Trip Report - A visit to London in November
Nov 19th, 2012, 09:02 AM
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Jul 2004
Posts: 192
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Trip Report - A visit to London in November
Thanks to all of you for the recommendations - we did have a nice trip a few weeks back despite the frigid temperatures, wow! Our travels included our 5-year old son, who also had a great time.
Hotels:
Park Plaza County Hall. Wonderful! I've been in a lot of hotels throughout Europe and this one rates as one of the top few. The room was actually spacious (we had a studio room because of our son) and included a nice kitchenette, separate bed, etc. Staff was sooo friendly, breakfast was great and the location was superb, with it being a quick 5-minute walk to Waterloo station and the Big Ben area. The only downside, and a significant one, was that peak shower times meant lack of hot water when bathing.
St. George Hotel (the one at 49 Gloucester Place):
We stayed here the last night of our trip so I barely had time there, but it was fair. The place itself is lovely and clean, and located in a beautiful residential area so that was a plus. However, it advertises wireless but we could not get it to work. This was extremely frustrating since a) I couldn’t upload any movies for the flight home with my young son and b) this was during Hurricane Sandy in the US and I really needed access to view flight issues, etc. because of the hurricane possibly affecting our travel plans. So, needless to say it was especially annoying, though I will say there is a computer (very slow connection) upstairs available to the public and the front desk employee did do his best to help us, but without success. Our room was located right by the front desk and was a little noisy as well, but all in all it's a nice place, just not great circumstances for us.
Highlights of our trip:
For me, I did the Hidden Britain Jane Austen tour for an entire day and this was definitely dreamy for a Jane Austen enthusiast like myself. It's an easy train ride from Waterloo to Basingstoke for a day trip, whereupon the guide, Phil, picks you up and basically drives you around Hampshire the entire day showing & explaining all of Jane Austen's life. Heavenly for someone like myself! I can cross it off the Bucket List as a happy camper
Be sure to read Claire Tomalin's biography if you do this tour, which I had read so it was much more informative for me going through the tour.
Shrek, the Musical - I'm not typically a fan of animated shows, but this production was the best I'd seen in my entire life. Not to mention my son loved it! We did this at the end of our trip, and had I known how amazing the shows were, I would have booked others too! Fantastic, and also a great way to escape the cold.
Churchhill War Rooms - really enjoyed this, so interesting and very well done. Thames River cruises - we took this to the London Tower (your children can do a "Knight" tour) and Greenwich. Greenwich was a great day trip and I found the visitor's center very nice, and the town charming. I would have loved to walk around more but it was absolutely frigid outside so we cut the trip a little short there. HMS Belfast - a great tour of a WWII ship for both adults and children alike. My son could have stayed there all day, so that was really fun. Tea at the Orangery - very nice and even my son enjoyed the kids' version. Temple Bar - this is a charming, wonderful section of town to walk around and we stumbled upon the church from Da Vinci code. I could spend a long time walking around this area, so stunning. As for food, our hotel was near an area called "The Cut" and this was a great place with shops/restaurants. Very hip atmosphere.
Things I Could Have Done Without:
We did the Medieval Banquet at St. Katherine's docks since we thought it would be fun for our son. I knew it would be really cheesy and touristy going into it, but the food was so absolutely atrocious that I can't recommend it whatsoever. Other than the food, the atmosphere really was fun though. Westminster Abbey - I think I've seen one too many cathedrals. Changing of the Guards - cold and just boring to me. Although a highlight was when my son accidentally dropped his telescope toy through the gate, and after the ceremonies were over, a guard kindly retrieved it for him. Much drama on that one!
I'm not sure why, but I felt indifferent towards the city of London. It's a lovely, beautiful clean city that had every amenity you could ask for, but I wasn't enamored. I did find the architecture to be absolutely amazing. However, compared to the rest of my world travels it just didn't do much for me and while I'm glad I've now visited there, I've no desire to go back. All in all though, an enjoyable and interesting trip for us. Thanks again for your recommendations in helping us have a worthwhile experience.
Hotels:
Park Plaza County Hall. Wonderful! I've been in a lot of hotels throughout Europe and this one rates as one of the top few. The room was actually spacious (we had a studio room because of our son) and included a nice kitchenette, separate bed, etc. Staff was sooo friendly, breakfast was great and the location was superb, with it being a quick 5-minute walk to Waterloo station and the Big Ben area. The only downside, and a significant one, was that peak shower times meant lack of hot water when bathing.
