236 posts
|
Post by undeuxtrois on Oct 17, 2019 0:11:04 GMT
I'm trying to plan a five night trip to London from lpool for next year - hopefully in February. Does anyone have any hotel recommendations that are obviously close to the West End, within walking distance, and not too far from Euston station? Everywhere seems so expensive, but the cheapest I've found so far is just under 300 for five nights. As others have said, for something central you are probably looking at £300 for the 5 nights as a minimum (ie average £60 a night). Looking at the Premier Inn, Travelodge and Accorhotels sites for a random 5 days in Feb there are a few options for around £300 or just under if you book a non-flexible rate. Alternatively you could save money by going further out. For instance for the same 5 days the Premier Inn Hammersmith is £230 for the 5 nights. This is about 30 minutes by tube from the West End.
Managed to get a rough total-cost to see Wicked, Hamilton, DEH, CFA, Six, Phantom, & Juliet and Les Mis along with a train return lpool to London And a five night stay in a hotel 20 mins walk to the West End for £699.45 or £775.45. Thanks everyone for your suggestions and help, I'll still be searching around for cheaper but so far I'm happy with what I've found.
|
|
397 posts
|
Post by maggiem on Oct 20, 2019 16:00:13 GMT
When I was down the other week I stayed at The Bedford in Russel Sq. This is an independent chain, they have ( I think) 5 hotels in the same vicinity. One of them, which is (I think) The County is very affordable for London if you don’t mind shared bathrooms. I DO mind shared bathrooms so got a single at the Bedford for £100 a night. It was spotlessly clean, everything worked fine, Internet is free, breakfast is included in the rate. They’re going for the “basic no frills but ok” concept that premier inn have mastered. The shining star of the hotel though is a very nice lounge/bar/ restaurant overlooking a beautiful secret garden in the heart of Bloomsbury. I can’t vouch for the breakfast as I didn’t have it (tripadvisor reviews aren’t that great) but it’s a lovely place to chill out. This chain was used by the now defunct Superbreak in their theatre break weekends, its Imperial Hotels and they have an app. Please read tripadvisor reviews before taking this as a recommendation. I had to book directly with Imperial London Hotels for my November theatre weekend after Superbreak went bust. £55 per night B&B, total cost £165.
However, by accident, I found that you can enter "The County" into Trivago, and get a few offers for less. e.g Roomdi will do the same room for £45 per night, total £135, which I have booked for February 2020. You pay your money and take your chances, I suppose, but it's nice to have another cheaper alternative.
|
|
18,800 posts
|
Post by BurlyBeaR on Oct 20, 2019 16:25:15 GMT
It’s very handy for Euston maggiem I went past it the other day on the way down to Russell Square. Let us know what it’s like, especially those shared bathrooms, because that sort of price is beyond reasonable for the location.
|
|
397 posts
|
Post by maggiem on Oct 20, 2019 16:33:34 GMT
|
|
18,800 posts
|
Post by BurlyBeaR on Oct 20, 2019 17:39:15 GMT
Some of those pics look “challenging” 🙂
|
|
Xanderl
Member
Not always very high value in terms of ticket yield or donations
|
Post by Xanderl on Oct 20, 2019 18:13:57 GMT
Some of those pics look “challenging” 🙂 Particularly the one of the hotel manager
|
|
805 posts
|
Post by duncan on Oct 21, 2019 9:23:24 GMT
Oooh that brings back memories - I stayed in The County once* with its shared bathroooms. I seem to recall it took that long to get into the bathroom that one morning I used the sink in my room for a full body wash.
Not somewhere I've ever wanted to go back to.
* - circa October 2005 as I rather foolishly wondered why there was a floral tribute attached to the park railings just down the road.
|
|
397 posts
|
Post by maggiem on Oct 22, 2019 11:41:20 GMT
Some of those pics look “challenging” 🙂 Well they are from TripAdvisor, so there will be bias on the part of the various photographers. Having said that, I have been using that hotel for over 20 years, and I have never:- seen muck or moths in the rooms; used a dirty bathroom or toilet: had food poisoning from the breakfasts. It does for me very nicely, considering how long I am actually in the hotel over a weekend. They also don't charge a fortune for holding my case on Monday mornings while I enjoy a few more hours in London. I have always kept faith with The County and respected the operating company, because in Summer 2012, when lots of London hotels were profiteering like mad for the Olympics, I was still able to get a room for their (then) usual rate. No cheaper alternatives, mind, but they didn't put their normal rate up sky high for the hell of it.
|
|
236 posts
|
Post by undeuxtrois on Nov 20, 2019 10:31:10 GMT
I'm planning to stay in London for 3 nights (11th - 14th Feb) next year and will be coming from lpool to London Euston. I will be seeing & Juliet, Hamilton, Wicked and DEH (possibly Six or Waitress as well but probably not yet).
