Help me choose hotel in london, Please!!

[NYJean]

Hi we are going on a cruise in May and we will end up in London. We are planning on traveling via train from southampton to london on a friday then flying out of Gatwick on monday.. I need help deciding on a hotel.. I am thinking about club quarters either trafalgar or st. pauls. Can someone tell me how difficult it is getting to victoria station from either one? I appreciate your ideas! thanks jean

[handfordr]

Get the Club Quarters Trafalgar, only opened this year and very good. Used to be government offices and is within 5 minutes walk of Trafalgar Sqaure, 10 Downing Street, Big Ben, London Eye and westminster Abbey. The Theatre district is on your doorstep and the Covent Garden restaurant area too.

In contrast St Paul's is in the City (financial area) and its like a ghost town at weekends with many places shut up.

 

Get off the train at Waterloo from Southampton and the hotel is just the other side of the river. I stop on the Underground to Embankment or a taxi across Waterloo bridge.

For Gatwick, Victoria Station is about a 10 minute, 2 km taxi ride

[TwiliteNights]

Bob, has given you a good hotel. However, if you can I'd take the train to Charing Cross station and you won't have to taxi from Waterloo. Charing Cross station has the Thistle Charing Cross hotel right at it's door step. You are around the corner from Trafalgar Sq.,(same as Club Quarters) and you won't have to walk from Charing Cross to the CQ. Plus, your a 5 min. walk to Piccadilly, across the bridge from London Eye, and walking distance to Buckingham, Westminister Abbey, and Big Ben.

Now if want a hotel near Victoria station and down Buckingham Rd from the palace, you have many to choose from. . The Rubens at the Palace is a high suggestion. Park Plaza Victoria, and Crown Plaza London St. James.

 

check out http://www.londontown.com

[Morgans]

Have stayed at Club Quarters St.Pauls often and can assure you that the area is not like a ghost town at all at weekends. It is quieter but this makes for far better sightseeing.The hotel is right next to St. Paul's Cathedral- the location is brilliant as you are 1 minute from Paternoster Square (fantastic Chop House) Millenium Bridge which takes you across to Tate Modern, the Globe Theatre and the Klink prison (brilliant for something "different" to visit - also very near to the Museum of London, Smithfield Meat Market & Charterhouse Square where you can see where Poirot is filmed (where we have a flat) as well as the ancient Charterhouse & William Wallace monument where he was killed. There are several restaurants including Carluccio's restaurant which is almost open 24 hours!

Club Quarters itself is a lovely hotel with a very comfortable lounge and bedrooms.We can thoroughly recommend it.It is also extremely convenient for places to eat and buses & taxis into the centre which take all of a few minutes. It is certainly worth consideration for your stay.

[pacmom]

DH goggled this hotel. Is it true that it is a membership hotel group? How does one join? Thanks for any info. Pat

[pacmom]

Yes, should read googled. Pat

[Morgans]

You do not need to be a member if you book for a weekend - only for weekdays. We always book through travelocity.co.uk or lastminute.com . It is sometimes advertised as one of their "secret" hotels with even more discounts.

[pacmom]

Morgans,

 

Thanks for the information---will file it away for our next trip to London. Pat

[NYJean]

thanks for your help everyone.. the charing cross hotel is very expensive.. but it sounds like a great idea.. I booked the club quarters st pauls .. trafalgar was full.. thanks again jean

[Globaliser]

However, if you can I'd take the train to Charing Cross station and you won't have to taxi from Waterloo.

Unfortunately, you can't do this from Southampton.

[NYJean]

Dear Globaliser;

 

 

When we come from Southampton what station will we be coming in? Do you know how to get from there to st pauls? either by underground or bus? thanks I know I am planning early but I am curious. Jean

[Globaliser]

The fast train from Southampton goes to Waterloo. As you're going to have luggage, the best way of getting from there to the Club Quarters by St Paul's is by taxi. Just go to the cab rank and get one there. It should be about £10, or less if traffic is light and the trip is fast.

 

If you really were going to do it by public transport, then the best way would be to get a bus: number 4, 26, 76 or 172. They go from stops on Waterloo Road to a stop almost outside the front door of the Club Quarters. But you really don't want to try this if you have luggage. And it's between 5-10 minutes to walk to each of the nearest Tube stations (Blackfriars, Mansion House and St Paul's).

