Len3 Posted November 28, 2007 #1 Share Posted November 28, 2007 Does anyone have some suggestions for London Hotels that don't cost $$$$$? We will need 4 night pre-cruise and 2 nights post-cruise. Maybe some thoughts on staying outside of London for part of the time. Our ship leaves from Dover. Any ideas will be greatly appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
handfordr Posted November 28, 2007 #2 Share Posted November 28, 2007 The obvious first point of call might be the Priceline bidding site, you should pick up a 4 star somewhere for between $100-150, though its obviosult a lottery. Next stop should be Travelodge UK site. They have a number of deep cut rooms every night on a first come first served basis. Cheapest are 19 GBP ($38) if you book far enough ahead and they have a number of central sites. A chain hotel with bland but clean rooms similar to a US Motel. Otherwise its how much you want to save. The cheapest ensuite accommodation in Central London is about 55-65 GBP for a double/twin with breakfsat. Much of it is of highly questionable quality but there are exceptions. One is the Wardonia at Kings Cross, at 55 GBP per night which is good for the price. Then you have the Premier Inn Chain, very good value for money 3 star hotels about 80-100 GBP with sites at Kensington, Euston, Kings Cross and County Hall. The County Hall site is perhaps one of the best located hotels in London next to the London Eye and opposite big ben but is more expensive around 100 GBP. Very good independents are the Luna & Simone B&B at Victoria (direct trains to Dover) below 100 GBP and the Darlington Hyde Park hotel at Paddington at about 100 GBP with breakfast - both consistently get some of the best satisfaction levels of all hotels in London Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruin Steve Posted November 28, 2007 #3 Share Posted November 28, 2007 Does anyone have some suggestions for London Hotels that don't cost $$$$$? We will need 4 night pre-cruise and 2 nights post-cruise. Maybe some thoughts on staying outside of London for part of the time. Our ship leaves from Dover. Any ideas will be greatly appreciated. We'll be there post-cruise around your same timeframe...and I was pretty much outraged by the prices--much higher than when we were there last a couple of years back...That time, we stayed at the Rubens (which I loved) but the prices have jumped considerably... We initially made a reservation at the Radisson Edwardian Kenilworth for 90 GBP per night...but I read to many questionable reviews on the hotel... Finally, we've found our way to the brand new Park Plaza County Hall... http://www.parkplazacountyhall.com/ ...which we were able to book for only 95 GBP per night (around $200)...which, for London right now is pretty good for a hotel this nice... With several days in London, I would not want to stay near Heathrow or "out of town"...You'll spend more money and effort getting back and forth than you'll save...Look for convenience as well as price... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dick in Falls Church Posted November 28, 2007 #4 Share Posted November 28, 2007 You might consider spending the night before the cruise in Dover itself. Give you a chance to visit the castle and the underground stuff there. We stayed at Premier in Dover--a bit out of town, but nice and decent restaurant/bar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Len3 Posted November 30, 2007 Author #5 Share Posted November 30, 2007 We'll be there post-cruise around your same timeframe...and I was pretty much outraged by the prices--much higher than when we were there last a couple of years back...That time, we stayed at the Rubens (which I loved) but the prices have jumped considerably... We initially made a reservation at the Radisson Edwardian Kenilworth for 90 GBP per night...but I read to many questionable reviews on the hotel... Finally, we've found our way to the brand new Park Plaza County Hall... http://www.parkplazacountyhall.com/ ...which we were able to book for only 95 GBP per night (around $200)...which, for London right now is pretty good for a hotel this nice... With several days in London, I would not want to stay near Heathrow or "out of town"...You'll spend more money and effort getting back and forth than you'll save...Look for convenience as well as price... Thanks so much for the info. I just booked a double room for 95.00GBP per night. The hotel is brand new and the location is good. Do you know how to get there from Heathrow? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
