Hotel suggestions London

[mumofsons]

We will be in London next year for four or five days pre cruise - Any suggestions of hotels very close to tube and reasonably priced would be very appreciated.  We plan on taking the bullet train for one day in Paris.  Figure we want to see as many as the major sites and will probably do hop on hop off for at least one day to get lay of the land.  We usually stay at hotels like the Hampton Inn and so looking for something like that in London.  

Thanks April 

[phabric]

I have stayed 4x at Premier Inn Waterloo. I book and watch the price (sometimes the price changes) and rebooked with the new rate. They have a bar, restaurant, a/c and friendly staff.  The hotel is walking distance to HOHO, regular bus, tube, Waterloo train station, London Eye, Parliament, Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, Thamas river, pubs, restaurants, 

[Turtles06]

11 hours ago, mumofsons said:

We usually stay at hotels like the Hampton Inn and so looking for something like that in London.  

 

Last fall, we spent several days pre-cruise at the Hampton Inn, Waterloo.  A short walk to the Waterloo rail and tube stations.  And we walked from the hotel to Westminster Abbey, as well as to the London Eye.   The hotel was more "upscale" than Hampton Inns in the U.S. (and with a much better breakfast!).   We booked pretty early, watched the prices, and when we saw a drop, we modified our reservation accordingly. 

 

P.S. By "bullet train" to Paris, I'm sure you mean the Eurostar.  Just an fyi that the earlier you book it (once seats go on sale for your date), the cheaper it will be.   If you aren't familiar with this web site, it's invaluable reading before you book the Eurostar:

 

https://www.seat61.com/

[dani negreanu]

Premier Inn King's Cross for the Eurostar.

Premier Inn Victoria Station.

Premier Inn West Quai/Southampton for walking to the pier....

 

Follow the rates and cancel and re-book if there is a drop 😀

[sumiandkage]

Other European budget brands similar to Hampton include Ibis Styles (and some general Ibis properties though the Ibis Budget sub-brand is really budget) and Motel One. Holiday Inn Express also has a number of outposts there, though the Holiday Inn Express-Swiss Cottage isn't the screaming deal by London standards it used to be. 

[ducklite]

Personally I think the HoHo is a waste of precious time in London.  There is no getting the lay of the land, London is HUGE.

 

Make a list of the things you want to do, group them by area, figure out which ones have specific times or get very crowded so you want o get there early, and go.

 

As far as the Eurostar, it leaves from St. Pancras Station.  The first one goes at around 5:30 AM.  You must be at St. Pancras to check in an hour in advance.  There will be airport type security (although they don't limit liquids) and you will need your passport.

 

The last train leaves Gare Du Nord Paris around 9:00pm.  It won't wait, be there with plenty of time to spare.  Passport control coming back into the UK is strict and be prepared to answer questions about where you are staying and the purpose of your trip to Paris.  You will also pass through security there.  Feel free to bring dinner or a bottle of wine with you to drink on the train.  No glasses or tableware will be provided, so be prepared.

 

I'd look at renting a flat through Air BnB for a stay of 4-5 days.  I LOVE the South Kensington area, there are a few flats within a five minute walk of the Glouster Rd and So Ken stations.  You'll want to Uber to St. Pancras if taking the early train.  Covent Garden and the West End area have good access to several Tube lines and also are walking distance to a number of main tourist attractions.

 

[Globaliser]

On 5/26/2019 at 1:43 PM, mumofsons said:

We plan on taking the bullet train for one day in Paris.

 

If you only have four or five days in London, my constant view is that the time spent travelling between London and Paris is a waste of precious sightseeing time. You won't see much of Paris, either. Both cities need many weeks, and simply grazing Paris for a day is pointless. It could be different if you have something specific that you need to go to Paris for. But otherwise, Paris will still be there for next time.

[ducklite]

26 minutes ago, Globaliser said:

 

If you only have four or five days in London, my constant view is that the time spent travelling between London and Paris is a waste of precious sightseeing time. You won't see much of Paris, either. Both cities need many weeks, and simply grazing Paris for a day is pointless. It could be different if you have something specific that you need to go to Paris for. But otherwise, Paris will still be there for next time.

I do agree.  I believe you could live in London your entire life and still never be able to explore it's every nook and cranny.  The last time I was there we spent 16 days and left feeling like we had been there for two hours in relation to the things we wanted to see and do, and what we were able to.  Overall, it was probably the best holiday we've ever had.

[Globaliser]

2 hours ago, ducklite said:

I believe you could live in London your entire life and still never be able to explore it's every nook and cranny.

 

Indeed! I've now lived in London for nearly 35 years. Yet last weekend was the first time that I've ever been inside the Tower of London, and that was only for an hour or so (end-to-end) for the Ceremony of the Keys.

[Triptkr]

4 hours ago, Globaliser said:

 

If you only have four or five days in London, my constant view is that the time spent travelling between London and Paris is a waste of precious sightseeing time. You won't see much of Paris, either. Both cities need many weeks, and simply grazing Paris for a day is pointless. It could be different if you have something specific that you need to go to Paris for. But otherwise, Paris will still be there for next time.

Amen to that!    We spent a full week in London (did take one day to go out to the Cotswolds) before getting on our ship a couple of years ago.  Before going we actually made an excel spreadsheet of what we'd be doing each day at what hour.  Once we got to London we were so glad we did it that way.  We hit a most of the highlights but of course there's still so much we could have seen.  

[geoherb]

I did a month-long summer program in London when in college. The professor strongly encouraged us to see many of the sights. I wish I had kept the list. I went back the next year and lived and worked in London for six months. Having to work really cut back on the amount of time I had to do things, but I still saw a lot, especially away from the touristy areas. But one of my jobs was just a couple of blocks away from Trafalgar Square, so I was in the heart of London every weekday. Here's a photo of the gentlemen's club on Pall Mall where I worked.

 

When we stayed in Kensington before our British Isles cruise in 2017, we took the double-decker buses a lot. Even with traffic, they were pretty efficient--about 25 minutes to get to Trafalgar Square, which was 4 miles from our hotel. Our hotel was about a 12-minute walk to the nearest Tube station.