Need help with London trip

[DaveNV]

I brought this potential trip up to Paula. We had stayed in the West End in a hotel, and in the East End in kind of a 'managed apartment'. Almost a timeshare. Living room, bedroom, loo. Maybe 5-6 floors, kind of IKEAish. Modern. Lots of eateries nearby. It was an area just outside the city walls way back when, so the area was settled by Irish, then Africans, then Bengalis and they all left their food preferences. We took some walking food tours and enjoyed them before going to Stonehenge and boarding our cruise to Norway.

If you want, she'll dig out the contact info for you. OK she said the name is Leyman Locke.

There were pubs, an Amazon grocery next door, and very helpful staff for directions, suggestions, to call a taxi or UBER.

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Awesome info, Jim. Thank Paula for us!

Dave

 

[Cornell]

Circling back to my thread about planning a trip to London. Please take any discussion about food to another thread. Thanks.

I'm back to working on planning a vacation to Great Britain in 2024. I've been comparing vacation packages (airfare + hotel) but the pricing I'm seeing is more than what I think I can book the same thing for myself directly. I'm exploring booking airfare separate from a hotel, unless I can find a combination deal that works. This isn't going to be a bargain basement trip, but I also don't have the deepest pockets in town. We're flying Premium Economy, rather than Business or First Class. I know it won't be Coach, which just wouldn't work for us. I'm willing to pay upwards for tickets to give a more decent flight experience on such a lengthy flight from here. Even nonstop, it's a ten hour flight for us to London

I have a fair bit of time before I'd need to book something, so I'm looking for recommendations from Tuggers about London hotels. Is there a decent hotel or BnB you can recommend that is centrally located to the usual things a first-time tourist would want to see? I'm talking landmarks we all grew up hearing about - London Bridge, Tower of London, Buckingham Palace, and whatever. If there are better places to stay a bit further out, but a tube ride away, that'd be good too. A boutique place would be fine to stay - we don't need over the top accommodations, as long as it's clean, safe, and located in an area where we can get around easily. We won't be cooking in, so a kitchen isn't necessary. Not overly interested in nightlife, except for maybe a nice pub on the corner to get a beer with the locals. Theater is always interesting, so I'd love to hear about something you've seen there.

I'm still looking into tour companies to help us see the things we want to see. We know there is a ton more to experience than we'd ever be able to see in one trip, so we won't try. The only must-see we know we want to visit is Stonehenge. I'll figure the best way to do that, probably through the National Trust (I think?) mentioned previously. I'm wide open to other suggestions.

Anybody have things to discuss?

Dave

Hi Dave - I'm going to London in December for a week. Researched TONS of hotels. I settled in on "The Westin London City". I won't bore you with all the reasons why I chose this hotel (unless you want to hear them) but the location was a big one.
Universally good reviews.

 

[loosefeet]

Although this is an old post, I enjoyed reading all the information. I absolutely love visiting London, and may be able to use some of this info for a future visit.
One thing not mentioned is the National Library. It is really a treasure--free. Go to the basement--has incredible documents such as original Beatles scores, old English books, etc, etc. Very interesting.

 

[marmite]

Hi Dave - I'm going to London in December for a week. Researched TONS of hotels. I settled in on "The Westin London City". I won't bore you with all the reasons why I chose this hotel (unless you want to hear them) but the location was a big one.
Universally good reviews.

I'd like to hear the reasons! I will be there in December too and have a reservation at St. Ermin's, there was a good rate that was cash & Bonvoy points. I say it was good rate, but everything was very expensive so it's all relative. I still look frequently and will change hotels if the price and location make sense. Am looking to stick to anything Bonvoy, especially if it has any good breakfast or lounge perks for Elite.

 

[Cornell]

I'd like to hear the reasons! I will be there in December too and have a reservation at St. Ermin's, there was a good rate that was cash & Bonvoy points. I say it was good rate, but everything was very expensive so it's all relative. I still look frequently and will change hotels if the price and location make sense. Am looking to stick to anything Bonvoy, especially if it has any good breakfast or lounge perks for Elite.

So I'm a Bonvoy loyalist so I restricted my search to the Bonvoy properties.

It came down to the W and to The Westin London City. My "group" is sort of odd: Me and my daughter. Plus my sister. I'll share a room w/my daughter and my sister will stay alone. I wanted a room for me and my daughter with two beds. At the Westin I was able to get a room called "Signature Family" which had two double beds. Some of the Bonvoy properties were just way too expensive and I knew my sister would balk (same with me). It just became cost prohibitive for my sister to stay alone at some hotels in one room. So the Westin was a good "mid-price" as she got some kind of special for her room.