St. George Hotel (the one at 49 Gloucester Place):
We stayed here the last night of our trip so I barely had time there, but it was fair. The place itself is lovely and clean, and located in a beautiful residential area so that was a plus. However, it advertises wireless but we could not get it to work. This was extremely frustrating since a) I couldn’t upload any movies for the flight home with my young son and b) this was during Hurricane Sandy in the US and I really needed access to view flight issues, etc. because of the hurricane possibly affecting our travel plans. So, needless to say it was especially annoying, though I will say there is a computer (very slow connection) upstairs available to the public and the front desk employee did do his best to help us, but without success. Our room was located right by the front desk and was a little noisy as well, but all in all it's a nice place, just not great circumstances for us.
Highlights of our trip:
For me, I did the Hidden Britain Jane Austen tour for an entire day and this was definitely dreamy for a Jane Austen enthusiast like myself. It's an easy train ride from Waterloo to Basingstoke for a day trip, whereupon the guide, Phil, picks you up and basically drives you around Hampshire the entire day showing & explaining all of Jane Austen's life. Heavenly for someone like myself! I can cross it off the Bucket List as a happy camper
Be sure to read Claire Tomalin's biography if you do this tour, which I had read so it was much more informative for me going through the tour. Shrek, the Musical - I'm not typically a fan of animated shows, but this production was the best I'd seen in my entire life. Not to mention my son loved it! We did this at the end of our trip, and had I known how amazing the shows were, I would have booked others too! Fantastic, and also a great way to escape the cold.
Churchhill War Rooms - really enjoyed this, so interesting and very well done. Thames River cruises - we took this to the London Tower (your children can do a "Knight" tour) and Greenwich. Greenwich was a great day trip and I found the visitor's center very nice, and the town charming. I would have loved to walk around more but it was absolutely frigid outside so we cut the trip a little short there. HMS Belfast - a great tour of a WWII ship for both adults and children alike. My son could have stayed there all day, so that was really fun. Tea at the Orangery - very nice and even my son enjoyed the kids' version. Temple Bar - this is a charming, wonderful section of town to walk around and we stumbled upon the church from Da Vinci code. I could spend a long time walking around this area, so stunning. As for food, our hotel was near an area called "The Cut" and this was a great place with shops/restaurants. Very hip atmosphere.
Things I Could Have Done Without:
We did the Medieval Banquet at St. Katherine's docks since we thought it would be fun for our son. I knew it would be really cheesy and touristy going into it, but the food was so absolutely atrocious that I can't recommend it whatsoever. Other than the food, the atmosphere really was fun though. Westminster Abbey - I think I've seen one too many cathedrals. Changing of the Guards - cold and just boring to me. Although a highlight was when my son accidentally dropped his telescope toy through the gate, and after the ceremonies were over, a guard kindly retrieved it for him. Much drama on that one!
I'm not sure why, but I felt indifferent towards the city of London. It's a lovely, beautiful clean city that had every amenity you could ask for, but I wasn't enamored. I did find the architecture to be absolutely amazing. However, compared to the rest of my world travels it just didn't do much for me and while I'm glad I've now visited there, I've no desire to go back. All in all though, an enjoyable and interesting trip for us. Thanks again for your recommendations in helping us have a worthwhile experience.
Nov 22nd, 2012, 08:11 AM
#3
Join Date: Aug 2008
Posts: 2,989
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Hi Jumper, glad you enjoyed London.
Sorry to hear about the Park Plaza County Hall: “The only downside, and a significant one, was that peak shower times meant lack of hot water when bathing.”
Wow, that was not the case when I stayed there two years ago. Just curious, do you mean in the morning or before dinner? Of course, I am an early riser and jump in the shower earlier than most. Although the hotel is enormous, that problem should not exist.
Also, who sponsors the all day Jane Austin tour in London?
Sorry to hear about the Park Plaza County Hall: “The only downside, and a significant one, was that peak shower times meant lack of hot water when bathing.”
Wow, that was not the case when I stayed there two years ago. Just curious, do you mean in the morning or before dinner? Of course, I am an early riser and jump in the shower earlier than most. Although the hotel is enormous, that problem should not exist.
Also, who sponsors the all day Jane Austin tour in London?
Nov 22nd, 2012, 09:23 AM
#5
Join Date: Dec 2003
Posts: 2,699
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
While I love London, it's not the most romantic or the most photogenic city I've been to. For me, it has that certain vibe-much like NYC plus the added bonus of layers of history. For me the hidden gems were found on London Walks tours that went through old alleyways and off the main roads. Add to that the quirky British humor-(dark humor) and I'm still in love with it.
Glad you had a good time.
Glad you had a good time.
Nov 23rd, 2012, 07:42 AM
#7
Join Date: Dec 2005
Posts: 10,169
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Most hotel wifi is not fast enough to download movies, and it may seriously inconvenience other guests if you use all the bandwidth.
