Weekend break - London - Hotel suggestions?

[AJI]

Hello peeps,

 

Currently trying to plan a weekend break to London but not familiar with the village at all.

 

I'll be arriving by car and then hoping to leave it in a hotel car park for three days and use the tube and foot to get around.

 

I have no idea of decent value hotels near the village centre, or even a little further out towards the edge.

 

But my requirements are, (1) easy walk to a tube station

(2) hotel's own private car parking (3) room prices not to be a rip off (4) nice area in which we can safely walk back to hotel at night time without being mugged by hoddies. (I guess this last one kinda rules out the entire options list )

 

If anyone has some local knowledge on this and can offer a couple of suggestions, it would be much appreciated.

[AJI]

p.s.

forgot to add that my budget is tight.

 

Think of a scotsman's purse .... (although I'm not scottish)

 

Only joking of course, but really looking for best value for money on the cheaper side of the scale.

[MARTIN R]

Not sure on Hotels mate, but you can park the car at Oxford train station for £5 per day and if you book the train in advance Oxford to London is £8 return

[Supralad]

hotels with parking in London will not be cheap, i can name a few but your looking at 80quid a nite (at best)

[MARTIN R]

hotels with parking in London will not be cheap, i can name a few but your looking at 80quid a nite (at best)

 

Not classy but Travelodge at tower bridge was £75 a night

[Dyer864]

Been up a few times now for weekends , the best place i found was in chelsea/fulham .

 

before you ar** starts going ,

yes posh area / posher than most , but you get great deals, i stayed in the travel lodge in putney bridge / fulham great time and very reasonable ! i even stayed in the millenium & copthorne chelsea football hotel, which was on a promotion that was cheaper than the travel lodge , so look around for great deals !

 

Av a shifty thro http://www.bookings.com they av some great offers on, and the tube station is fulham broadway ,easy access from paddington (2/3 stops) and great to get into central london !!

 

Def. get a 2 or 3 day oyster card for the tubes , saves you a lot of money

[ilicos]

Not classy but Travelodge at tower bridge was £75 a night

 

Tower Bridge is a terrible area to stay in!

[supra_aero]

As above, can't think of any hotels WITH parking at a cheap rate. Cheap being below £100 minimum. Even then I can't think of any.

[Rob]

So you want London, but you want it cheap?

 

Anyone see a problem with that set of criteria?

[MARTIN R]

Tower Bridge is a terrible area to stay in!

 

I agree its not great, but cheap hotels do come at a price/ compromise in the capital, although tbh I would class 8 hours for work as long enough, hate the place with a passion.

[ilicos]

The best area to stay in is probably Mayfair, Trafalgar Sq or Russell Sq if you want to be within walking distance of everything. Russell Square is probably much cheaper than the rest and you have the President Hotel or the Hotel Russell that is there. In Trafalgar Sq you have the Thistle which is a great hotel just between Trafalgar and Leicester Sq. Mayfair is much more expensive but you might find a good deal.

 

If you are a tourist you are better off paying a bit extra to stay more central as by the time you pay for taxis, etc. it would cost the same as staying further out.

[ilicos]

I agree its not great, but cheap hotels do come at a price/ compromise in the capital, although tbh I would class 8 hours for work as long enough, hate the place with a passion.

 

Phewww, thought you were a fan of scummy areas for a second!

 

Another option though is to stay in the 'City' and there are always great weekend deals as the City is usualy a ghost town at weekends. Only 10/15 minutes to the West End.

 

I would look at hotels in Moorgate/Livrpool Street/Bank/Old Street if you want to go for that option.

 

Oh yeah, there is a Holiday Inn right behing the London Eye which would be a good bet also.

[stevie_b]

I think London Bridge isn't a bad compromise: not a great area, but better than somewhere like Kings Cross.

 

Unless you need the car for elsewhere in the south of England whilst you're down there, I'd seriously consider leaving the car at home and get an advance rail ticket to get to/from London.

 

If you must bring your car, you'll probably need to leave it in an NCP or similar.

[caseys]

I'd still recommend http://www.twentynevernsquare.co.uk/360tour/index.htm right near Earls Court

 

Oh btw..

http://mkivsupra.net/vbb/showthread.php?t=198687&highlight=london+hotels

 

http://mkivsupra.net/vbb/showthread.php?t=187972&highlight=london+hotels

[stevie_b]

Another option though is to stay in the 'City' and there are always great weekend deals as the City is usualy a ghost town at weekends. Only 10/15 minutes to the West End.

 

I would look at hotels in Moorgate/Livrpool Street/Bank/Old Street if you want to go for that option.

