Virgin Atlantic Vacations vs. British Air
 

Does anyone have any info on the London vacations provided by Virgin and British Airways? They list many hotels, but I can't find any of them listed in the Fodors guide which makes me nervous. Has anyone gone on any of these vacations? If so, what was your experience??

I have used both, Virgin & B.A. tour packages and liked them both. I prefer Virgin just a little better. What hotels were you interested in and what area? Maybe I can tell you about them and about the area.

Valerie,
Some of the hotels available in the Virgin packages are: The Crofton, The Inverness Court, Hotel Senator, Jarvis Embassy House, The Paragon, The Kennedy, Academy, The Copthorne Tara, Forte Posthouse Kensington, The White House, Harrington Hall and The Strand Palace. These were all in my price range. Any info you can give would be appreciated. Thanks.

We stayed at the Strand Palace a few years ago, actually on a B.A. program. I had heard so much about it, had friends who stayed there yearly, etc., that I was most eager. Our room was streetside and unbelievably noisy, as the Strand is one of the busiest, noisiest streets in London. We asked to be moved and lucked out when we were moved to an interior room, which turned out to be evidently the largest room in the hotel, judging from the boards on each floor showing the individual rooms. At that, I would say it was still just an average-sized room. We talked to quite a few other guests who all complained about the smallness of their rooms. I didn't know exactly what they meant until we walked by a room that was being made up, and I couldn't believe the size. It looked like about 2 feet all around the bed, and that was it. It must have been more, but it was really SMALL! Still, the hotel has an excellent reputation and is in a most convenient location. I don't know anything about any of the others you mentioned, but hopefully Valerie can shed some light on some of them. On a previous trip we had stayed at the Westbury (I am under the impression that its name has since been changed), and it was lovely, but about $300 a night, and that was several years ago.

Jean, I have stayed at the Kennedy Hotel. I found it very nice but as with all of the hotels mentioned, they have tiny rooms. Don't be put off by this because usually you don't spend that much time in your room. London Hotels are extremely expensive. The Kennedy hotel was down the street from Euston station. I thought the hotel was nice but away from everything. I have stayed in about 10 different hotels in London and my best advice would be to choose a good location above everything else. I now only stay in the area of Hyde Park ( on top) by Lancaster Gate or Queensway tube. If you travel by subway (tube) it is important to get your hotel close to one. I like the upper Hyde Park area because there are alot of accessible restaurants, pubs and such located there. It is also nice to stroll along the Park at dusk. The Iverness hotel I would not recommend. For London, in those brochures, I would not go below a Superior Tourist class. First Class is best if you can afford it. Stay away from the Tourist Class as they are bottom of the barrell. Expect to pay at least $100 - $120 a night if you want the very basic, which is what the hotels were that you had mentioned. Good luck and have fun.