[NYJean]

Globaliser

 

 

Thank you so much! We would have schlepped those bags all over the place (and I would have had to listen to my husband the whole time! YIPES! ) for 10 pounds definitely worth the taxi ride!!! Next question.. we were going to take the tube (st pauls) to victoria station to get the Gatwick express when we leave, is this reasonable? We have rolling bags..my daughter and I can roll our carryone bags and my hubbie can roll the big suitcase with his carryon on top... can we do it? Are there any elevators? I hate paying the 90 or more pounds for taxi to gatwick, when our daughter is free on the public transport... thanks so much I appreciate it..jean

[Albert Ross]

Globaliser

 

 

Thank you so much! We would have schlepped those bags all over the place (and I would have had to listen to my husband the whole time! YIPES! ) for 10 pounds definitely worth the taxi ride!!! Next question.. we were going to take the tube (st pauls) to victoria station to get the Gatwick express when we leave, is this reasonable? We have rolling bags..my daughter and I can roll our carryone bags and my hubbie can roll the big suitcase with his carryon on top... can we do it? Are there any elevators? I hate paying the 90 or more pounds for taxi to gatwick, when our daughter is free on the public transport... thanks so much I appreciate it..jean

Instead of getting the tube from St Pauls - walk down the street a little way and round the corner and catch it from Blackfriars - this will be on a direct line to Victoria and will save you changing trains. Take any westbound train and it will get you there. Do not waste your money on getting a cab right out to Gatwick - the train is fast and efficient.

[Globaliser]

Next question.. we were going to take the tube (st pauls) to victoria station to get the Gatwick express when we leave, is this reasonable? We have rolling bags..my daughter and I can roll our carryone bags and my hubbie can roll the big suitcase with his carryon on top... can we do it? Are there any elevators?

Albert Ross is right about Blackfriars being a better bet than St Paul's for getting the Tube to Victoria station. He is also right about not taking a taxi to Gatwick - I'm not sure that £90 would be enough, but in any event it'll normally take much longer to do this by road than by train.

 

But for the same reasons as for the trip from Waterloo, I would advise caution about planning to go to Victoria by Tube with luggage, unless you are feeling brave and strong. There are no lifts (elevators) or escalators down to the Tube platform at Blackfriars, and there are no lifts or escalators up from the Tube platform to street/Gatwick Express level at Victoria. It is not as difficult as getting the Tube from Waterloo, because that involves at least one change of Tube, but it still isn't that easy.

 

So just get a cab from the hotel to Victoria. Should be no more than £15.

[NYJean]

thank you so much for your advice!! Ok.. it is definitely not worth it.. but my next and hopefully last question is... if our plane leaves at 1030 am from Gatwick, we'll have to be there probably around 830 am so what time would we have to get a cab? Around 7 am? Are they difficult to get a that time on a monday morning?? (Sorry this post is strange I had a glass of wine with dinner and it has gone to my head :D !!) LOL!! thank you for taking your time to answer my question!!! Jean

[Globaliser]

if our plane leaves at 1030 am from Gatwick, we'll have to be there probably around 830 am so what time would we have to get a cab? Around 7 am? Are they difficult to get a that time on a monday morning?

7 am seems about right: half an hour to get to Victoria, half an hour on the train, half an hour for getting to the platform, buying your ticket, getting off at the other end and getting into the terminal.

 

At St Paul's, no difficulty at all in getting a cab at 7 am on a weekday morning. You just need to step outside and wave your arm about. There'll be plenty.

[Gram Cape Cod]

I recently stayed at the Crown Plaza Hotel, St. James, located on Buckingham Gate - great location and nice accommodations.

[whogo]

How about taking a First Capital Connect commuter train from City Thameslink or Blackfriars to Gatwick? There is no change of trains and the journey time is about 45 minutes; quicker and cheaper than the cab/Gatwick Express option. Would NYJean be battling commuters at that hour in that direction?

[Globaliser]

That's not a bad idea, actually. It's an easy walk down the hill from the Club Quarters (less than 5 minutes) to City Thameslink.

 

The downside is that the service is not good during peak hours, because some trains cannot run through London Bridge. So one would have to be careful to make sure that one gets to the station on time. For example, on the current weekday timetable, there is an 0727 that arrives at Gatwick at 0812, but the next train isn't until 0755 and doesn't arrive at Gatwick until 0842. Also, that one doesn't run via London Bridge, and in my experience these "diverted" trains during peak hours tend to be subject to delays.

 

It's different during off peak hours, when there's one Gatwick train every 15 minutes and the service is pretty reliably on time.

 

The other minor downside is that the train continues from Gatwick to Brighton, so there isn't time to dawdle when getting off at Gatwick. But that is unlikely to pose a real problem for most people.

 

The train will be crowded for the two stops from City Thameslink until London Bridge, but should be fine thereafter.

[MrandMrsBeee]

I would also get into a taxi when you are ready to leave the hotel to travel to Victoria for the Gatwick Express, it will be about the same cost as a taxi from Waterloo to St Pauls.

[NYJean]

Thank you all for your advice.. we are definitely going to cab it!! It is not worth all the headache (and backache) to move about with all those bags.. thanks again jean