# sloane gardens  club in chelsea area london



## salsa (Nov 10, 2008)

Hello there:

       We're spending Thanksgiving Week in London this year. I'm not too familiar with the Chelsea area or Sloane. From what I have read it is an excellent location and close to transportation and other venues.
       Has anyone stayed at this resort? Should I purchase the London pass, the Big Red bus tour or the British heritage pass? 
        This all happened so suddenly with a last minute cancellation with my exchange company.
        Please helllp!!


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## falmouth3 (Nov 10, 2008)

Did you get that 2 BR through SFX?  I really wanted to grab it, but I only have 1/2 day of vacation left this year.   

Check online for the British Heritage Pass and see if there are places that you want to see that the pass will get you in to see.  I bought one when I went to Scotland and we about broke even.  

I got a week there in a 1 BR for a friend of mine in March.  He loved it and agreed that it was in an excellent location.  He was so thrilled with it that he and his wife decided to look into buying a TS.

Can't help with your other questions.

Sue


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## salsa (Nov 10, 2008)

*sloane gardens*

Hi Sue, 

   Thanks for responding. 
   Yes, it was such a good deal with SFX to pass up. There's just me and my husband and it is a 2 bedroom, so it will be a treat.

   I wil certainly look into all the london passes, there's sooo many of them it's giving me a headache. I may end up just getting them when we get there. All modes of transportation seem to be closeby so I should be okay. 

   We just got back from HGVC in South Beach as well just about a week ago. They all sort of came in at the same time. Lots of times it is a long dry spell before something will come open.


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## BarCol (Nov 10, 2008)

Our friends stayed last year at the Sloane Gardens Club. The apartment number on your reservation from SFX will be the apartment number you are given and you can see pictures of the unit on the Sloane Gardens website. It is around the corner from the Sloane Square tube station. Our friends got the Oyster Pass for transporation and it was fantastic. They enjoyed shopping at Waitroses which has a branch quite close to the apartments.. You will have a marvelous time I'm sure.


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## nonutrix (Nov 10, 2008)

If you are just going to be in London, which I suspect you are, I would go with the London Pass.  The British Heritage Pass is more for the entire country.  The London Pass will get you into the major charged sights in London with some discounts thrown in.  It also allows you to go to the front of the line.  At the Tower, this can be an important feature.

As to the hop-on hop off bus - have you been to London before?  If not, I would recommend it for at least one day, maybe two, as it will help you with orientation.  Otherwise, you might be better off taking city buses.  

A great resource is Rick Steves' guide to London.  Another guide I can't do without is the DK Guide to London.  It saves having to buy guides for all of the sights.  The guide is detailed with color pictures, so it gives you an idea if the sights are of interest to you.

Let me know if you have any other questions.  I've done this a lot.

nonutrix


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## GrayFal (Nov 10, 2008)

Wackymother stayed there thru SFX (I think!) last year......send her a PM.


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## salsa (Nov 10, 2008)

*sloane gardens*

Thank you for all the tips!!

 It does refresh my mind, it's been a few years and Sloane gardens is certainly new to me. 

 This site is awesome with some very, very good information and terrific people. 

 Keep up the good work. Will let y'all know how this trip turns out. Cold, crisp and clear temperatures I presume, a good time for tea at the Orangetery(?)!


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## wackymother (Nov 10, 2008)

Hi--we stayed at Sloane Gardens in February of 2007. We had two apartments, a 1br and a 2br, through SFX, because we brought our three children. It was a GREAT trade. I worked for a British company for many years and Sloane Gardens was by far the nicest place I ever stayed in London. 

The building is about half a block from the Sloane Square tube station. There is a bus about half a block in the other direction that is the best "tourist" bus in the London system. It goes direct from Sloane Square to Harrod's, to Trafalgar Square and Westminster Abbey and the West End and the National Gallery and most of the sites that you would like to see. We bought Oyster Cards at the tube station. The decision-making process for the transportation seems very complicated, but really you just go down to the tube station on your first day and buy one-week Oyster Cards and you're good to go.

I know London fairly well (from all those years of working for a London-based company), so we didn't do any of the hop-on, hop-off tours; we just decided where we wanted to take the kids and then we went. The dollar was so weak that we really felt we had to save some money where we could. 

When you arrive at Sloane Gardens, there is a "greeter" named Joseph who checks you in and helps you get settled. He can answer questions about transportation and things to see. He's also at his desk in the lobby in the mornings. 

Is there anything I can help you with about London? Are you planning to go to the theater? My DH is a big theater buff and will have lots of advice for you!

Oh, the weather--I've been in London for Thanksgiving before. The days are very, very short; I think it gets dark about 4:00 in the afternoon. But the weather in London is milder than in NYC and it doesn't get bitingly cold the way it does here. Here's a chart. I was going to say the days are in the 50s and the nights in the 30s, and that's about what this predicts. 

http://www.weather.com/outlook/travel/businesstraveler/monthly/UKXX0085?from=36hr_topnav_business

HTH! Let me know if there's anything else I can tell you.


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## nonutrix (Nov 10, 2008)

wackymother said:


> Is there anything I can help you with about London? Are you planning to go to the theater? My DH is a big theater buff and will have lots of advice for you!



