5 nights in London - help!!

[hsaroya]

Hi, our family of 4 (DH, me, Dd 14, DS 16) will be in London in Aug post cruise from Barcelona. Would prefer to stay in apt style accommodations with kitchen and in house laundry, etc. this is what I've found (tell me if I'm nuts):

 

2 bdr, 1 bath apartment in Lewisham, 100 yards from Crofton Park rail station. We don't mind taking the metro and once we are out for the day, would not be coming and going to our accommodations to rest etc, regardless of where we were staying. The rate is 450e for 5 nights. Pics look decent. I realize it's probably a residential area and that is not a problem. Those of you who are more knowledgeable about London than I am, please advise if this would be wise.

 

Also looking for sightseeing info. What are the things that we cannot miss given the time we have there? I realize this is subjective for everyone.

 

Would a hop on off be good or should we just use metro and transit busses on our own? We're not novice travellers.

 

DS wants to see as many football stadiums and expensive cars as possible, DD's mission is to go on a double decker bus, go on the Eye, and probably secretly meet boys with English accents :rolleyes: DH and I want to see the main sites.

 

We haven't booked flights out of Barcelona yet. Any advice about air travel, airports etc?

 

Thanks - I will have many more ?? as I get more into the London planning portion of the trip.

 

Harjinder

[jo24]

Hi, our family of 4 (DH, me, Dd 14, DS 16) will be in London in Aug post cruise from Barcelona. Would prefer to stay in apt style accommodations with kitchen and in house laundry, etc. this is what I've found (tell me if I'm nuts):

 

2 bdr, 1 bath apartment in Lewisham, 100 yards from Crofton Park rail station. We don't mind taking the metro and once we are out for the day, would not be coming and going to our accommodations to rest etc, regardless of where we were staying. The rate is 450e for 5 nights. Pics look decent. I realize it's probably a residential area and that is not a problem. Those of you who are more knowledgeable about London than I am, please advise if this would be wise.

 

Also looking for sightseeing info. What are the things that we cannot miss given the time we have there? I realize this is subjective for everyone.

 

Would a hop on off be good or should we just use metro and transit busses on our own? We're not novice travellers.

 

DS wants to see as many football stadiums and expensive cars as possible, DD's mission is to go on a double decker bus, go on the Eye, and probably secretly meet boys with English accents :rolleyes: DH and I want to see the main sites.

 

We haven't booked flights out of Barcelona yet. Any advice about air travel, airports etc?

 

Thanks - I will have many more ?? as I get more into the London planning portion of the trip.

 

Harjinder

 

Hi Harjinder

 

I don't feel able to comment on accommodation, I don't know the London area that well. However, with regards to sightseeing, I would definitely recommend either http://www.theoriginaltour.com/ or http://eng.bigbustours.com/international/home.html as these will probably be the best way for you to see a lot and for your DD to go on a double decker! It is a HOHO service and goes past all the main sights. The Original Tour has 3 different routes all covered by the same ticket which helps. Going on the tube would of course be slightly quicker but you will miss out on seeing so much when you go from one place to the next.

 

Football stadiums tend to be in the Greater London area and so would not be accessible from the HOHO service but most will be from the tube or trains.

 

Airport wise you would want to fly into either Heathrow or Gatwick. Gatwick is further out but you can get into London on the train. Heathrow is on the tube service (Piccadilly line) which makes getting into London a little easier.

 

Hope this helps a little

 

Jo :)

[hsaroya]

Thanks, Jo, for all the great tips.

 

I just realized I typed 450e when I meant 450 pounds. I also see that the Premier Inn Waterloo (Westminster Bridge) is 575 pounds for the same time. Londoners, what is the better choice and why?

[phabric]

We stayed at the Park Plaza Westminster Bridge which is very close to the Premier Inn Westminster, I would highly recommend this area. The London Eye, Westminster Abbey, Parliament, HOHO buses, regular bus, tube, restaurants, pubs, Waterloo train station, all within walking distance.

 

Check out http://www.royalcollection.org.uk, the royal staterooms at Buckingham Palace might be open when you are there.

 

The HOHO tickets are good for 24 hour period, have 3 routes, and include a Thamas river canal ride. There are 2 companies, both do the same routes. This is a great way to see London, you get off when you want to see someplace and then hop on again. The first time in London for a day and half, we took one route, switched to another and the next day we took it to the Tower of London , another great site to visit.

