Hotels near tourist spots in London

[MikeNKim]

Looking for suggestions please.

 

What area of London should I be looking into be fairly close to the usual tourist spots Buckingham Palace, West Minster Abbey, Big Ben etc.

 

Thank you all in advance

 

kim

[Globaliser]

What area of London should I be looking into be fairly close to the usual tourist spots Buckingham Palace, West Minster Abbey, Big Ben etc.

There is no such thing. The "usual tourist spots" are spread out all over the city centre, and you cannot be close to all of them.

 

If you specifically want to be close to these three places, then look for something in Westminster, St James's or Victoria. The County Hall (and nearby) hotels would not be too far away either.

[MikeNKim]

Thank you so much for the info.

 

Since you are from the area can I ask another question. 😇

 

Is it easy to get from place to place as far as tourist spots go? If things aren't all close together is the public transit easy to navigate?

 

Thank you

[PORT ROYAL]

Looking for suggestions please.

 

What area of London should I be looking into be fairly close to the usual tourist spots Buckingham Palace, West Minster Abbey, Big Ben etc.

 

Thank you all in advance

 

kim

 

http://www.lanesborough.com/eng/home/

 

Central for Knightsbridge, Oxford Street, the Royal Parks, and close to the underground (metro). The Concierge can arrange for a car if required.

You can walk to Buckingham Palace from the Hotel.

Edited July 23, 2015 by PORT ROYAL

[nmg85]

Thank you so much for the info.

 

 

 

Since you are from the area can I ask another question. [emoji56]

 

 

 

Is it easy to get from place to place as far as tourist spots go? If things aren't all close together is the public transit easy to navigate?

 

 

 

Thank you

 

 

Yes public transport is easy to navigate and fairly cheap

[Hatters cruiser]

Thank you so much for the info.

 

Since you are from the area can I ask another question. 😇

 

Is it easy to get from place to place as far as tourist spots go? If things aren't all close together is the public transit easy to navigate?

 

Thank you

 

It is fairly easy to get from place to place using the Underground and buses in London, the tube goes close to many sites.

This is a link to the Transport for London current tube map.

 

https://tfl.gov.uk/cdn/static/cms/documents/tube-map-may-2015.pdf

 

Almost all the the major tourist sites are located somewhere in the central zone 1 area and are easily accessed by the Circle and other lines in that area. Some places such as Buckingham Palace are announced on the tube train 'Green Park alight here for Buckingham Palace' for example.

A few like Tate modern or the Globe are on the Southbank of the Thames but most of them can be got to using the Jubilee line.

[Bob++]

And don't forget the river. There are boats plying up and down river which offer a pleasant break from dark tunnels and traffic jams. For example, after a few hard hours in The Tower of London (Early start is recommended) catch a boat from the nearby wharf to The London Eye or Westminster Abbey.

 

The trick is to plan your days so that you do not spend too much time travelling. You should also check out the theatre scene for the evenings - there are the most amazing shows on offer all the time.

[surebeatssailing]

Although I am not from London someone on these boards referred me to londontoolkit.com . There is a huge amount of information there.

 

We are going to London on Aug 22 after a baltic cruise & are staying at the Doubletree in Westminster...walkable to many sites. I also looked into the big Bus Tours HOHO which takes you to almost all of the highlights [ also on the londontoolkit site ]. There is even theater info there.

 

We prefer to travel above ground so we can see more of London.

[Chloe1500]

We stayed in Westminster for three nights before a cruise and were able to easily walk to Westminster Abbey, Big Ben, Churchill War Rooms, shopping in Victoria, as well as to the river to ride the tourist boat to the London Tower. We also used the Tube to get around to father flung areas, such as the British Museum. It was easy, efficient. People were happy to help us buy tickets and coach us a bit. We did ride the Original HoHo bus one day (based on advice on these forums) but found it not very efficient or pleasant because buses were hung up in traffic so often, very crowded, and just too much time was lost waiting, IMO.

Edited July 23, 2015 by Chloe1500

[Globaliser]

If you specifically want to be close to these three places, then look for something in Westminster, St James's or Victoria.

Sorry, a word accidentally fell out of this sentence: it should have said St James's Park (ie near the Tube station).