London_Ozgal Posted December 31, 2007 #6 Share Posted December 31, 2007 It will be interesting to see how noisy that hotel will be since it is on a big intersection. To get there, catch a tube or mainline train to Waterloo and walk down past the London Eye. I remember the radio adverts for this place. They were selling the hotel rooms ie you could invest by buying and owning a room. Think it was something like an 8% guaranteed return for 2 years. Oh well... Enjoy! :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Len3 Posted January 1, 2008 Author #7 Share Posted January 1, 2008 Would we be better off with the Luna & Simone or Darlington Hyde Park? A hotel with lots of noise just doesn't sound great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Globaliser Posted January 1, 2008 #8 Share Posted January 1, 2008 I can't imagine that it will be noisy. Its market wouldn't stand for it. I don't know anything about the Darlington Hyde Park, but the Luna & Simone is a small place that's more like a B&B than a hotel. If that's what you want, the place has many fans. But if you want a centrally-located hotel very near many important tourist sites, then it may not be for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruin Steve Posted January 1, 2008 #9 Share Posted January 1, 2008 It will be interesting to see how noisy that hotel will be since it is on a big intersection. It's a BRAND NEW luxury hotel... They do understand accoustics and insulation nowadays when they construct these things...It's not all that hard to filter out traffic noise... BTW, they've recently published an AAA rate...and I was able to redo my reservation at 85.5 GBP per night... I have no qualms whatsoever in choosing this hotel and am looking forward to staying there... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Len3 Posted January 4, 2008 Author #10 Share Posted January 4, 2008 We'll stick with the new Park Plaza. You are totally right about the new construction and the location and price is great for London. Perhaps I'll email the hotel to make sure that we have a really quite room. Thanks so much for the great tip. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dharmapath Posted January 4, 2008 #11 Share Posted January 4, 2008 I stayed at Easy Hotel in Kensington for about 25 pounds. Very small rooms with no windows, but I guess it can prepare you for the cruise experience. Very low budget but still clean and friendly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pcur Posted January 8, 2008 #12 Share Posted January 8, 2008 I can't imagine that it will be noisy. Its market wouldn't stand for it. I don't know anything about the Darlington Hyde Park, but the Luna & Simone is a small place that's more like a B&B than a hotel. If that's what you want, the place has many fans. But if you want a centrally-located hotel very near many important tourist sites, then it may not be for you. I'm one of the Luna and Simone fans. We loved it. Clean, clean, clean. 4 blocks from Victoria Station. Hot breakfast included every morning. Free internet (one computer, but I did fine with it). The front desk can also help you get transfers from the airport, and I thought the price last April was very reasonable. Wonderful people. It's no frills, but it got rave reviews on Tripadvisor. I suggest hunting for the hotel on WRH Hotels Network, or venere.com, or hotelscomparison.com. Keep another browser window open, and look at the reviews on Tripadvisor. That's how I ended up with the Luna and Simone, because only one poster on CC had recommended it so far. Tripadvisor reviews help immensely to avoid the icky hotels. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raynvic Posted January 9, 2008 #13 Share Posted January 9, 2008 Peggy, based on your recommendation we booked Luna & Simone for Sept. 08. We just keep following you around. Last year was the Med for us. Thanks for posting to these boards and giving so much good info. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
commonsense2 Posted January 9, 2008 #14 Share Posted January 9, 2008 you'll love the county hall location. lots of the sights are an easy walk away. there's a very good mediterranean restaurant across the street from the entrance to the premier travel inn. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
auntdot Posted January 10, 2008 #15 Share Posted January 10, 2008 you'll love the county hall location. lots of the sights are an easy walk away. there's a very good mediterranean restaurant across the street from the entrance to the premier travel inn. Nice to hear about a good restaurant near Premier Inn (name? best choice for an entree?)! We have booked it next October and will likely try and do some sightseeing after an overnight flight from Toronto! :eek: It will be nice to come back to dinner near the hotel and then just flop into bed! Is the entrance to Premier Inn on the street that runs parallel to the Thames? I have been trying to find it on a 'bird's eye view map' but am not sure what I am looking at? Do any room look out on the river? Thanks for any info! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pcur Posted January 10, 2008 #16 Share Posted January 10, 2008 Peggy, based on your recommendation we booked Luna & Simone for Sept. 08. We just keep following you around. Last year was the Med for us. Thanks for posting to these boards and giving so much good info. Thats' funny!! OK, so now you have to go on a cruise to Hawaii, and then a 12 nighter to the Southern Caribbean, only leaving from NJ, so you get some good sea days............:D :D If you've never been to London, I highly recommend the hoho bus for transpo. The Tube is great, but above ground you can see stuff. Enjoy!