I like the decor / vibe of the Westin guest rooms.

We are big fitness people and I like the way the Westin gym looks online (usually Westins have very consistent fitness centers). Now I don't have to pay to use a gym in London - I can use the hotel. I typically buy day passes at gyms if a hotel gym is super basic , crowded or doesn't have the equipment I want/need. I could tell from the photos that the Westin gym has Pelotons which is a huge plus for me.

They have a spa there. Probably won't use the services but any hotel guest can use the pool, whirlpool and sauna. I'm a big sauna person.

The Westin also has a club lounge which I have status to use. We will save so much money eating breakfast there, snacks etc. I HATE going out for breakfast and spending money on that particular meal.

I liked the location -- a lot. And my daughter is 21 so she will want to break free from mom and aunt a bit and just looking around the location of the Westin it seemed like an area where she could grab a meal alone or easily hop on the train to do her own thing.

The W was a strong possibility b/c my daughter would love a W The lobby looks huge , fun and cool. The gym looks AMAZING. But there is no club lounge there so that nixed the W.

 

[marmite]

@Cornell it sounds like a great choice. Despite my reservation at St. Ermin's, it was more price-related at this point for a King bedded room of a decent size (we also have a reservation for the W after we get back from France, and chose it for the same reasons). I actually prefer things spare/modern but of high quality so the Westin fits the bill for me too. The thing I do not like in many UK hotels is the tub/shower combo with the glass divider, I just want a big shower with great water pressure and good toiletries. I may not get that at St. Ermin's as I think there are many tub/shower combos in most of the room types.

I know for sure I won't need the gym, in London we pound the pavement all day and are exhausted (in a good way) by the time we get back to the room. You do have me curious though, so I'll need to peek at the gym at the W. A club lounge would be great though, especially if you've heard the breakfast is good at Westin. I find it really relaxing to start the day eating at the hotel, but the a la carte prices at the hotel restaurants are ridiculous. Using the Elite benefits in Europe is a huge cost savings for sure.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts on how you selected the Westin.

 

[Cornell]

@Cornell it sounds like a great choice. Despite my reservation at St. Ermin's, it was more price-related at this point for a King bedded room of a decent size (we also have a reservation for the W after we get back from France, and chose it for the same reasons). I actually prefer things spare/modern but of high quality so the Westin fits the bill for me too. The thing I do not like in many UK hotels is the tub/shower combo with the glass divider, I just want a big shower with great water pressure and good toiletries. I may not get that at St. Ermin's as I think there are many tub/shower combos in most of the room types.

I know for sure I won't need the gym, in London we pound the pavement all day and are exhausted (in a good way) by the time we get back to the room. You do have me curious though, so I'll need to peek at the gym at the W. A club lounge would be great though, especially if you've heard the breakfast is good at Westin. I find it really relaxing to start the day eating at the hotel, but the a la carte prices at the hotel restaurants are ridiculous. Using the Elite benefits in Europe is a huge cost savings for sure.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts on how you selected the Westin.

I too love a big shower & fabulous toiletries 🩷

 

[DaveNV]

Hi Dave - I'm going to London in December for a week. Researched TONS of hotels. I settled in on "The Westin London City". I won't bore you with all the reasons why I chose this hotel (unless you want to hear them) but the location was a big one.
Universally good reviews.

Thanks, Laura. By the time we get ready to start planning this, you'll be back from your trip. I look forward to hearing your review of things.

I'm not even in the parking lot of the ballpark for thinking about when/where/what sort of things for this trip just yet. But you're on my catch-up list when we are!

Dave

 

[Cornell]

Thanks, Laura. By the time we get ready to start planning this, you'll be back from your trip. I look forward to hearing your review of things.

I'm not even in the parking lot of the ballpark for thinking about when/where/what sort of things for this trip just yet. But you're on my catch-up list when we are!

Dave

I've been to London before. My sis and daughter have not. So I'm going to take a back seat and let them decide what we want to do each day.

 

[Ken555]

I've been to London before. My sis and daughter have not. So I'm going to take a back seat and let them decide what we want to do each day.

FWIW, the new production of Guys and Dolls in London is amazing. Watch the short preview at https://bridgetheatre.co.uk/whats-on/guys-and-dolls/


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