 

Good call. e.g. http://www.apexhotels.co.uk/hotels/london-wall/

[AJI]

Just trying websites for the suggestions above....

 

....what is the docklands area like?

There is a travelodge there that is not too far from a tube station.

 

Is it a safe walk after light fades?

[stevie_b]

I don't live or work there but AFAIK docklands is safe. Again, very dead at the weekend. It's further out from most of the tourist stuff than the City though. Depends what you're going to London for really. Greenwich/Blackheath is lovely.

[supra_aero]

Docklands is good yes. So long as you are in limehouse/canary wharf. Some areas are a tad dodgy.

 

Post where you are thinking before booking. Not that I can see the future of crime to your supra or anything. But can advise as used to work there.

[AJI]

Stevie - Very dead with no people around is very much what I am looking for in a location for the hotel.

 

Basically my girlfriend is a city type person and she's never been to London. I have been telling her that we'd go sometime this year, but I've been trying to put it off for as long as possible as I hate UK cities in general as places to 'visit'.

 

So I'm hoping to spend 3nights in a hotel on the cheaper side of things but somewhere with easy access to get around London and visit the usual touristy type things like London eye, Big Ben, Tower Bridge, the Queen's place etc. etc.

 

We intend to go out in the mornings and spend the day visiting places and return at night after a meal....so I'm guessing the sun will have set and it will be time for the hoddies to take over the streets. (Hence my concern about hotel location with me and the g/f having to walk back from a tube station).

[AJI]

Docklands is good yes. So long as you are in limehouse/canary wharf. Some areas are a tad dodgy.

 

Post where you are thinking before booking. Not that I can see the future of crime to your supra or anything. But can advise as used to work there.

 

Cheers.

 

Well at the moment I have gone through many of the suggestions so far that have been suggested by members here.

 

Then was browsing the travelodge website and noticed they have a map function that shows hotels around london.

Their Docklands hotel looks about the right price and within easy access of a tube station.

So at the moment this looks like a strong possibility.

 

They have car parking at £5 per night.

[supra_aero]

Besides first review according to google, I'd have said location wise at least is ok.

 

http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?hl=en&um=1&ie=UTF-8&q=travelodge+docklands+london&fb=1&gl=uk&hq=travelodge+docklands&hnear=London&cid=0,0,3509001974311317372&ei=K6FiTLXSDYv40wSo4rHgDA&sa=X&oi=local_result&ct=image&resnum=2&ved=0CBwQnwIwAQ

 

That's a DLR station its near, not a tube station. Not sure what DLR operating times are like on the weekend you are going. Worth checking first.

 

Just noticed my regular hotel I stay at may have offers when you are coming down;

 

http://www.malmaison.com/promotions

 

and they have a car park. Don't know what weekend you are coming on so can't check availability on that special offer. They are near St. Pauls and have a very very private car park. No chance of supra ever getting touched there.

 

If you are going with the misses and want to really shock her, stay in the room called "The Square". I promise you, you'll never ever forget that night

[AJI]

If you are going with the misses and want to really shock her, stay in the room called "The Square". I promise you, you'll never ever forget that night

 

This sounds very interesting

 

Is this 'shock' her in a good way...or as in 'turning white' type of shock?

[ilicos]

I personally would not stay in the Docklands as it is too far out to enjoy London.

There is nothing to do there apart from eat.

 

You would need about 30 minutes to get to the West End and even then you will struggle as the DLR is not a great service - especially at weekends.

 

City or West End is your best bet.

[caseys]

Sounds like West End, along by London Bridge or such would be good.

 

Holiday Inn in Camden if you're after a central place with a hive of activity that's pretty vibrant

 

Oh and you're driving down??

 

London's just a city at the end of the day.... I think Manchester or Plymouth are more hairy than London or even NYC. Traveladvisor and such are generally your friends, but take some reviews with a pinch of salt.

[Dyer864]

I personally would not stay in the Docklands as it is too far out to enjoy London.

There is nothing to do there apart from eat.

 

You would need about 30 minutes to get to the West End and even then you will struggle as the DLR is not a great service - especially at weekends.

 

City or West End is your best bet.

 

Exactly !! been there stayed in the 'Ramada' or something hotel, had a great price ! yeah but absolutely nothing there , just hotels and the Excel centre , miles from the centre , cost us an arm and a leg in tubes as it was like zone 4 or 5 and like said you've got to get on the DLR ! pain in the Ar*e mate , get something nearer !

I only stayed there cos we went to see prince in the O2 (best weekend ever )