 

You might look into getting a private car hire to get you from/to airport/hotel. We have used http://www.justairports.com a few times. To get quote, use the hotel,s postal code (ours was SW1).

 

Harrod's store, their food section (dept) is interesting to see.

Edited February 17, 2014 by phabric

[tassietravellers]

We stayed at Studios2Let in Cartwright Gardens, a couple mins walk from Euston , Kings Cross and St Pancras stations for a week in August 2012 and are booked for another 8 nights in July this year.

Rooms werent large, but they did have full kitchens, including stove top, microwave oven, refridgerator, crockery etc ..so making breakfast was easy, plus some nights we just bought things to heat up.

We had a small courtyard with table and chairs which was lovely for a wine of an evening or to eat breakfast..I must say we had lovely weather while we were there.

 

Free wifi and inroom safe too. Supermarket and shops were about 5 minute walk, a couple hotels closeby had good reasonably priced meals too.

 

http://www.studios2letservicedapartslondon.com/

 

Deb

[Twickenham]

Hi, our family of 4 (DH, me, Dd 14, DS 16) will be in London in Aug post cruise from Barcelona. Would prefer to stay in apt style accommodations with kitchen and in house laundry, etc. this is what I've found (tell me if I'm nuts):

 

2 bdr, 1 bath apartment in Lewisham, 100 yards from Crofton Park rail station. We don't mind taking the metro and once we are out for the day, would not be coming and going to our accommodations to rest etc, regardless of where we were staying. The rate is 450e for 5 nights. Pics look decent. I realize it's probably a residential area and that is not a problem. Those of you who are more knowledgeable about London than I am, please advise if this would be wise.

 

Also looking for sightseeing info. What are the things that we cannot miss given the time we have there? I realize this is subjective for everyone.

 

Would a hop on off be good or should we just use metro and transit busses on our own? We're not novice travellers.

 

DS wants to see as many football stadiums and expensive cars as possible, DD's mission is to go on a double decker bus, go on the Eye, and probably secretly meet boys with English accents :rolleyes: DH and I want to see the main sites.

 

We haven't booked flights out of Barcelona yet. Any advice about air travel, airports etc?

 

Thanks - I will have many more ?? as I get more into the London planning portion of the trip.

 

Harjinder

 

And I thought I was the only one who went around taking pictures of stadiums... :D

 

We've stayed in many self-catering properties (the British term for vacation rentals), and love the extra space and facilities. Can't specifically talk about the location, as I'm unfamiliar with Lewisham, but if this is the property you're looking at, it looks very nice. The location appears to be on a high street (re: main street), with lots of shops and takeaways (re: carryout restaurants), and very close to the train station. While I'm giving you a lesson in British English here ;), I might as well add this one: metro is never used to describe the London Underground, usually underground or tube are used.

 

Staying a bit out-of-centre can be very pleasant, as it probably won't be as busy at night, and you get a real feel for a proper neighbourhood.

 

As for transport to Barcelona, I feel obligated, being the train-loving person that I am, to point out that you can in fact take the train from Barcelona to London, first via

, then the Eurostar to London, although it does take a full day. However, if flying, you could probably include the flight with your TA ticket. What are your TA flight plans?

[hsaroya]

We stayed at Studios2Let in Cartwright Gardens, a couple mins walk from Euston , Kings Cross and St Pancras stations for a week in August 2012 and are booked for another 8 nights in July this year.

Rooms werent large, but they did have full kitchens, including stove top, microwave oven, refridgerator, crockery etc ..so making breakfast was easy, plus some nights we just bought things to heat up.

We had a small courtyard with table and chairs which was lovely for a wine of an evening or to eat breakfast..I must say we had lovely weather while we were there.

 

Free wifi and inroom safe too. Supermarket and shops were about 5 minute walk, a couple hotels closeby had good reasonably priced meals too.

 

http://www.studios2letservicedapartslondon.com/

 

Deb

 

Thanks for the info, Deb. This looks like a great place!

[hsaroya]

And I thought I was the only one who went around taking pictures of stadiums... :D

 

We've stayed in many self-catering properties (the British term for vacation rentals), and love the extra space and facilities. Can't specifically talk about the location, as I'm unfamiliar with Lewisham, but if this is the property you're looking at, it looks very nice. The location appears to be on a high street (re: main street), with lots of shops and takeaways (re: carryout restaurants), and very close to the train station. While I'm giving you a lesson in British English here ;), I might as well add this one: metro is never used to describe the London Underground, usually underground or tube are used.

