Which B&B/Hotel for London, nice sized rooms w/ bath?
 

My mom and I are looking for a good B&B or hotel in London for the beginning of May. An en-suite bathroom is MUST, and we want a decent-sized room. Are we going to have to pay $300+ US a night to get a room that's large enough to spread out in?

Thanks!!

(So far, we like the look of Lime Tree Hotel, but the room reviews are iffy -- staff, location, price, and breakfast all fit our bill perfectly)

Thanks!!

You might want to check out recent reports on priceline sales in London on www.biddingfortravel.com. In November it might be too early to be successful on priceline for a May occupancy but you have a lot of time to do research and practise your bidding if you do use priceline and eventually you probably will succeed and for far less than $300, perhaps less than a $100 for a four star hotel, depending on the zone you bid. Remember, you can't be certain what hotel you might purchase on priceline but it is possible with research to have a pretty good idea of which group it might come from. London is huge so consider what areas you would prefer; however, London transportation is quite efficient and most London tourist destinations are relatively easily accessible.

Thanks, but we aren't comfortable with the uncertainty of Priceline. We like to know exactly which hotel etc we're getting, so even though we'll pay more, Priceline isn't right for us.

Thanks for the suggestion though!

If you deal with them directly, they may be able to assure you one of the larger twin rooms. I stayed in one in 2002 that used to be pictured on their website that would meet your requirements.

On the other hand, the twin rooms in the Travel Inn County Hall are good sized, well-located but do not include breakfast. They are reasonably priced, safe and secure. However, they are not charming. They are typical motel modern.

Also, try londontown.com. You can search for lodging by specific type and location. Also, they are quite helpful via e-mail if you have questions, and can also help with private transportation, etc.
We liked the Hyde Park Radnor Hotel we found through londontown, but our quad room was quite small. It was also in a lower price range than yours. But it was a good location with a breakfast included. There were a number of B&B type hotels in the same neighborhood.

I think you'd be hard put to find a halfway decent hotel without an ensuite these days, anywhere in the UK. Most B&Bs too.

I understand your feelings about Priceline. I've always got good deals using

www.lastminute.com

(up to 70% discount on 4* hotels, but you need to book much nearer the time to get a good deal.

Also take a look at

www.activehotels.com

and

www.hoteldirect.co.uk

Good luck and have a great trip.

TS,

Rubens at the Palace sounds like the place for you. The rooms are big by London standards as well as the bath. You should book thru Londonhotelreservation.com. The price right now is 120 pounds per night including breakfast. It is the best deal we have found considering it's 2 blocks from the Palace.

Have a good trip.

Greg

Check out the B&B Bulldog Club. www.bulldogclub.com.

I joined last year. It costs STLG 25 for a three-year membership. I stayed at a lovely B&B in Mayfair. I think I paid around STLG 75/nt. Nice big room with ensuite bath overlooking an inner garden on South Audley St. Negatives are you have to pay upfront, and there is a 10% surcharge for one-night stays. Good Luck!

Barbara -- that's a thought. That was for the Lime Tree? I'll also check out the other one you mentioned.

Definitely will check out Londontown.com

Julia -- actually we're finding it to be about 50/50 whether the bathrooms are "en suite" or "private bath down the hall". My mom wants en suite, and that is non-negotiable with her.

Greg -- I *love* the sound of the Rubens, but when I plug in our trip dates on the website the best I can find is more than we can afford. :(

Bed and breakfast in London means different things to people. Most 'bed and breakfasts' in London are just code for cheap hotel with very simple rooms and often questionable cleanliness staffed by cheap labour.
There are few good 'bed and breakfasts' in the traditional, family owned, attentive personal service genre.
But there again $300 seems well over the top, you should be paying half that for a good bed and breakfast.

As a benchmark I'd bring to your attention the Luna and Simone in Victoria. There is in my view a balanced review of this at:
http://www.londontoolkit.com/accommo...ictoria_bb.htm