London Travel Recommendations

[richardfinegold]

I am coming back to London this summer with many family members. My Father In Law passed away a few months ago. His widow had always wanted to travel but her husband wasn't of the same mindset. She is in her mid 80s and with a few currently non serious medical issues and we wanted her to get the chance to travel before that health window closes on her, so we are starting to plan a London/Paris trip for early July. We are unsure exactly what the size of the contigent will be but it will be somewhere from 8-15. The income levels vary a bit in the family so we are trying to plan somethingthat will fill everyones tastes and budget.
When my wife and I travel we are content to let Rick Steves and Trip Advisor guide us. Some of the places that we have ended up in were fine for us but may not work for my mother in law, whom we figure will be fatiguing easily.
So I am asking you chaps and ladies if you know of any particular current bargains that may be suitable for us and for any suggestions on what to do beyond the obvious tourist stuff.

[umslopogaas]

Richard, if the lady wants to see the sights, but gets tired easily, she needs a hotel in central London. I cant offer a specific recommendation because I've never stayed in a hotel in London, but to choose one, be guided by the star system (strictly my interpretation, other views welcome). Brace yourself for the prices, London is very expensive by any standards.

* Basic but OK if money is the over-riding consideration
** Acceptable
*** Comfortable
**** Luxurious
***** Absurdly over-luxurious

I've only once stayed in a five star hotel (not in London, and at someone else's expense, I hasten to add) and all I remember is that you needed a PhD in plumbing to work out how to take a bath, and the taps looked gold plated. Given your mother in law's age I suggest that three stars would be fine, two might be a bit tough and four probably un-necessarily luxurious.

One other piece of advice, I hear that hotels in London get very booked up, especially in the tourist season, so dont delay in making a booking or you may find five stars is all that is available.

[richardfinegold]

Richard, if the lady wants to see the sights, but gets tired easily, she needs a hotel in central London. I cant offer a specific recommendation because I've never stayed in a hotel in London, but to choose one, be guided by the star system (strictly my interpretation, other views welcome). Brace yourself for the prices, London is very expensive by any standards.

* Basic but OK if money is the over-riding consideration
** Acceptable
*** Comfortable
**** Luxurious
***** Absurdly over-luxurious

I've only once stayed in a five star hotel (not in London, and at someone else's expense, I hasten to add) and all I remember is that you needed a PhD in plumbing to work out how to take a bath, and the taps looked gold plated. Given your mother in law's age I suggest that three stars would be fine, two might be a bit tough and four probably un-necessarily luxurious.

One other piece of advice, I hear that hotels in London get very booked up, especially in the tourist season, so dont delay in making a booking or you may find five stars is all that is available.

Thanks sloppy (I hope you don't mind being called that).

[umslopogaas]

I've been called worse things ... But I am Unslopogaas, of the blood of Chaka, of the people of the Amazulu, a captain in the regiment of the Nkomabakosi and a virtuoso swinger of the battle axe, so have a care.

I promise I could never make that up, Umslopogaas is the real hero of 'Alan Quartermain', Rider Haggard's sequel to 'King Solomon's Mines'. I happened to be re-reading it on the evening when I decided to sign in, and the choice of nom de plume was irresistible.

One other thought. If some of the party are younger and fitter and dont mind a bit of commuting, you could save some money by finding them a hotel out in the suburbs. All hotels in London are expensive, but in so far as there are any relatively cheaper ones, they will be away from the centre.

[gradus]

Richard
Might it be possible for you to select the hotels you think will suit your party and then ask the assembled masses for feedback. Many of us know London reasonably well and we might also be able to suggest some interesting places to eat in as well as visit. The main music venues are of course pretty well known and booking on line is as easy here as anywhere.
Regards
G

[Serial_Apologist]

* Basic but OK if money is the over-riding consideration
** Acceptable
*** Comfortable
**** Luxurious
***** Absurdly over-luxurious

A French school student my parents had over here on an exchange when I was 14 was led to ask how the British starring system for hotels was arrived at. My father explained that one star indicated just one cublcle in what you Americans call The Men's Room; and so on up to five. "But what if there are more than five?" asked Patrick. After a pause, my father replied, "Anything over five cubicles is still five star, but make sure never to stay in a hotel with no men's room - it won't be in the AA Book"!

[umslopogaas]

Wonderful! Only the English would offer a rating system which was based on the quality of the place where you dumped the remains of a meal, rather than the one where it was created.

Or as they might say in Oz "Never mind the b****y barbie, have any of you b******s checked out the toot?"