I would love some advice on the theatre.  We will be in London over Thanksgiving also with our 14 yr old son.  I'm thinking about The Mouse Trap or 39 Steps.  What about The Woman in Black?  All suggestions are welcome.

Thanks in advance,

nonutrix


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## wackymother (Nov 10, 2008)

DH and my two older DDs saw The 39 Steps and LOOOOOOVVEEED it. They loved it so much that when it came to NYC, they all went to see it again. They said it was much better in London; the theater in NYC was too big and it lost all of its intimacy--it's not "big" enough to fill a huge theater. 

I'll ask him to take a look and see what looks good to him. It's fun to go to the National Theatre on the South Bank if you get a chance and if something you'd like to see is playing there. And there's a half-price booth like TDF in Leicester Square. You might know that theaters in London are not like NYC in that they have matinees on different days of the week--in NYC it's usually Wednesdays and Sundays, but in London if you wanted to see a matinee on Thursday you can find some.


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## x3 skier (Nov 11, 2008)

I second The 39 Steps. We saw it in Aug along with The Jersey Boys and I highly recommend both. The Criterion Theater is right on Piccadilly Circus and a nice place for people watching before the show. Several places to eat in the neighborhood and most have either a 2 for 1 or set price pre-theater menu.

If this is a first time, I would take the HOHO bus for an orientation ride and then use the city buses for the rest of the week.

Cheers


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## MaryH (Nov 11, 2008)

So was that on the SFX sell off list?

For 39 steps, if you can go for Tues Matinee, you can get best available tickets in advance for GBP10 on www.lastminute.com.  This would be a better deal than even the half price ticket booth.


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## nonutrix (Nov 11, 2008)

For those of you who have seen 39 Steps, do you think a 14 yr old boy would enjoy it?

Thanks!

nonutrix


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## x3 skier (Nov 11, 2008)

nonutrix said:


> For those of you who have seen 39 Steps, do you think a 14 yr old boy would enjoy it?
> 
> Thanks!
> 
> nonutrix



Absolutely. The costume changes and pace of the action are more than enough to entertain anyone, since the plot is secondary. I would get a DVD of the original Hitchcock movie so you can see the difference.

I second using lastminute.co.uk You will get the best deals at the UK site. 

Cheers


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## MaryH (Nov 11, 2008)

Sorry, since I go to London a lot, I have my lastminute.com set on the uk site.


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## salsa (Nov 11, 2008)

MaryH said:


> So was that on the SFX sell off list?
> 
> For 39 steps, if you can go for Tues Matinee, you can get best available tickets in advance for GBP10 on www.lastminute.com.  This would be a better deal than even the half price ticket booth.



Hi Mary:

   Yes, this was on the SFX sell foff list.


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## wackymother (Nov 12, 2008)

nonutrix said:


> For those of you who have seen 39 Steps, do you think a 14 yr old boy would enjoy it?
> 
> Thanks!
> 
> nonutrix



Oh, yes! My kids were about 16 and 12 when they saw it.

Salsa--I wanted to tell you I haven't forgotten you, but DH is a HS teacher and he's the drama director at his school, and their fall show is this weekend. So I haven't seen much of him this week! I'll try to catch him on Sunday, when it's all over. Sorry it's taking so long.


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## salsa (Nov 30, 2008)

*Sloane Gardens Club*

Hello Wackymother,

      Just got back from a marvelous Thanksgiving week in London.
      You are so right, Joseph made me all kinds of directions to the grocery shops, theatre, bus stop, etc.
      The location could not be more perfect. Walked to Harrods and several museums besides seeing all the normal sights which we have been to several times in the past. The London Eye experience is beyond words when you're at the top as the sun is just coming down. 
       Did the Stonehenge / Bath / Salisbury tour and that took all day and returned rather late but it was well worth it. Bath was transformed into a picture perfect Christmas Village nestled in the mountains with quaint little shops and Christmas revelers and carolers out and about. We just got our tickets at Victoria train station, you can get all your transportation issues/ tours all booked there. We did get an Oyster card and turned that in just before we left and got our $ back that we did not use.
        If you know anyone going to London soon, don't miss Billy Eliott.   
        Regarding Joseph, I mentioned your comment about him and he smiled. 

       Happy holidays, and thanks again. 

Salsa





wackymother said:


> Hi--we stayed at Sloane Gardens in February of 2007. We had two apartments, a 1br and a 2br, through SFX, because we brought our three children. It was a GREAT trade. I worked for a British company for many years and Sloane Gardens was by far the nicest place I ever stayed in London.
> 
> The building is about half a block from the Sloane Square tube station. There is a bus about half a block in the other direction that is the best "tourist" bus in the London system. It goes direct from Sloane Square to Harrod's, to Trafalgar Square and Westminster Abbey and the West End and the National Gallery and most of the sites that you would like to see. We bought Oyster Cards at the tube station. The decision-making process for the transportation seems very complicated, but really you just go down to the tube station on your first day and buy one-week Oyster Cards and you're good to go.
> 
> ...


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## falmouth3 (Nov 30, 2008)

I'm glad you had such a wonderful time.  I wished that I'd had enough vacation time left to grab it, but I'm happy that a fellow TUGGER was able to use it.

Sue


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