Our Greater London Megathread

theboss80

OPENROAD wrote: »

What is the max in pound sterling you want to spend per night on a room and are you sharing a room, so what is the max between that you will spend per night.

Ya its myself and the girlfriend so we just want a double room. I suppose max £70 per night for room rate maybe? obviously cheaper if possible

OPENROAD

theboss80 wrote: »

Ya its myself and the girlfriend so we just want a double room. I suppose max £70 per night for room rate maybe? obviously cheaper if possible

Tough one, can't personally recommend a place at that price, it is going to be hard, as not only is it peak tourist season, but you also have Wimbledon on, so you may have to look outside of Central London if that is your budget, but then you have the expense of getting into London.

theboss80

OPENROAD wrote: »

Tough one, can't personally recommend a place at that price, it is going to be hard, as not only is it peak tourist season, but you also have Wimbledon on, so you may have to look outside of Central London if that is your budget, but then you have the expense of getting into London.

Would we need 2 increase our budget by much more? what would you recommend?

thanks

zagmund

A quick check shows Holiday Inn Express Golders Green North with twins for £77 (not €77), plus taxes. It's about a mile to Finchley Central tube.

You should also check out lastminute.com and some of the other resellers, but you're going to find it very hard to find somewhere cheap in the one of the biggest tourist cities in the world in the middle of tourist season at short notice.

It may well be possible to stay somewhere far out of London on a train line, but you will end up paying a significant portion of any saving on train fare, so don't bank on it.

z

Miss Lockhart

The only decent central hotel I know of that availability for those dates comes in at £90 per night for a double room inc continental breakfast.

That's the Rhodes Hotel on Sussex Gardens. It's a nice enough location - 5 mins from Lancanster Gate tube (Central Line) or less than 10 mins from Paddington Station. Also 25 mins walk from Oxford Street or a v short tube journey. Close to Hyde Park.

Top ratings on Trip Advisor.

OPENROAD

theboss80 wrote: »

Would we need 2 increase our budget by much more? what would you recommend?

thanks

Think you will need to look at between £100- £150 per night for that period.

You may get cheaper further out but you don't save as you will have to pay for transport costs, as someone said look at sites like lastminute.com.

Thing is I'm sure you will want to stay somewhere thats decent(area and Accommodation ) particularly if you are bringing your girlfriend, so just be wary about simply going for the cheapest option.

If you find somewhere and want to post it up, people might at least tell you what the area is like.

interlocked

http://www.booking.com/hotel/gb/london-city.en.html?aid=303948;label=bookings-naam-3jHr6EsDyn1Uq9ttdGmKKwS4013691321;sid=ba2faa6a88d40afd16ec6a8f3e095a75;checkin=2010-06-22;checkout=2010-06-24

That's probably the cheapest you're going to get in Central London at that kind of notice.

Best of luck, hope it goes well for ye.

Le King

Me and a mate are heading to London on 6th August to the 8th. Looking for a twin room or hostel or anything as we won't be in the room at all. We are meeting up with mates there and will be drinking the whole weekend.

Price is a huge factor here.


Preferably I would like to stay in the Kensington & Chelsea borough but anywhere near-by would do too. All I can get are quotes of about £100 a night. Anybody able to do any cheaper?

OPENROAD

Osu wrote: »

Me and a mate are heading to London on 6th August to the 8th. Looking for a twin room or hostel or anything as we won't be in the room at all. We are meeting up with mates there and will be drinking the whole weekend.

Price is a huge factor here.


Preferably I would like to stay in the Kensington & Chelsea borough but anywhere near-by would do too. All I can get are quotes of about £100 a night. Anybody able to do any cheaper?

Can you give a max price on what you want to spend between you in total per night?

Can see the Holiday Inn Express Earls Court at £90 per night

FernandoTorres

Hi,

Heading over to London this Friday with the missus and we want to see a show in the West End. Anyone know the best way to get tickets? I know Ticketmaster do them but they seem to have fairly low availability, is it best to just get them over there from one of the sellers on the street?

Thanks,

ncmc

FernandoTorres wrote: »

Hi,

Heading over to London this Friday with the missus and we want to see a show in the West End. Anyone know the best way to get tickets? I know Ticketmaster do them but they seem to have fairly low availability, is it best to just get them over there from one of the sellers on the street?