 

Staying a bit out-of-centre can be very pleasant, as it probably won't be as busy at night, and you get a real feel for a proper neighbourhood.

 

As for transport to Barcelona, I feel obligated, being the train-loving person that I am, to point out that you can in fact take the train from Barcelona to London, first via

, then the Eurostar to London, although it does take a full day. However, if flying, you could probably include the flight with your TA ticket. What are your TA flight plans?

 

We were at Camp Nou last year. For my son, it was akin to a religious pilgrimage! By the end of it, he had even me convinced we were on holy ground. :rolleyes: and I only reserve that feeling for American outlet malls. ;) A train would be lovely, but time constraints won't allow it this time. We're flying London to Edmonton via Iceland on Icelandair. First cruise after retirement will be a transatlantic! A few years to go yet, sadly. And, yes, that is the place. I'm hoping some Londoners will chime in with a definitive yay or nay on it soon.

Edited February 18, 2014 by hsaroya

[Post Captain]

We stayed at Studios2Let in Cartwright Gardens, a couple mins walk from Euston , Kings Cross and St Pancras stations for a week in August 2012 and are booked for another 8 nights in July this year.

Rooms werent large, but they did have full kitchens, including stove top, microwave oven, refridgerator, crockery etc ..so making breakfast was easy, plus some nights we just bought things to heat up.

We had a small courtyard with table and chairs which was lovely for a wine of an evening or to eat breakfast..I must say we had lovely weather while we were there.

 

Free wifi and inroom safe too. Supermarket and shops were about 5 minute walk, a couple hotels closeby had good reasonably priced meals too.

 

http://www.studios2letservicedapartslondon.com/

 

Deb

 

That indeed sounds lovely.

 

Given the choice between staying in Cartwright Gardens and staying in Lewisham, all other things being equal, I'd choose Cartwright Gardens every time.

 

I know the immediate setting and the surrounding neighborhood very well. The location is extremely convenient in several respects. Among other things, it's just around the corner from Russell Square, a short walk from the British Museum, and near several tube (not metro;):D) stations and a number of bus routes.

 

If there's a price advantage to staying in Lewisham (a district I admittedly don't know first-hand), it could well be outweighed by the time and cost involved in traveling between there and central London.

 

Just my tuppence 'orth.;)

[hsaroya]

Thanks for your two cents, ;) Post Captain. I'm getting quite the colloquial education with this thread! I'll be sounding like a local come August :). Sadly, the Cartwright apartments are only showing availability for one double bed studios.

[tassietravellers]

 

That indeed sounds lovely.

 

Given the choice between staying in Cartwright Gardens and staying in Lewisham, all other things being equal, I'd choose Cartwright Gardens every time.

 

I know the immediate setting and the surrounding neighborhood very well. The location is extremely convenient in several respects. Among other things, it's just around the corner from Russell Square, a short walk from the British Museum, and near several tube (not metro;):D) stations and a number of bus routes.

 

If there's a price advantage to staying in Lewisham (a district I admittedly don't know first-hand), it could well be outweighed by the time and cost involved in traveling between there and central London.

 

Just my tuppence 'orth.;)

 

At around 700 pounds for 8 nights..I think its great value. We will be arriving on the Eurostar again and its an easy 5 minutes walk, especially with luggage.

 

We found Cartwright Gardens to be a rather quiet area too, even though only being a corner away from the busy Euston Road. Bloomsbury has lots of great restaurants and pubs. The apartments had the added bonus of being less than 15mins walk to British Museum, 20min to Regents Park, 5mins to British Library..we walked basically everywhere when we were in London last..even back from Leicester Square of a nighton a couple of occassions, never had any problems at all or ever felt unsafe.

 

We even picked up our rental car from Euston Station, it was so easy, ...turned right onto Euston Road and then kept going, it becomes the A40 a few miles from Euston, about 1.5 hrs and we were at Stratford upon Avon...and no Congestion Charges!

Deb

[Cotswold Eagle]

I'm hoping some Londoners will chime in with a definitive yay or nay on it soon.

 

The odds on finding a Londoner on this board who knows this particular residential area are quite long! I have lived in South London for many years and I don't know anything about Crofton Park at all, I'm afraid :) Lewisham borough has good and bad parts. This looks like one of the OK ones. It's part of Brockley, not Lewisham town itself, a once wealthy suburb, where most of the large houses are now sub-divided into apartments.