Some public wifi automatically restrict users from media sites: no music or movie watching. It just takes more bandwidth than they can afford to provide for free.
Some public wifi automatically restrict users from media sites: no music or movie watching. It just takes more bandwidth than they can afford to provide for free.
Nov 23rd, 2012, 12:55 PM
#9
Join Date: Mar 2006
Posts: 5,616
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
jumper22, so cold weather doesn't didn't affect the river cruises too much? It's funny how something like dropping a telescope can become a memorable interaction.
(Ann, I have our lunch reservation at the Middle Temple Hall, thanks to your link. This time we might really get to see it.)
(Ann, I have our lunch reservation at the Middle Temple Hall, thanks to your link. This time we might really get to see it.)
Nov 24th, 2012, 02:05 AM
#10
stoke - that's great. it's about 15 years since I last had the pleasure of lunching in Hall so I'll be vey interested to have your feedback. do give yourselves enough time to look round the gardens - IMHO the ones of Inner Temple are the best but as I'm a member of Inner, I'm biased.
http://www.innertemple.org.uk/index....&id=3&Itemid=3
http://www.innertemple.org.uk/index....&id=3&Itemid=3
Nov 24th, 2012, 05:28 AM
#11
Join Date: Mar 2006
Posts: 5,616
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I found the Middle Temple Students website, where they have a page instructing students on the niceties of lunch there. (No sneakers, go for the soup and free bread, cross your cutlery atop placemat to save a spot next to your friends. It promised to help you avoid nabbing some QC's favorite spot, then didn't.)
Nov 24th, 2012, 08:10 AM
#12
I found the Middle Temple Students website,>>
well I found my way there
http://middletemplestudents.com/abou...lunch-in-hall/
and found that jeans are now permitted.
the end of civilisation is nigh.
well I found my way there
http://middletemplestudents.com/abou...lunch-in-hall/
and found that jeans are now permitted.
the end of civilisation is nigh.
Nov 24th, 2012, 08:26 AM
#13
Join Date: Apr 2003
Posts: 17,268
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
"which is what i assume you mean by Temple bar"
Temple Bar in London isn't a "section". It's a precise spot: these days of almost no interest to anyone except as a footnote TV commentators have to remember when the monarch formally visits the City of London. Once a physical gate (="Bar": the last real gate on the spot, designed by Christopher Wren, has moved around a bit over the last 125 years, but is now by St Paul's), it's the point where The Strand (Westminster) turns into Fleet St (The City), and the Lord Mayor offers the monarch the City's sword of state (ostensibly to symbolise his loyalty) and she hands it back (to symbolise she accepts he's the boss in The City and she's just a figurehead, which is the real point of the ceremony).
The area just south of the Temple Bar site that's worth looking at is called, as annhig says, the Temple. Absolutely not to be confused with the area called Temple Bar: a pleasant part of Dublin which the gombeen men haven't turned into a Legoland horror, where Britain's youth go to get ratarsed whenever one of their chums decides to get married.
Temple Bar in London isn't a "section". It's a precise spot: these days of almost no interest to anyone except as a footnote TV commentators have to remember when the monarch formally visits the City of London. Once a physical gate (="Bar": the last real gate on the spot, designed by Christopher Wren, has moved around a bit over the last 125 years, but is now by St Paul's), it's the point where The Strand (Westminster) turns into Fleet St (The City), and the Lord Mayor offers the monarch the City's sword of state (ostensibly to symbolise his loyalty) and she hands it back (to symbolise she accepts he's the boss in The City and she's just a figurehead, which is the real point of the ceremony).
The area just south of the Temple Bar site that's worth looking at is called, as annhig says, the Temple. Absolutely not to be confused with the area called Temple Bar: a pleasant part of Dublin which the gombeen men haven't turned into a Legoland horror, where Britain's youth go to get ratarsed whenever one of their chums decides to get married.
Dec 5th, 2012, 02:46 PM
#14
Join Date: Aug 2008
Posts: 2,989
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Annhig, thanks for the link to the Middle Temple “lunch-in-hall.” Just wondering – is that dining hall open to the general public? Probably not, eh? If (when) I return to London, I plan to explore this area more thoroughly.
Dec 6th, 2012, 01:16 PM
#16
lateday - here's the link.
http://www.middletemplehall.org.uk/food-lunch.html
instructions on how the hoi-poloi can dine with the nobs is at the bottom of the page.
http://www.middletemplehall.org.uk/food-lunch.html
instructions on how the hoi-poloi can dine with the nobs is at the bottom of the page.