I need advice about travelling from Gresham Hotel Bloomsbury (I know it seems terrible there but I don't think I could afford anything better) to the Victoria Palace and Apollo Vic theatres. I would be fine with walking but I've never been to London before and it seems quite a bit away.
Could anyone help me with the cheapest way of travelling there and back? Or if anyone knows of a place within walking distance of the theatres and not too far from euston station which is less than £200 for 3 nights - big ask I know 😂
I'd be really grateful if anyone could help me with this!
|
|
18,800 posts
|
Post by BurlyBeaR on Nov 20, 2019 12:16:55 GMT
|
|
18,800 posts
|
Post by BurlyBeaR on Nov 20, 2019 12:19:41 GMT
And for directions, do you have google maps on your phone? Indispensable for directions by foot, bus or tube. Just enter your starting point and destination and it will give you the various options, click on your desired mode of transport for the detail.
|
|
1,846 posts
|
Post by NeilVHughes on Nov 20, 2019 12:25:08 GMT
I always find the Citymapper app invaluable when working out routes around London.
Easy to use and provides plenty of routes to choose from.
|
|
833 posts
|
Post by Steffi on Nov 20, 2019 12:28:29 GMT
Travelodge Finsbury Park has availabilty for under £150 for those 3 nights. Finsbury Park tube station is close by. You can get the Victoria Line straight to Victoria Station from there. Also the Piccadilly Line that will take you to Leicester Square for all your other shows.
I would not stay at the Gresham. I know people who have and it was not a pleasant experience. The Ridgemount Hotel on the same street has single rooms with shared facilities for under £200. It's basic but clean and the owners are wonderful. I stay there regularly. If you want to be in walking distance of the West End I would recommend that option. To get to Victoria you can take the Victoria Line from Warren Street. Busses from Goodge Street Station (I think No. 24 and 29 go to Victoria) are slightly cheaper but can get stuck in bad traffic especially during after work rush hour so you would need to factor is more time to get to your shows.
And another vote for the Citymapper app from me. So useful.
|
|
1,907 posts
Member is Online
|
Post by sf on Nov 20, 2019 12:36:10 GMT
I need advice about travelling from Gresham Hotel Bloomsbury (I know it seems terrible there but I don't think I could afford anything better) to the Victoria Palace and Apollo Vic theatres. I would be fine with walking but I've never been to London before and it seems quite a bit away. It's a fair distance, but if the weather's OK the walk will take you past a number of London's major sights - walk down Charing Cross Road to Trafalgar Square, then down Whitehall to Parliament Square, then along Victoria Street. Give yourself plenty of time to meander, stop for a coffee, go in the National Gallery or Westminster Abbey (or both), make it part of the day rather than just a walk from A to B. If the weather is less cooperative, pick up the number 24 bus, which goes down Tottenham Court Road and then follows exactly the same route (or if you just want to get to Victoria, you can also catch the number 390 bus on Tottenham Court Road - it also goes to Victoria, but via Oxford Street, Marble Arch, and Hyde Park Corner). You'll have to use contactless or an Oyster card, because you can't pay cash fares for buses in London; the bus fare is a flat £1.50; and if you only use buses the cap is £4.50 (meaning however many buses you take in the course of a day you won't be charged more than that). Quicker - the tube. From that hotel, start at Tottenham Court Road and it's one change either way: Central Line to Oxford Circus (one stop) then Victoria Line to Victoria (two stops), or Northern Line to Embankment (three stops) then District/Circle Line to Victoria (three stops). Using Oyster or contactless, the tube fare is £2.40, and if you stay within zones one and two there's a daily cap of £7.00 (again, meaning however much you use the tube/trains/buses you won't be charged any more than that). Buying a paper travelcard from a ticket machine is almost twice as expensive, and single cash fares on the tube are (deliberately) punitive (within zone one a single journey would be £4.90). Enjoy your trip.
|
|
18,800 posts
|
Post by BurlyBeaR on Nov 20, 2019 12:37:30 GMT
Www.Easyhotel.com has those dates at their Victoria hotel £133 small double no window or £148 for a small double with window. Their biggest room is only £178 for those three nights. I haven’t stayed but reports on the threads here are that it’s ok but small.
|
|
1,244 posts
|
Post by londonmzfitz on Nov 20, 2019 14:40:43 GMT
tfl.gov.uk for tube and bus maps. I like the bus personally as you will see so much more and there is the advantage of an actual person driving in case of problems (although it's hit and miss you'll get a helpful one).
|
|
4,958 posts
|
Post by TallPaul on Nov 20, 2019 15:17:38 GMT
£200 for 3 nights does seem rather high. Have you looked on somewhere like Trivago? If you've definitely decided on Bloomsbury, it has many hotels with higher ratings than the Gresham, for around the £55 per night mark.