 

The main downside to me would be commuting into central London - you mentioned the 'metro'. This is an overground station, not part of the underground (tube), primarily for commuters, with only two off-peak trains an hour into London - this particular line goes through the edge of the City up towards St Pancras - it will take about 20 minutes to get to Blackfriars where you can change on to the tube, or a little longer to St Pancras for different lines. It's not a huge issue, just makes your transport planning a little out of the ordinary (note you will be in Zone 3 for ticket purposes). The trains will be very busy with commuters at peak times.

 

As they say, you pays your money and makes your choice.

[Pet Nit Noy]

Thanks for your two cents, ;) Post Captain. I'm getting quite the colloquial education with this thread! I'll be sounding like a local come August :). Sadly, the Cartwright apartments are only showing availability for one double bed studios.

 

Here are two other very reliable resources for you to consider: VRBO and Airbnb. (My husband I have used the first service. Friends whose opinion I value have used the second.)

 

VRBO stands for Vacation Rental by Owner. Here's the link to the London listings:

http://www.vrbo.com/vacation-rentals/europe/england/london

 

I plugged in the dates of August 14 to August 21 -- sleeping 4 -- and got 149 available options in the Westminster section of London.

[tassietravellers]

Thanks for your two cents, ;) Post Captain. I'm getting quite the colloquial education with this thread! I'll be sounding like a local come August :). Sadly, the Cartwright apartments are only showing availability for one double bed studios.

 

Might be worth emailing them if you were interested, we got a quick reply from them when we emailed before our last stay.

[hsaroya]

The odds on finding a Londoner on this board who knows this particular residential area are quite long! I have lived in South London for many years and I don't know anything about Crofton Park at all, I'm afraid :) Lewisham borough has good and bad parts. This looks like one of the OK ones. It's part of Brockley, not Lewisham town itself, a once wealthy suburb, where most of the large houses are now sub-divided into apartments.

 

The main downside to me would be commuting into central London - you mentioned the 'metro'. This is an overground station, not part of the underground (tube), primarily for commuters, with only two off-peak trains an hour into London - this particular line goes through the edge of the City up towards St Pancras - it will take about 20 minutes to get to Blackfriars where you can change on to the tube, or a little longer to St Pancras for different lines. It's not a huge issue, just makes your transport planning a little out of the ordinary (note you will be in Zone 3 for ticket purposes). The trains will be very busy with commuters at peak times.

 

As they say, you pays your money and makes your choice.

 

Thank you! The information about transportation was exactly what I was looking for. I think I'll have to drop this location from my possibilities. Any thoughts on the Hammersmith and Fulham area, particularly near the Westfield shopping center, 5 min walking distance from the Sheperd's Bush station? If I'm not mistaken, my son would be able to get his fill of FC stadiums in this area?? I'm still wanting to get an apartment style rather than a standard hotel and that seems to be limited in the heart of London. What would transportation from this location to the main sites be like?

 

Thanks, everyone, for your excellent feedback!!

[Twickenham]

Thank you! The information about transportation was exactly what I was looking for. I think I'll have to drop this location from my possibilities. Any thoughts on the Hammersmith and Fulham area, particularly near the Westfield shopping center, 5 min walking distance from the Sheperd's Bush station? If I'm not mistaken, my son would be able to get his fill of FC stadiums in this area?? I'm still wanting to get an apartment style rather than a standard hotel and that seems to be limited in the heart of London. What would transportation from this location to the main sites be like?

 

Thanks, everyone, for your excellent feedback!!

 

This would be halfway between LHR and Central London. Much more convenient location. Shepherd's Budh is on the Central line, so very convenient. You can also take it the other way and connect at Ealing Broadway to the Heathrow Connect.

[orchestrapal]

Thank you! The information about transportation was exactly what I was looking for. I think I'll have to drop this location from my possibilities. Any thoughts on the Hammersmith and Fulham area, particularly near the Westfield shopping center, 5 min walking distance from the Sheperd's Bush station? If I'm not mistaken, my son would be able to get his fill of FC stadiums in this area?? I'm still wanting to get an apartment style rather than a standard hotel and that seems to be limited in the heart of London. What would transportation from this location to the main sites be like?

Thanks, everyone, for your excellent feedback!!

 

 

Hammersmith or Fulham are better than your original Lewisham, way too far out.

The closer you can get to central London and an underground (not train) station

the more you will enjoy your visit. As for stadia we have done a number of these

and 3 hours or so spent on the Jubilee line from end to end will get you very close to several.