[phabric]

I have stayed in the Victoria area - Buckingham Palace, The Mews, The Mall, Queen's Gallery, Victoria coach station, train station and Westminster area - Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, Parliament, Thames river, London Eye, train station. Both have Hop On/Hop Off bus, regular bus, tube stations, pubs, restaurants.

 

I have walked from our hotel in Victoria to Westminster to see the sights.

 

I will be staying at Premier Inn Waterloo in August.

[Morgans]

The Taj St James Court hotel is very convenient for Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, Pall Mall, St James Park etc if these are the things you want to see.

 

The Tower Hotel is handy for the East and the Tower area and river areas

 

Holiday Inn, Kensington Forum is handy for the large museums in the west and posh shopping.

 

Club Quarters St Paul's is a very handy hotel for St Pauls, Paternoster Square, Charterhouse. millennium Bridge and Tate Modern & Globe Theatre.

 

Just some examples of very convenient hotels for the various sights. No one hotel has immediate access to all sights - depends what your priorities are. Several other recommendations can be found on these boards.

[Pet Nit Noy]

Looking for suggestions please.

 

What area of London should I be looking into be fairly close to the usual tourist spots Buckingham Palace, West Minster Abbey, Big Ben etc.

 

Thank you all in advance

 

kim

 

Go to the Transport for London and look at the map of the system. You'll see a bottle shaped section of the map in the center. (Notting Hill will be the station on the West and Aldgate will be the station on the east.) If you choose a hotel close to any of the stations along this bottle shape or the stations that fall within this bottle shape, you'll be very well positioned for touring London. With so many good options, I'm going to make a slightly different suggestion.

 

Will you want to stay close to your hotel for dinner at the end of a day of touring or will you be willing to travel again to go to a specific restaurant? If the answer is "stay close" there are definitely better areas than others for restaurants. For example, I believe the area near the government buildings has fewer night time food options than hotel near Covent Garden or in a more residential neighborhood like Mayfair (Green Park Station) or Soho (Tottenham Court Road).

 

And, finally, if...

o you're from the US...

o are used to air conditioning in your home...

o and will be traveling in London in the summer

... find out about the air conditioning situation at your hotel.

 

We visited London three weeks ago, arriving at the end of the hottest day ever on record. Walking through the un-air conditioned halls of our hotel (Chesterfield Mayfair) we definitely had a few moments of uncertainty about our choice. When we walked in the room, we happily encountered a super, powerful air conditioning system. Although the temps cooled down somewhat, we were touring during very warm days and it was blissful to come back to a cool and comfortable room.

Edited July 24, 2015 by Pet Nit Noy

[baggal]

The most difficult part of planning our British Isles cruise last summer was deciding on a pre-cruise London hotel. I asked for recommendations from multiple friends and family who travel to London on business or vacation. And for months I frequently checked the board here. Even though I grew up in NYC but now live in a NYC suburb, I found the size of London and the diversity of its neighborhoods to be overwhelming.

 

The OP didn't mention his budget. That was the biggest issue for us. Again, I am used to NYC prices but LONDON IS VERY EXPENSIVE. We had plenty of recommendations for charming boutique hotels in lovely neighborhoods but these were "expense account hotels" coming in at well over $500 a night.

 

We finally settled on the Park Plaza Westminster Bridge (somewhere in the middle price-wise but not inexpensive either) and were very pleased. Its new and modern with great air conditioning but very conveniently located to the tube or the HOP ON OFF bus (which we used and didn't mind the traffic). Hotel employees were very pleasant and helpful. If I was staying longer I would have preferred a neighborhood with some other restaurant options within close walking distance but it was fine for a few nights.

 

Have a great trip.

Edited July 24, 2015 by baggal
spelling

[Pet Nit Noy]

The OP didn't mention his budget. That was the biggest issue for us. Again, I am used to NYC prices but LONDON IS VERY EXPENSIVE. We had plenty of recommendations for charming boutique hotels in lovely neighborhoods but these were "expense account hotels" coming in at well over $500 a night.