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Globaliser Posted January 10, 2008 #17 Share Posted January 10, 2008 Nice to hear about a good restaurant near Premier Inn (name? best choice for an entree?)!... Is the entrance to Premier Inn on the street that runs parallel to the Thames? I have been trying to find it on a 'bird's eye view map' but am not sure what I am looking at? Do any room look out on the river? The restaurant that commonsense2 is referring to may be the Locale. From memory, I think that the hotel entrance is on the same street (Belvedere Road), which does run parallel to the river. I don't know about the room layout, but personally I would be surprised if there were river view rooms. The same building also has a Marriott, which is more likely to command the river views. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GACRUISER456 Posted January 10, 2008 #18 Share Posted January 10, 2008 The hotel looks beautiful and I can get a room for 99 GBP the night I need. If I am coming in to London on the Gatwick Express to Victoria Station (right?), how long / expensive do you think a cab ride would be? Also, we plan on taking the train to Harwich, so I wanted to make sure we were some what centralized and not have to worry too much about traffic getting to the station. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wsdwsd Posted January 11, 2008 #19 Share Posted January 11, 2008 I recently had very good luck using the bidding information on www.biddingfortravel.com to bid on Priceline. I got two rooms at the Hilton London Olympia in Kensingtonfor two nights in late May at $77 before taxes/fees ($93 including taxes/fees) per room per night. Total was $372.94 -- taxes & fees included. The lowest rate on the hotel website was 122 GBP per room per night (122 + 17 % VAT = 142.74 X 4 (2 rooms for 2 nights) = 570.96 GBP = at least $1141.92 (using a 2X exchange rate and it's worse than that right now). $77 a night is like 38 GBP per room at the Hilton.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Len3 Posted January 15, 2008 Author #20 Share Posted January 15, 2008 I been burned by Priceline and won't use them again. You got luck, so stick with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4 cruisers Posted January 15, 2008 #21 Share Posted January 15, 2008 We made reservations at the Park Plaza for June 11-13 pre- NCL Jade. I guess June is higher because our rate is 194 GBP per night and no AAA rate available! Darn! I still am finding it to be reasonable compared to MOST! What sticker shock I had when trying to book London for the first time! We do have our 16 year old with us, so perhaps that's part of the price difference. At least they do take 3 people!!!:cool: I'll post when we get back if those of you booked there would like info! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jellytheory Posted January 16, 2008 #22 Share Posted January 16, 2008 I booked Park Plaza Country tonight, but then cancelled. The hotel looks lovely, love the kitchenette and separate room (for the suite) flat screen tvs, however main room only has a double bed and my infant sleeps with us, so I realized we need a queen and couldn't request a roll-away. However, the room looked fantastic other than it does not accomodate my unusual situation. Too bad for me!!! For those traveling with family and needing a bit more room, I booked the Hilton Metropol - nice big room with two queen sized beds. Here is the link. It was about $350 more than the Park Plaza executive suite, as I had to book directly with the hotel and could not find any travel sites to book through (unless I did the no-cancellation option ...too risky). Well, there is my two cents. http://www1.hilton.com/en_US/hi/hotel/LONMETW-Hilton-London-Metropole-hotel/photoGallery.do?ctyhocn=LONMETW Good luck! Denise- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Globaliser Posted January 16, 2008 #23 Share Posted January 16, 2008 Park Plaza Location Which Park Plaza? There's more than one in London.I been burned by Priceline and won't use them again.You can't get burned by Priceline! You can only get burned by having unrealistic expectations of what Priceline will deliver. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GACRUISER456 Posted January 16, 2008 #24 Share Posted January 16, 2008 Sorry, I was referring to the new County Hall location that everyone had been talking about on this thread. I wondered how much it might cost to Victoria Station and Liverpool Street Station. Also, as I researched this hotel a little more, I can't tell how close of a walk it is to the nearest underground station. It looks like Waterloo is the closest. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Globaliser Posted January 17, 2008 #25 Share Posted January 17, 2008 Victoria is probably about £6-8 in a taxi, Liverpool Street about £15-20. Waterloo is the nearest Tube. There is an exit onto York Road. Turn left and the hotel is probably about 250 yards further along the road, at the roundabout. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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