Thanks,

It really depends on what you want to see, if you want to see a particular show and it is a popular one eg Wicked, Lion King, Oliver, you would be best to get on to Ticketmaster or the theatres own website asap. If you aren't fussed about what you see the tkts booth on Leicester Square is a good option. They sell discounted tickets for that nights shows, but it can be a bit pot luck what shows are available and what kind of seats you will get. Some shows are never discounted like the ones above or ones with famous faces. But the tkts website will give you an idea what is normally for sale. Avoid the guys on the streets advertising big discounts, they often end up charging much more than face value. Best stick to the official discount route which is the tkts booth.

http://www.tkts.co.uk/

They open at 10am and the popular shows go early, so get queuing in plenty of time!

theboss80

Finally got sorted for a hotel that was well reviewed and cheap considering location. Holiday Inn express Park Royal which is 2mins walk (i read) from north acton tube station.

Thanks to those who helped. Should we get a nectar card do ye think for travelling around? We getting the stanstead express in to Liverpool st station from airport. and gotta get to hotel then.

who the fug

theboss80 wrote: »

Finally got sorted for a hotel that was well reviewed and cheap considering location. Holiday Inn express Park Royal which is 2mins walk (i read) from north acton tube station.

Thanks to those who helped. Should we get a nectar card do ye think for travelling around? We getting the stanstead express in to Liverpool st station from airport. and gotta get to hotel then.

First of all it is an Oyster card, not Nectar

Have a look at the One day travel cards first, as I think there are some offers available for touristy places with them

To get to the hotel from Liverpool Street

Get Hammersmith and City line to Hammersmith, then get a Piccadilly line train west bound to Uxbridge or Rayners Lane

OPENROAD

who the fug wrote: »

First of all it is an Oyster card, not Nectar

Have a look at the One day travel cards first, as I think there are some offers available for touristy places with them

To get to the hotel from Liverpool Street

Get Hammersmith and City line to Hammersmith, then get a Piccadilly line train west bound to Uxbridge or Rayners Lane

Is the Hotel not at North Acton?

Could he not just take the central line direct from Liverpool street? should take approx 30 mins

theboss80

OPENROAD wrote: »

Is the Hotel not at North Acton?

Could he not just take the central line direct from Liverpool street? should take approx 30 mins

Ya it says on website its 2min walk from north acton station. So just take central line ya?

OPENROAD

theboss80 wrote: »

Ya it says on website its 2min walk from north acton station. So just take central line ya?

Yes central direct from Liverpool st to North Acton

Afraid I don't know much about Acton, but you are very close to Oxford street for the shopping from where you are, again direct tube link to Bond Street and of course you are very close to Westfield again direct tube link on the Central line to Shepherd's Bush or White City.

Fratton Fred

OPENROAD wrote: »

Yes central direct from Liverpool st to North Acton

Afraid I don't know much about Acton, but you are very close to Oxford street for the shopping from where you are, again direct tube link to Bond Street and of course you are very close to Westfield again direct tube link on the Central line to Shepherd's Bush or White City.

Acton is a pretty cosmopolitan typical London suburb. not much there for a tourist tbh.

InTheTrees

I used to live near Acton Town station. The only thing reccomending it was that it's on the picadilly line.

Suburbs, nothing for a tourist at all. I expect the only people who stay in hotels aorund there are business travellers working locally.

MyPeopleDrankTheSoup

Fratton Fred wrote: »

Acton is a pretty cosmopolitan typical London suburb. not much there for a tourist tbh.

yeah, cosmopolitan is the word, a lot of black people. i've stayed in the park royal holiday inn, wouldn't do it again. rooms are grand and breakfast is good and stuff but just in a dodgy area.

cson

Anyone got any good restaurant reccommendations?

I'll frame it with the following;

Staying: Paddington - [Have access to Bakerloo, Hammersmith & City, District and Central lines]

Taste: European or British - [i.e. wouldn't be going near any Indians etc although if there was a [I]really[/I] good Chinese I'd stretch to it]

Budget: ~£75 for 2

Thanks

/waits for trusty arsenal fan and all round gent openroad to pitch in

Cookie89

Hi all,

Just booked tickets for wicked in the Apollo Victoria Theatre and now i'm trying to find reasonable accomodation for 2 for 3 nights. Hoping not to exceed €400 for the weekend. Ant recommendations for the weekend greatly appreciated never been to London before.
Thanks.