Personally, I prefer to stay on one of the side streets of Bayswater or Paddington, which I find is a happy medium between being able to walk into the West End, yet away from too much traffic noise. I'm really grumpy when I don't get enough sleep!
|
|
|
Post by intoanewlife on Nov 20, 2019 19:05:59 GMT
I wouldn't book hotels this early, they will all be at advance full price still. I never book hotels until a few days before when they start panic discounting to fill their rooms.
|
|
1,244 posts
|
Post by londonmzfitz on Nov 20, 2019 22:39:24 GMT
Difficult to hold out for hotel if you've shows booked though. There's a thread about hotels on here, the Premier Inn chain might do new year deals. Travelling in from Wembley Central or Wembley Park are certainly doable. But hotel prices in London generally have really gone up in recent years.
|
|
|
Post by intoanewlife on Nov 20, 2019 22:43:06 GMT
Difficult to hold out for hotel if you've shows booked though. There's a thread about hotels on here, the Premier Inn chain might do new year deals. Travelling in from Wembley Central or Wembley Park are certainly doable. But hotel prices in London generally have really gone up in recent years. I never book my actual travel or hotels until 2 - 3 days before I'm due to leave x
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Nov 20, 2019 23:23:25 GMT
If you book early enough, Premier Inn charge £30 a night. You can't go wrong tbh. They are pretty decent. My current favourite hotel is the Hampton by Hilton Docklands. Yeah, it's far out but it's cheap and you get breakfast and you can watch the planes at London City!
|
|
236 posts
|
Post by undeuxtrois on Nov 21, 2019 9:39:47 GMT
Has anybody stayed at The County Hotel? Price and location are good
|
|
18,800 posts
|
Post by BurlyBeaR on Nov 21, 2019 9:54:12 GMT
|
|
18,800 posts
|
Post by BurlyBeaR on Jul 2, 2021 13:00:47 GMT
Have you seen the prices for hotels in London over the next few months?
|
|
4,958 posts
|
Post by TallPaul on Jul 2, 2021 13:30:23 GMT
You had me worried then for a moment, BurlyBeaR, until I realised you meant 'thud' in a good way. Maybe I should extend my trip by a few days...but then I'll need to buy some more smalls!
|
|
7,500 posts
|
Post by alece10 on Jul 2, 2021 14:40:34 GMT
Lastminute.com used to do these secret hotel.deals where you didn't know where you were staying until you booked but with a bit of research you could figure out which hotmit was. There were some great 5 star offers. Not sure if that's back up and running yet.
|
|
3,073 posts
|
Post by david on Jul 2, 2021 14:50:01 GMT
For London trips, I can highly recommend the George Hotel in Cartwright Gardens which is a 10-15 minute walk from KX or Euston. I have stayed here a number of times over the last 2 years and never had a bad stay. Really friendly and helpful staff. The hotel itself is in a quiet area so you can get a good nights sleep. Nice rooms at a decent price. On my most recent stay 4 nights cost £195 (from EXPEDIA) which was a double room en-suite with a walk in shower. The shared bathroom had a bath with a shower head attached. Normally the dining room would be open and the breakfasts have both cooked as well as cereal options which can keep you well fed for a couple of hours. No issues with the internet and tea and coffee making facilities in the room. They also have free luggage storage which I’ve found to be a great help.
|
|
579 posts
|
Post by ncbears on Feb 27, 2023 4:07:43 GMT
Looking for any new insights - new hotels in West End - and how Elizabeth Line affects travel into the West End
|
|
397 posts
|
Post by maggiem on Feb 27, 2023 12:13:13 GMT
Further to my earlier posts, the County Hotel isn't coming up any more for bookings. It was acquired by Splendid Hospitality group just before the pandemic, and since the lockdowns ended it was open again, but now it's being redeveloped by the group and won't be open again until 2024.
|
|
18,800 posts
|
Post by BurlyBeaR on Feb 27, 2023 12:55:18 GMT
For London trips, I can highly recommend the George Hotel in Cartwright Gardens which is a 10-15 minute walk from KX or Euston. I have stayed here a number of times over the last 2 years and never had a bad stay. Really friendly and helpful staff. The hotel itself is in a quiet area so you can get a good nights sleep. Nice rooms at a decent price. On my most recent stay 4 nights cost £195 (from EXPEDIA) which was a double room en-suite with a walk in shower. The shared bathroom had a bath with a shower head attached. Normally the dining room would be open and the breakfasts have both cooked as well as cereal options which can keep you well fed for a couple of hours. No issues with the internet and tea and coffee making facilities in the room. They also have free luggage storage which I’ve found to be a great help. Recent reviews suggest that david’s recommendation above might need a bit of further research before booking too - albeit that some of the problems seem to be connected with building works so may be temporary.
|
|