Staying in London

[Sunflower91]

As someone who lives in London I’d definitely say that staying in central isn’t necessarily the best choice- you pay a lot more and sometimes the travel time is just as long as it would be from a quieter zone 2 area. For example I work in London Bridge and used to live in the Bayswater area- my commute time was pretty much the same as it is now from the Wandsworth area.
Whenever my parents visit the stay at either the premier inn on Putney Bridge (looks like a prison but is nice on the inside) or a hotel on Upper Richmond road in Putney. Good prices and easy location to get to central since you have the district line which doesn’t feel like a tube since sits outdoors part of the way. As well as the train station that’ll take you to Waterloo which is perfect to see a lot of the landmarks. A lot of the time we choose to eat and drink in Fulham, Putney or Clapham since there’s a lot of choice and it doesn’t have the tourist trap places.
Before you go download city mapper and it’ll tell you exactly which bus you need to catch and which stop to get off on and can direct journeys on foot - I still use it now.

 

[SunshineDreamer]

As a life long Londoner I’d recommend plotting everywhere you want to see on a map and going from there. As others have said you could walk from Hyde Park to Buckingham Palace to Big Ben before wander back down via the Mall and Horse Guard to hit Hamleys.

I’ve always lived in Central London so I would definitely recommend although it is not budget friendly. If you don’t like the underground I’d definitely suggest staying as Central as possible as you don’t want to be spending hours on buses or in traffic (depending on when you come).

I would also recommend the river boat as mentioned. Some days we just take our children on it because they love it but you do get to see some sights at the same time.

 

[SavvyBee]

You can get some pretty good deals at the minute on hotels so I’d say try and stay as central as possible - trying to navigate multiple forms of transport with a tired child isn’t going to be fun even if you usually like the tube! Waterloo, Borough are central but south of the river so you can hop on a bus or one tube to all the attractions and you’re walking distance to the Shard, Tower Bridge / Tower of London and the Southbank and should be a bit cheaper than Leicester Square / Oxford Street kind of location. If you’re set on not being super central then Surrey Quays or Greenwich could also could be good there are lots of air b&bs if you want the extra space, you’re fairly quiet there but close to the river for nice walks, a city farm and have little local coffee shops etc but good access to the tube (Jubilee Line) and more important the river bus / Uber boat service which I always think is a fun way to get around! It’s a bit more expensive than the tube but it’ll also save you money on a tourist boat tickets and kids love it. I try to do at least one journey on it when we have visitors to London.

 

[Fizzwhizz2020]

Maybe try stay outside on London as you don’t really need to be in the centre. There are lovely places nearby like Clapham, Putney, Wimbledon. All very near London by train. 15 mins on the overland or so. Also, you can end up paying central London prices for dinner etc whereas places like Wimbledon have a lovely village with loads of nice places to eat

 

[Rippedjeanmaybe]

I'm not sure how to start a thread so I thought I would post it on here if that's okay.

I will be visiting London in December and I am looking for some recommendations on hotels please?.

Ideally I would like it be near Hyde Park. Not really looking to spend a lot around £300-400 for two nights.
Wanting to go Hyde Park, Oxford street, Covent gardens

If anyone has any recommendations or tips I would be grateful. Thank you

Personally I always go for premier inns or a premier inn hub. It’s cheap and you know what you’re getting. I usually don’t spend more than £150 for two nights. It’s personal preference though I guess.

 

[Tublet83]

Would recommend premier inn London tower bridge, new renovated rooms, and cheaper than other central PI hotels. Few mins walk to the tower bridge station etc. I’ve stayed there as a family a couple of times and it was a great location

 

[Definitelyme]

We have stayed in the premier inn at Stratford (Olympic park area) before. I remember we used the DLR quite a bit, which may be good for you if you aren’t keen on the tube. We did most of the central London things inc Tower of London with our eldest (then our only) and it was easy to get around and not too long on public transport.

It’s also beside/in a big shopping centre so lots of places to eat etc that wouldn’t be too expensive

 

[Begborrowsteal]

Near Hyde Park, you can look around paddington. Some nice pubs and restaurants around there and a short walk to marble arch

 

[Caffeine Fiend]

Weve stayed in the Travel Lodge in Covent Garden. If you avoid Fri&Sat night the rooms are v reasonable and its only about a 5 min walk to Holburn.

 

[Lollypad]

I would 100% recommend the river boat service if you find the Tube a bit distressing. If you stay somewhere like Waterloo/ Canary Wharf you’re conveniently based too

 

[crouchingcat]

Thank you !

 

[crouchingcat]

I'm not sure how to start a thread so I thought I would post it on here if that's okay.

I will be visiting London in December and I am looking for some recommendations on hotels please?.