[Flosshilde]

Richard, I wonder if it would be worth looking for an apartment? With that number of people it might work out rather cheaper. You might be able to get a serviced apartment, which would provide breakfast, & might even have a restaurant, or, if you didn't mind doing a bit of shopping & cooking now & again you could use the kitchen if you wanted a break from restaurant meals.
Is your mother-in-law OK getting into a bath? If not you'd need to make sure that you get a walk in shower - lots of places just have over the bath showers. (sorry if I'm telling you something you already know - it's something my partner & I always have to check for his mother)

It might be worth getting an Oyster Card for each member of the group - it's valid on bus, underground & overground rail, & saves quite a bit on fares, & means you don't have to buy tickets each day. You have to pay £5 for the card, which is refundable if you hand it back at the end of your stay. More information here - http://www.tfl.gov.uk/fares-and-paym...what-is-oyster

& these are a couple of sightseeing bus tours - good if you want to go round & see everything. I think both allow you to get off at any point & then get on another bus, if you want to have a closer look at anything. I've used the first one in Glasgow & Budapest - both were very good.

http://www.city-sightseeing.com/tours/united-kingdom/london.htm

http://www.hoponhopoffplus.com/?gclid=CNrH08XwgsMCFUXKtAodt0wAJw

[Steerpike]

Richard. If I remember rightly you are a medic. In which case I suggest you check out the Royal Society of Medicine, at least for the older people in your group. They have two splendid sets of hotel rooms right in the centre of things (near Oxford Circus) and rates are good for the area and class of accommodation. It's a very civilised club-like atmosphere.

The point is they have reciprocal arrangements with medical societies all over the world, it could well be that some association you belong to entitles you to stay.

Anyway, worth a look - https://www.rsm.ac.uk/club/accommodation.aspx

[richardfinegold]

Richard, I wonder if it would be worth looking for an apartment? With that number of people it might work out rather cheaper. You might be able to get a serviced apartment, which would provide breakfast, & might even have a restaurant, or, if you didn't mind doing a bit of shopping & cooking now & again you could use the kitchen if you wanted a break from restaurant meals.
Is your mother-in-law OK getting into a bath? If not you'd need to make sure that you get a walk in shower - lots of places just have over the bath showers. (sorry if I'm telling you something you already know - it's something my partner & I always have to check for his mother)

It might be worth getting an Oyster Card for each member of the group - it's valid on bus, underground & overground rail, & saves quite a bit on fares, & means you don't have to buy tickets each day. You have to pay £5 for the card, which is refundable if you hand it back at the end of your stay. More information here - http://www.tfl.gov.uk/fares-and-paym...what-is-oyster

& these are a couple of sightseeing bus tours - good if you want to go round & see everything. I think both allow you to get off at any point & then get on another bus, if you want to have a closer look at anything. I've used the first one in Glasgow & Budapest - both were very good.

http://www.city-sightseeing.com/tours/united-kingdom/london.htm

http://www.hoponhopoffplus.com/?gcli...FUXKtAodt0wAJw

Excellent suggestions, flossy. An apartment does make a lot of sense. Of course, we may be at each other's throats due to to much family togetherness by the end of the week...And the shower issue is a good point. She presently is able to use a bathtub but has had some sciatica and has just finished radiation for Breast Cancer, and the effects of a long plane ride might stir all that up.
The wife and I used hoponhopoff in Budapest two years ago and except for the fact that the driver didn't speak English and my Magyar is non-existant (except for goulash, paprikash, and Bartok) it worked well. Hopefully no such problem in the U.K., although I've been known to mangle the American version of English to the point of unrecognizability.
Thank you very much.

[richardfinegold]

Richard. If I remember rightly you are a medic. In which case I suggest you check out the Royal Society of Medicine, at least for the older people in your group. They have two splendid sets of hotel rooms right in the centre of things (near Oxford Circus) and rates are good for the area and class of accommodation. It's a very civilised club-like atmosphere.

The point is they have reciprocal arrangements with medical societies all over the world, it could well be that some association you belong to entitles you to stay.

Anyway, worth a look - https://www.rsm.ac.uk/club/accommodation.aspx

Wouldn't that be nice. I checked the site and it didn't mention anything about reciprocity, but perhaps I can enquire further.

[Dave2002]

I have a vague recollection that I did once stay in a central London hotel for business reasons - it was pleasant, but I can't remember the bill. I do recall that having a central location was very convenient, rather than heading for the train to get home after 11pm.
I did also once stay in the Charing Cross hotel - which I thought was very expensive at the time, but a good alternative to walking the streets all night.

I assumed that London hotels would be astronomically expensive, but a search for "central London hotels" found this - http://www.trivago.co.uk/?iSemThemeI...cip=4422024011 which at first glance didn't look too terrible. However, I may have overlooked the fact that the prices could be per person, not per room. It is important to check that in the UK.

Another factor is that prices may change very significantly depending on the time of year, and also events in the vicinity. Some hotels vary the prices very significantly according to what they perceive as likely demand - and this not only affects the prices, but also the availability. It gets complicated, but hotels won't necessarily volunteer the information that some of the nights can be offered at lower prices, and sometimes it is feasible to make several bookings in the same hotel to cover the expensive nights when there is generally a genuine high demand/low availability and separate bookings for the cheaper nights - if there are any. Otherwise hotels might try to charge the high rates for the whole period.