OPENROAD

cson wrote: »

Anyone got any good restaurant reccommendations?

I'll frame it with the following;

Staying: Paddington - [Have access to Bakerloo, Hammersmith & City, District and Central lines]

Taste: European or British - [i.e. wouldn't be going near any Indians etc although if there was a [I]really[/I] good Chinese I'd stretch to it]

Budget: ~£75 for 2

Thanks

/waits for trusty arsenal fan and all round gent openroad to pitch in

Here a few to consider, each restaurant has an official site with full menus( sorry broadband is really slow at moment so can't get links, but a quick google search will bring them up) so you can get an ideal of what they serve and prices. Re Paddington tube, it is not serviced by the Central line rather the circle line

Feel free to ask or PM me with any questions, also find if you google restaurants in any specific area, their is good info and reviews I also find the thisislondon/Evening Standard website very good

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/restaurants/

Gloucester Road Tube Station( Circle and District Line from Paddington- Journey time approx 10 mins)

1.Consortia Restaurant at the Holiday Inn Kensington Forum. no website available for this restaurant. Serves modern British/European though menu may have changed by now.

2.Green Door Bar And Grill Gloucester Road. ( website availabe with full menu)

3.Black and Blue Gloucester Road (website availabe with full menu) They also have a branch at Notting Hill Gate- Circle line from Paddington to Notting Hill Gate

Knightsbridge ( Circle or District line to Gloucester Rd and change to Piccadilly line two stops to Knightsbridge)

1.Cafe Rouge Knightsbridge. Right behind Harrods.

2.Harvey Nichols Knightsbridge ( Two restaurants, though the Cafe and Expresso bar is more reasonably priced).

3.Pizza on the Park

Old Street Circle line from Paddington to Moorgate and change to Northern Line to Old Street.

1.Fifteen : Jamie Olivers restaurant, might be slightly over budget but if you can stretch to it, is a great experience, try the Trattoria restaurant on the ground floor, you will need to book a reservation asap though. Check out the Fifteen London website

OPENROAD

Cookie89 wrote: »

Hi all,

Just booked tickets for wicked in the Apollo Victoria Theatre and now i'm trying to find reasonable accomodation for 2 for 3 nights. Hoping not to exceed €400 for the weekend. Ant recommendations for the weekend greatly appreciated never been to London before.
Thanks.

Hotel below located at Gloucester Road tube station is 3 tube stops to Victoria tube station where Apollo Victoria Theatre is (I think) Circle or District line. 5 mins tube stop to tube stop.

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showt...m#post59595655

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showt...n#post60745677

chalkitdown

cson wrote: »

Anyone got any good restaurant reccommendations?

I'll frame it with the following;

Staying: Paddington - [Have access to Bakerloo, Hammersmith & City, District and Central lines]

Taste: European or British - [i.e. wouldn't be going near any Indians etc although if there was a [I]really[/I] good Chinese I'd stretch to it]

Budget: ~£75 for 2

Thanks

/waits for trusty arsenal fan and all round gent openroad to pitch in

You should try this site for a lot of really good deals.

http://www.toptable.com/en-gb/venues/offers

Fratton Fred

You could always take the 35 minute train journey to Maidenhead and go to this little place.

www.thefatduck.co.uk

A tad more than £75 each though:D

There is a very nice place not far from Marylebone called the Potting Shed, in Dorest Square. It's been a few years since I was there, but I had several good meals there.

Incidentally, Thomas Lord used the place as the shed for the Cricket pitch in Dorset square. however, the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) quickly outgrew the ground and moved it up the road to St John's Wood. They did, however, honour the original founder by naming their new ground "Lords" after him.

Crann na Beatha

This post has been deleted.

who the fug

About the easiest way is from Heathrow with these people , save the hassle of coming into central London and back out again

Fratton Fred

Yep, the Oxford bus is probably the easiest way, or there are direct trains from Paddington to Oxford as well, so Heathrow would be the easiest.

