a trip to London in September for my daughter and me. We have been several times but can't ever seem to accomplish all the things we want to even though we keep very busy. I still have to drag out the list from last year to see where to begin this time! Like you, I like planning ahead. Have spent this afternoon checking hotel prices and airline fares.

lyb

>>smoking rooms, if cleaned and aired regularly rarely smell of tobacco smoke. If you are flexible on this matter you can usually get better rooms!<<

You must be a smoker? or a very tolerable person. My experience is that no matter how much they air out or clean a smoking room, it still reeks of smoke, the bedding does, the draperies, carpets...it is quite disgusting. I once was stuck in a smoking room and woke up with the worst sinus infection. Luckily I made a stink with the hotel, and they moved me to a non-smoking room ( I had requested a non-smoking room, when I arrived they said that a request is not a guarantee). Anyway, they also gave $35 voucher for dinner.

Bottomline, a smoking room is infected for a long time!

RonZ

We had a pleasant stay at the Strand Palace with only a couple of minor complaints.

Giovanna

We have always stayed at the Strand Palace when we are in London. It's not the best hotel we have ever stayed in, but we have been basicaly comfortable and the thing we like best is the location. Near three underground stations (Covent Garden, Charing Cross and Embankment). Easy to walk to Trafalgar. A couple of blocks to the Thames and on and on and on. We're willing to forego a bit of luxury for location.

We have had no problems with staff, but smroan is correct the hotel caters to package trip groups extensively, but we as individuals have not been treated badly. Luck of the draw I guess.

ben_haines_london

The two hotels you mention, at Charing Cross and Victoria (and another at Trafalgar Square) are in the Thistle chain. The listed prices are a little high, but agents often make special offers. For example
http://www.priceline.com
http://www.lastminute.com.
http://www.londontown.com,
http://www.orbitz.com/.

I have on disc comments by Fodors readers on these and similar hotels on the Strand and in Victoria, and notes on summer lettings of student accommodation, much of it cheap, and in Bloomsbury. I can gladly copy these by e mail if asked.

Welcome to London

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m_kingdom2

I stayed in a smoking room recently and there was not a trace of tobacco smoke to be found. In lesser establishments where rooms are not aired/cleaned so frequently odour will build up but I would always recommend seeing a smoking room before rejecting it- this could save hassles and you might be pleasantly surprised!

lyb

M_kingdom,

You were lucky, about the smoking rooms, the hotel where I stayed at is a 4 star hotel in the U.S.A.

Also, it may be that only 1 of my friends smokes, no one in my family smokes. I basically live in a smoke free environment and I can smell cigarette smoke when others with me can't. I truly hate cigarette smoke and can tell who is a smoker even if I haven't seen them smoke, their clothes smell.

iowan15

If anyone is interested in staying at a Thistle hotel, try thistlehotels.com, and check out their "E-Deals" page. Select "View All Offers". Some of them are pretty attractive for Trafalgar, Charing Cross, Royal Horseguards, and Picadilly.