Ideally I would like it be near Hyde Park. Not really looking to spend a lot around £300-400 for two nights.
Wanting to go Hyde Park, Oxford street, Covent gardens

If anyone has any recommendations or tips I would be grateful. Thank you

 

[Fourcandles]

There are loads of Premier Inns in central London that would be well within your price range for a family room. The one at county hall is right by the London eye and a short walk across the river to trafalgar sq, regents st for hamleys etc.

 

[HelloStereo]

Docklands isn't too bad. It's peaceful and you have the DLR which is mostly overground until you get to Bank. You say you don't like the tube though and the DLR from the Docklands terminates at Bank which is massive and underground and you will have to navigate it to other Underground lines or spend an age trying to resurface. Even if you go to Canary Wharf you'd need to take the tube and it's six stops to Westminster on the Jubilee line which is a deep level underground line, so if your anxiety is about being trapped /suffocated underground that line would exacerbate that. I'd have recommended the Docklands as it is cheap but you'd need to get the tube to the places you are suggesting and any bus from there would take ages.

Based on your preference for not getting the Underground I'd recommend areas in Zone 1 (if the budget stretches) or Zone two but like the areas on the immediate periphery of Zone 1.

It really depends on what you want to see? It seems as though you want to see things such as Buckingham Palace and Big Ben which are in Westminster. Areas within reasonable walking distance e.g. Knightsbridge, Mayfair, Pimlico, Westminster itself might be quite expensive. Although it is worth checking to see whether there is anything reasonable. I'd recommend hotels or air bnbs or serviced apartments at perhaps Waterloo or Southwark or London Bridge. South of the river is generally less expensive but Waterloo and Southwark is within walking distance of what you want to see and London Bridge is a short distance away too. Also you will get fantastic views over the Thames on your journey back.

 

[Penelope Strawberry]

As others have said, I would go for a Premier Inn/Travelodge in Central London. Then you can avoid the tube and get around by foot. Personally, I would hate to stay outside of zone 1 and spend my time commuting into the centre.

In terms of eating out, for dinner Chinatown is a great option for at least one of the nights and pretty affordable. Can recommend Four Seasons for duck and pork belly, and Tonkotsu for ramen (assuming they still exist ). For lunch, there's a fantastic food market on the Southbank (in front and behind Royal Festival Hall) that isn't as busy as Borough Market (which I find a little bit overrated).

 

[mcfeez]

We tend to stay in Premier Inn Hub or Travelodge sometimes for cheap accomodation in London. There are some great locations. Last time we stayed near Spitalfields and it was a great spot.

 

[ChloChlo]

As sunshine dreamer said, I'd recommend the river boat. It is an experience to do alot of the main sight seeing in one day.

I'd definitely stay central. Travelodge, Premier Inn, etc prices don't differ too much. As a born and bred but now left Londoner, I wouldn't recommend staying anywhere outer or Tottenham, etc. It can be quite intimidating as it gets dark. The weirdos I find, tend to come out.

 

[Ilovetherain]

How are you arriving into London?
From Docklands you can take Thames clipper boat from Canary Wharf to central London to see the sights so not a bad choice.
My least favourite part of central London is around Kings Cross so I wouldn’t choose to stay there, I think the suggestion for a Premier Inn eg near Westminster is a great idea.
Putney is nice too and as well as the overground train, you can also take the bus if you really can’t manage the tube.

 

[Dipdab]

Kensington/earls court area is lovely and walkable.
Would also recommend spending a couple of hours wondering around Camden to look in the market and food stalls (covid permitting).

 

[Lizzie Mintdrop]

As someone who lives in London I’d definitely say that staying in central isn’t necessarily the best choice- you pay a lot more and sometimes the travel time is just as long as it would be from a quieter zone 2 area. For example I work in London Bridge and used to live in the Bayswater area- my commute time was pretty much the same as it is now from the Wandsworth area.
Whenever my parents visit the stay at either the premier inn on Putney Bridge (looks like a prison but is nice on the inside) or a hotel on Upper Richmond road in Putney. Good prices and easy location to get to central since you have the district line which doesn’t feel like a tube since sits outdoors part of the way. As well as the train station that’ll take you to Waterloo which is perfect to see a lot of the landmarks. A lot of the time we choose to eat and drink in Fulham, Putney or Clapham since there’s a lot of choice and it doesn’t have the tourist trap places.
Before you go download city mapper and it’ll tell you exactly which bus you need to catch and which stop to get off on and can direct journeys on foot - I still use it now.

I second the Premier Inn at Putney Bridge, great hotel, great location and easy to get to central London. There are lots of great places to eat in Putney and Fulham and Bishop's Park is great for an evening walk and a sit down by the river.

Another hotel that I would recommend is Citizen M Tower of London (not the most expensive although I wouldn't call it budget friendly) , great hotel and great views if you are on the right side of the hotel but not great if you need to buy water or soft drinks to take back to the room because there aren't any local shops close by