 

We finally settled on the Park Plaza Westminster Bridge (somewhere in the middle price-wise but not inexpensive either) and were very pleased. Its new and modern with great air conditioning but very conveniently located to the tube or the HOP ON OFF bus (which we used and didn't mind the traffic). Hotel employees were very pleasant and helpful. If I was staying longer I would have preferred a neighborhood with some other restaurant options within close walking distance but it was fine for a few nights.

 

Have a great trip.

 

We stayed at the Chesterfield Mayfair a long block away from Berkeley Square, Mayfair. The hotel cost 250 GBP per night. We loved the hotel's location because of its very short walk to the Green Park Tube Station, the #9 bus for traveling to Trafalgar Square and to the Strand side of the West End theater district. However, it was not so fabulous for restaurants. There was a wonderfully located Pret a Manger for eating a fresh, tasty but inexpensive breakfast every morning en route to our day's activities. But the dinners were mostly expensive account places like Nobu. The Soho neighborhood, offers lots of delicious but moderately priced -- moderately priced for London -- options: 10 Greek Street, Antidote, Ember Yard are three we've enjoyed. We're good walkers so we'd walk nightly through Berkely Square to Conduit Street and straight into Soho.

[pkamison]

We have stayed several times at the Rubens at the Palace - down the street from Victoria Station and across the street from hop on hop off bus

[orchestrapal]

Personally I would recommend the area of Coventry Garden/Trafalgar Square.

The Radisson Edwardian Blu chain has several 4 and 5 star hotels in the area.

We love the Hampshire 5 star for location and charm. It is Walking distance to too many sights to mention, three underground stations within two blocks along with hundreds of restaurants including China Town and all the West End theatres.

After having stayed in many neighborhoods none was as convenient.

[Globaliser]

... Coventry Garden ...

For clarity, I suspec that you mean "Covent Garden" - and it is worth noting the slightly unexpected spelling of that first word.

[Bob++]

Another suggestion to muddy the waters:

 

Hotels in The City of London - the business district - tend to offer very good value on Friday/Saturday nights. This is because their usual clientele are out of town. They are well placed for The Tower of London, Tower Bridge and St Paul's, and access to buses, trains and boats is good. These are just two of many.

 

Grange City Hotel - http://www.grangehotels.com/hotels-london/grange-city/about-this-hotel/

 

Hotel Novotel - http://www.novotel.com/gb/hotel-3107-novotel-london-tower-bridge/index.shtml

[orchestrapal]

For clarity, I suspec that you mean "Covent Garden" - and it is worth noting the slightly unexpected spelling of that first word.

 

Sorry, that's my IPAD spell check! YES I mean COVENT GARDEN..

Edited July 26, 2015 by orchestrapal

[lamchops]

Looking for suggestions please.

 

What area of London should I be looking into be fairly close to the usual tourist spots Buckingham Palace, West Minster Abbey, Big Ben etc.

 

Thank you all in advance

 

kim

 

We stayed near Victoria Station the last 2 visits to London. The no frills Best Western Victoria Palace met our needs and there were plenty of smaller hotels in the area. The Premier Inn and the Doubletree are chain hotels in the area.

 

Day 1

DW and I arrived on the red eye and walked to Buckingham Palace, Wellington Arch, and Harrods before running out of steam.

 

Day 2

We walked to the Mews, Guards Museam, Westminster Abby, Big Ben, Calvary Museum, and finished at Trafalger Square before taking the bus via Picadilly Square back.

 

Day 3

We walked to the Churchill War rooms which was near Westminster Abby which with better planning we could of included in day 2 and left Trafalgar Square and Picadilly Square for day 3.

 

The other days we took the tube or train from Victoria station to Windsor Castle, British Museum, or the London Tower/Bridge area. The coach station was also nearby for cheap transport to Southampton.

 

We are not avid walkers but everything was a 10-20 minute walk from each other so we just walked and people watched.

 

PS. The HOHO and tour companies are also in the area as DW insisted we do the Warner Bros. Studio tour for "Harry Potter" fans.

Edited July 26, 2015 by lamchops
PS.

[tncap]

Hotels in The City of London - the business district - tend to offer very good value on Friday/Saturday nights. This is because their usual clientele are out of town.

 

Capital idea as I will be arriving on a Saturday. Thank you for the suggestions.