Your expedition sounds quite complicated. It is possible to reduce costs for some of your party by "slumming it". There are cheap hotels in and around London, but they may be quite basic, but nevertheless serviceable. Some are out in the suburbs, or even further out, but depending on location the cost saving on the accommodation might more than justify the travel costs by train, tube or bus. However, there will be time penalties - probably about an hour in and out of the central area on average - which will not suit all your party. My hour here includes waiting time and walking time - the actual "on the move" times may only be 20-30 mins.

I have limited experience of Paris, though my gut feeling is that finding reasonable cheaper hotels is a better proposition than in London. Probably the most expensive hotel I ever stayed in was in Agra, India - which was however very good, while at the other extreme I recall some very dingy hotels in other countries, some of which were cheap, and one in particular in Spain was dreadful, though the food tasted quite good. Makes my flesh creep just thinking about that one! In retrospect, although the food tasted good, perhaps best not to think about how it had been cooked in that one, but we survived.

PS: If you already have dates for your trip to London, it may be advisable to get on and book now, though this also depends on various factors. Sometimes bargains can be had by booking late, but the size of your party and the overall complexity will bias against that. However, a bit of research in advance could easily save you $00s. Many hotels can be booked with no penalties for concellation a few days before, though finding replacement hotels at short notice can be tricky. Lower prices are possible, but usually with no cancellation option.

[Stillhomewardbound]

The budget hotels such as the Premier Inn at Waterloo offer a room only rate at very reasonable prices:

http://www.premierinn.com/en/hotel/LONWAT/london-waterloo-westminster-bridge?cid=KNC_Brn_G_UK_UK_Eng_Enc_LO_London_EX&mckv=sj1qGtjzc_dc|pcrid|41152011939|kword|premier%20inn%20waterloo|match|e|plid|&gclid=Cj0KEQiA8rilBRDZu_G8hszXraoBEiQABlB9Y95YBR22iSllz1Rt76m8PklR4dSothD4AmBCkw0_YOoaAmjP8P8HAQ

It would be very useful to be as central as you can as it would make it easier if some members of the party wanted to curtail their sightseeing earlier than the rest of the party and just a short bus ride or taxi journey away.

[Nick Armstrong]

The budget hotels such as the Premier Inn at Waterloo offer a room only rate at very reasonable prices:

http://www.premierinn.com/en/hotel/LONWAT/london-waterloo-westminster-bridge?cid=KNC_Brn_G_UK_UK_Eng_Enc_LO_London_EX&mckv=sj1qGtjzc_dc|pcrid|41152011939|kword|premier%20inn%20waterloo|match|e|plid|&gclid=Cj0KEQiA8rilBRDZu_G8hszXraoBEiQABlB9Y95YBR22iSllz1Rt76m8PklR4dSothD4AmBCkw0_YOoaAmjP8P8HAQ

It would be very useful to be as central as you can as it would make it easier if some members of the party wanted to curtail their sightseeing earlier than the rest of the party and just a short bus ride or taxi journey away.

I know that place and the location is ideal. Also perfectly situated for Royal Festival Hall visits (a 5 minute walk)

[Dave2002]

The budget hotels such as the Premier Inn at Waterloo offer a room only rate at very reasonable prices:

http://www.premierinn.com/en/hotel/LONWAT/london-waterloo-westminster-bridge?cid=KNC_Brn_G_UK_UK_Eng_Enc_LO_London_EX&mckv=sj1qGtjzc_dc|pcrid|41152011939|kword|premier%20inn%20waterloo|match|e|plid|&gclid=Cj0KEQiA8rilBRDZu_G8hszXraoBEiQABlB9Y95YBR22iSllz1Rt76m8PklR4dSothD4AmBCkw0_YOoaAmjP8P8HAQ

It would be very useful to be as central as you can as it would make it easier if some members of the party wanted to curtail their sightseeing earlier than the rest of the party and just a short bus ride or taxi journey away.

Interesting - I'll make a mental note of that one. What are the typical prices?
I ask this, as probably the prices vary dynamically.

We stayed at the Premier Inn at Gatwick recently, but unfortunately the fire alarm went off (twice) - once at 2.20am and then about 5 mins later.
To our surprise, they honoured the "Lenny Henry" guarantee of a good nights sleep, after hundreds of us evacuated to the rain and wind outside, some of us with minimal clothing. I was surprised that some people had either not gone to bed, or decided to risk being burnt and they had put all their clothes back on!

One thing which rfg might be able to do though is to pick up offers in the USA which are not available if booked in the UK, so any prices which we show here might just be very different from the US. This is not guaranteed, but I used to book cars in the UK from the US, and the price for a week's car hire was about the same as a single day if booked from the UK. I suspect that there may be good deals on hotels too, which we would not necessarily be aware of.