Which Premier Inn: Waterloo, Borough market or Victoria?

[stefanny28]

Hi;

We will visit London for the first time before our cruise.

We are a family of 3 and will stay in London for 3 days.

We plan to take the HOHO the 1st day and then walk or take the tube the other 2 days.

The sites we want to visit are:

London Eye

Big Ben

Tower Bridge, Millenium Bridge

Buckingham Palace

Borough Market

Bond and Oxford Street, Harrods and Westfield

 

Which one of the 3 Premier Inn is better suited for our needs? We will like to be able to walk to most sites.

 

Thank you for your advices.

[sddsddean]

I would think Waterloo (County Hall) would be best. Right beside the Eye, just across the river from Parliament and on through St James Park to Buck House. The London Aquarium is also housed in the old County Hall, if you are into that sort of thing. There is also a pier by the Eye and on the other side of the river at Westminster Bridge where you can get the river cruise boats. You can get the tube from Waterloo or north side of Westminster Bridge. Where are you sailing from? If Southampton, get the train from Waterloo station...normally less than £5 on www.megatrain.co.uk .

 

Simon

[Cotswold Eagle]

Premier Inns are a pretty standard product. All three that you mention are very close to some of the sights you want to see, and obviously further away from others. The Waterloo one is more in the 'middle' of your list, so possibly better on that basis. You will no doubt end up on the tube or bus at some point anyway, particularly if you want to spend some of your time in London in a shopping centre (you don't say which Westfield, but neither are walking distance from any of these locations).

[Bob++]

Yes Westfield is OK but really just another shopping mall. Bond Street and Oxford Street are adjacent to each other, but getting to Harrods will mean a tube ride.

 

If you like markets like Borough Market (very picturesque but mainly fruit, veg and produce) you could also try Camden Market which is much more varied though a bit more ramshackle. The recently refurbished Spitalfields Market on a Thursday is a haven for vintage fashion and antiques.

 

Wherever you go, a certain amount of planning is strongly advisable - London pavements are very hard on the feet.

 

http://www.timeout.com/london/shopping/london-markets

 

http://www.visitlondon.com/discover-london/london-areas/central/west-end

Edited January 13, 2015 by Bob++

[stefanny28]

I removed the Victoria location from my choices after reading all your advices.

 

Sorry, I should have mentionned that we are flying to Barcelona afterward to get on our cruise. We will be arriving and leaving from Heathrow.

Any good suggestion for a private car transfer from Heathrow?

 

The Premier Inn in Waterloo is the Westminster Bridge one, not the County Hall. I have read on some other thread on CC that the County Hall location does not have A/C. Since we will be traveling in July, that is why I had the Waterloo (Westminster Bridge) in mind.

Can someone confirm that the County Hall has no A/C in their rooms? (That is weird isn't it? when all the other locations have A/C).

 

So, between the Borough market location and the Waterloo (Westminster Bridge), which one?

Which one is better in term of nearby restaurants, ease of transport and walkeable attractions?

 

BTW, where is "Little India" in London? Which tube station?

 

Thanks

[Cotswold Eagle]

I don't know why they didn't put AC in to the County Hall location, but could well be that they couldn't knock an important London landmark about too much. The Waterloo one has a new build tower and Borough Market is entirely new build.

 

There are restaurants and pubs in the vicinity of both the ones still on your list. It's probably only 20-30 minutes walk from one to the other.

 

Waterloo is v convenient for London Eye and Big Ben and fairly close to Buckingham Palace. Borough for the market, Millenium Bridge and fairly close to Tower Bridge. Waterloo is slightly more convenient for tube stations (Waterloo and Wetminster).

Edited January 14, 2015 by Cotswold Eagle

[Cotswold Eagle]

I'm not quite sure what you mean by Little India. Southall, which is to the west of London, is sometimes known by that name, but that's a fair way away and best by train, not tube.

 

Could you be thinking of Brick Lane, a street in East London famous for its many curry houses? That is actually mostly a Bangladeshi community - many restaurants commonly called "Indians" in the UK are in fact Bangladeshi. Liverpool Street or Aldgate East tubes for Brick Lane.

[stefanny28]

Thank you very much. This is exactly what we are looking for.

Thank you for the information about the Bangladeshi restaurants.

 

I think we will book the Waterloo location. it does look more convenient for the tube.

 

Now, can I bother you all for one more question concerning the Oyster card?

When we arrive at Heathrow (with British Airways), which terminal will that be and where can we get an Oyster card?

How do we pay for it? How do we top it?

And how do we get a refund when we leave for Barcelona?

 

Thanks

[Globaliser]

Could you be thinking of Brick Lane, a street in East London famous for its many curry houses?

Although none of them worth visiting, AFAIK!

[Bob++]

BTW, where is "Little India" in London? Which tube station?

 

Thanks

 

As the Eagle says "Little India" is Southall.

The hub of activity in Little India is Southall Broadway in the centre of Southall. A range of independently owned stores are located here selling a range of authentic South Asian goods from jewellery to culinary delights to Asian clothing.

 

So dominant is the Indian heritage of the Southall district that the railway station is one of only a handful in the UK to have a bi-lingual sign, with the sign being displayed in Punjabi as well as English.

 

Southall is pronounced as it looks - South All.

 

There is, however, a Little India restaurant in Camden Market.