Get Oyster cards for each of you before your first underground trip. You'll save a lot of money on transportation. We will be in London on our 37th visit this August- September and can't wait. I would be happy to email with you if you want any more information.

[SteveH2508]

Fulham will have a few expensive cars for your son to ogle. A mile or two down the road is Chelsea, Belgravia, Knightsbridge and Mayfair where he will more than get his fill. Look out for the car showrooms on Park Lane and in Berkeley Square.

[hsaroya]

Hammersmith or Fulham are better than your original Lewisham, way too far out.

The closer you can get to central London and an underground (not train) station

the more you will enjoy your visit. As for stadia we have done a number of these

and 3 hours or so spent on the Jubilee line from end to end will get you very close to several.

Get Oyster cards for each of you before your first underground trip. You'll save a lot of money on transportation. We will be in London on our 37th visit this August- September and can't wait. I would be happy to email with you if you want any more information.

 

Thanks for the offer. I would appreciate it very much. My email is hsaroya@hotmail.com

[hsaroya]

Fulham will have a few expensive cars for your son to ogle. A mile or two down the road is Chelsea, Belgravia, Knightsbridge and Mayfair where he will more than get his fill. Look out for the car showrooms on Park Lane and in Berkeley Square.

 

The boy will be in heaven!

[Giantfan13]

I know your time in London is short and there is so much to see, but if you even think this might be your only time there for a while, you 'MIGHT' consider doing a trip outsider of London for one day. You can easily book one of those three places tours like Windsor Castle, Stonehenge and Bath (or whatever you might like to see). Or, if you were adventurous, you could take the Eurostar train to Paris for the day. Your kids would definitely love to ride the Eurostar, and just spending a day in Paris would make anyone happy.

 

Of course there is so much to see and do in London, but if you budget your time well, you can accomplish a lot of this and still have a day left over to get out of the city for other adventures.

 

anyway, just a thought.

 

Oh, have you considered booking a tour of Buckingham Palace?

 

Cheers

 

Len

[Morgans]

Both Hammersmith and Fulham are not central and personally would steer clear of Lewisham. Would suggest you look at http://www.citadines.com for London as these are pretty good and central. The Citadines Barbican is very well placed being only a couple of minutes from a tube station and has easy access to the arsenal football ground. Also easy sightseeing for St Paul's ,charterhouse Square and the river etc. it's in a decent central area.

Edited February 22, 2014 by Morgans

[hsaroya]

I know your time in London is short and there is so much to see, but if you even think this might be your only time there for a while, you 'MIGHT' consider doing a trip outsider of London for one day. You can easily book one of those three places tours like Windsor Castle, Stonehenge and Bath (or whatever you might like to see). Or, if you were adventurous, you could take the Eurostar train to Paris for the day. Your kids would definitely love to ride the Eurostar, and just spending a day in Paris would make anyone happy.

 

Of course there is so much to see and do in London, but if you budget your time well, you can accomplish a lot of this and still have a day left over to get out of the city for other adventures.

 

anyway, just a thought.

 

Oh, have you considered booking a tour of Buckingham Palace?

 

Cheers

 

Len

 

Thanks, Len. I have another thread asking advice re: day trips. Both kids and I were in Paris last year for our respective school trips, but it's definitely a city worth seeing again. However, only having one day there would probably be frustrating for all of us. Right now, I'm torn between Stratford, York, and Bath. Didn't know about being able to book the Palace tour. Will definitely look into that!

[hsaroya]

Both Hammersmith and Fulham are not central and personally would steer clear of Lewisham. Would suggest you look at http://www.citadines.com for London as these are pretty good and central. The Citadines Barbican is very well placed being only a couple of minutes from a tube station and has easy access to the arsenal football ground. Also easy sightseeing for St Paul's ,charterhouse Square and the river etc. it's in a decent central area.

 

I will give it a look - thanks!

[Giantfan13]

Thanks, Len. I have another thread asking advice re: day trips. Both kids and I were in Paris last year for our respective school trips, but it's definitely a city worth seeing again. However, only having one day there would probably be frustrating for all of us. Right now, I'm torn between Stratford, York, and Bath. Didn't know about being able to book the Palace tour. Will definitely look into that!

 

I'm not sure of your travel dates, but Buckingham Palace is open during a special time during the summertime, when the Queen is 'out of town'. Our local friends can help more with the dates, but you do need to prebook a time and date.

 

Cheers

 

Len