Three Days in London
 

Need information on must see places/do in London. I have three days.
Also, I need recommendations for moderate hotels $80-$100.

Thank you,

Juan

if you do a quick search here, you will come across scads of things to do and see in three days.

however, you will have trouble finding moderate hotels at 80 dollars (what is that now, 45 pounds? 50?) 80 pounds might be a good place to start.

FORGET a hotel. At that price you will only find disappointment ... I HIGHLY suggest a B&B. (That is always my recommendation)

Not only will it be in or under your price range, you will get a free and often very satisfying breakfast. (What better way to start the day?)

I always feel that London is not comparable to the continent in regards to cheap accom. For example, you can pretty much get a nice 2* for $100 in Paris. In London I paid over 100 pounds for a tiny, charmless hotel room. Seems like if you have money you can get a nice hotel room there it seems. My family reserved an inexpensive B & B which turned out to be like a 1* motel-a horrid experience for them. I am sure their B & B was just one of a few not so good ones.

francophile03,

Here is the thing (and I learned this the hard way) A LOT of horrid places (little hotel dumps... like the Windsor Hotel) in London serve breakfast - this is NOT a B&B. Along the same lines, many HOSTELS call themselves B&Bs.

The B&Bs I am talking about are hosts/hostesses that open up their home to you.

Yes, some homes are nicer than others (some include a jacuzzi tub in the room!like the Ossian in London-very inexpensive) ... that is why planning is key. So many have their own website or are featured on a website. You need to look at the rooms and make sure they look comfortable and are what you are expecting.

Of course, The Windsor Hotel had a nice website and professed they had high standards in cleanliness though... but it was entirely my fault. I should have realized the price was way too low for the location... and the communal kitchen they talked of should have been a red flag. It was a dump of a hostel (even if I did have my own room) And they refused to give me my money back when I wanted to leave. (NEVER give anyone money before you see your room!)

I have learned not to make that mistake again. Now I know exactly what to look for and how to look. :-)

Thanks for the info. I will raise my budget for the hotel. If you come across one moderate throw it this way.

Thanks,

Juan

Juan, I agree about the cost of hotels in London.

What kinds of things do you like to do? art museums? history museums? walking tours? etc. so we can make suggestions along those lines.

I think most people consider the Tower of London a "must." Many people choose between Westminster Abbey and St. Paul's although many also see both.

When are you going? If you can take in a play at the Shakespeare Globe, I very much enjoyed that.

I, personally, love bridges and architecutre so spent much time outdoors just walking, especially across the many bridges.

What do you prefer to do?

You can pick up good quality, clean accomodation at very reasonable prices through Travelodge, Travel Inn and Premier Lodge. My experience, particularly of Premier Lodge is that the rooms will be well sized and equipped with the amenities that the average tourist wants (Bed, Desk, TV, Armchair, Heating, Bathroom, Toiletries and Towels) They are usually very well maintained, but are competely characterless. That said looking for a cheap hotel in London with character is a very dangerous game.

There are of plenty of free (donations are suggested) truly world-class musuems (many centred around South Kensington). Most Art Galleries (Tate etc) are now free as well.

My pick of the museums would be
Natural History Museum
Science Museum
British Musueum
All of which are free to the main exhibit halls.

Art Galleries:-
Tate Modern
Tate Britain
National Portrait Gallery
The Wallace Collection (A wonderful small intimate museum)
All again free

Personally, I don't like the Victoria and Albert museum- I find it just too big and just tries to cover too much.

As for paid attractions:-
The Millenium Eye is a must do
as is The Tower of London, St Paul's or/and Westminster Abbey

Avoid - Madame Tussauds v expensive, long queues, and the novelty, for me, wares off after about 20 waxwork dummies.

Cheap and Good food? Go to Brick Lane (Aldgate East tube station) for the
Great British(?) Curry. A street full of cheap and chereful curry houses. Avoid the west end curry houses, most are dire.

Tradditional English Fish and Chips? Try Harry Ramsdens (not to be confused with Gordon Ramsey's) below the regent palace hotel just off Picadilly Circus.

Also whilst you are here invest £1 in the National Lottery. Jackpot is usually about £5 million - and it is largely due to the National Lottery that most of our museums are free.

From Atlanta is right- you do some research on B&B's such as visiting websites and looking at guide books etc., you can find a cheaper place to stay. I have never had any bad experiences at the B&B's I have stayed at.

100 GBP covers nearly 4 nights at my B&B. The money I have saved paid for my plane ticket.

Walter I will look into those hotels you mentioned. I'm pretty much intrested on doing the must see sites. I like walking around and getting lost. Museums and architecutre is very intersting to me. How about night life?
I pretty much wanted to make a list of three days must see.
Thanks again for the quick response.
Juan

I stayed @ The Gatwick Belmont B & B near the A/P on 20 July - 59 GBP incl the vat and B'fast for two - just OK for an overnight from PT connecting to US next AM.
If you are paying in USDs, London is very expensive: we paid 99 GBP (+ the 17.5% VAT) for a mid level room at the good Rembrandt Hot which was a prepay (several months) non cancel rate. It did include a good "English Breakfast" for two.

Last winter I stayed at the Arosfa hotel, Bloomsbury neighborhood, central London. A very small single with small bathroom was about 45 pounds, a double was about 55 pounds I believe. Cooked breakfast included. Rooms are small, bathrooms almost laughably tiny, but the place is clean, pleasant, and convenient.
When on a tight budget, I would stay there again.

London is the most expensive place I've ever been to (and I live in NYC). I've never done this, but how about Priceline. Check biddingfortravel.com. You may be able to get soimething decent that way.

Ditto on the Priceline advice. I think it's the single best way to get the most out of your hotel dollar in London. We've gotten a 4* in Westminster for under $100/night. But as suggested, do your homework on www.biddingfortravel.com before bidding.

We tried to stay in a budget hotel in London years ago and were totally grossed out by the place. Your price range is far from moderate in London. Do take the advice here to investigate B&B's or PL bids. Our London hotel experience was the worst in many years of travel.

gracieb,

Was it the Windsor Hotel? ... I am going to make it my mission to make sure no one on hers stays there! :))

I can not stress enough to be VERY CAREFUL of cheap places in great locations!!!