Another option is Southampton Airport with Flybe, there are direct trains from there to Oxford as well, takes just over an hour. Southampton Airport is a very easy airport to navigate through and the station is just outside the terminal.

Howjoe1

Does anyone have the recent newsletter form the Right Show in Londo?

deleted email in error. There was a reasonable priced hip hotel, but i can't remember name of it.

any help appreciated

FutureGuy

Hi all,
We're making a slight change to our holiday plans and have decided to stay 3 nights in London from 6th-9th August.

We'll be going to the Charity Shield in Wembley on the Sunday and will be flying to Krakow on the Monday evening.

We'd like to stay somewhere that is close to shops and entertainment I have very little experience of whats what in london. Anyone with nice experience with hotels in London?

All help appreciated!

mikedragon32

There's a big London Megathread at the top of this forum.

OPENROAD

FutureGuy wrote: »

Hi all,
We're making a slight change to our holiday plans and have decided to stay 3 nights in London from 6th-9th August.

We'll be going to the Charity Shield in Wembley on the Sunday and will be flying to Krakow on the Monday evening.

We'd like to stay somewhere that is close to shops and entertainment I have very little experience of whats what in london. Anyone with nice experience with hotels in London?

All help appreciated!

As mentioned plenty of good info in the London thread, check out the place attached.

Excellent location for shops, Harrods only 5 mins away by tube, High Street Kensington only one tube stop away, Oxford Street 15 mins by tube.

Wembley is also only just over 30 mins away by tube, Circle/District Line to Westminster change for Jubilee line here direct to Wembley Park

Feel free to ask me any other questions you may have.

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=63730141&highlight=forum#post63730141

The Big Red Button

Hi all!

I am planning a group trip to London in September.

The plan is to fit in a West End show and a couple of faaaabulous nights out over the weekend. However, I don't know London at all.

Basically, I'm wondering what kind of areas I should be googling to find central accommodation for everything? (I'm planning on finding a good value hotel with a hostel next to it in order to suit all budgets!) It needs to be within reasonable taxi distance of good nightclubs (recommendations please?! ) and also of the West End, and if there were good restaurants around too that would be great!

I don't know London at all, so any suggestions are very very welcome!

Savman

Do you know there's a London Megathread top of this forum??

The Big Red Button

Oh thanks for that ... cannot believe I didn't see that! I've PMed a mod to get my post moved to that thread.

Pythia

I thought Las Iguanas restaurant in Soho was lovely for food and drink. Mojitos... mmm... http://www.iguanas.co.uk/las-iguanas-london-soho-menu.asp

BlondePrincess

Hi, my boyf and I are going to London for 3 nights in August....He's bringing me away as a birthday present, but we're only getting round to booking it now....where is good to stay, somewhere centrally located, but not too expensive?? His bro moved over a few months ago, so we'll be out a lot, so not pushed if the hotel isn't 4*/5*, but as long as it's half decent? Thanks

OPENROAD

BlondePrincess wrote: »

Hi, my boyf and I are going to London for 3 nights in August....He's bringing me away as a birthday present, but we're only getting round to booking it now....where is good to stay, somewhere centrally located, but not too expensive?? His bro moved over a few months ago, so we'll be out a lot, so not pushed if the hotel isn't 4*/5*, but as long as it's half decent? Thanks

Have you looked at some of the suggestions already mentioned?

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=67030920&highlight=harrods#post67030920

Kairi

Hi.
First time posting so please be patient with me.
Feel free to move if it's not the right place to post:)
My first language is not English, so apologies if it doesn't make any sense.

I'm planning a trip to Japan next year.
Arriving at Heathrow at 10:00 and leaving for Narita, Japan at 19:35,
there's 9 hours+ between the transit. Checking out and in may take 3 hours (checking out 1 hour and 2 hours in), I'd say there is about
6 hours so I'd love to go mini sightseeing in London if possible.
Am I allowed to go out the Immigration or will I be stuck in the airport?
Also, if I check in my luggage in Dublin, would I have to take it in Heathrow and re-check it in there again, or would they deliver it to my final destination?

Any advice is highly appreciated!


PS
I'm from one of the Visa Waiver Program countries so I don't need a visa to enter the UK.

undo

If you need no visa to enter the UK then sure, you can head off into town. Just remember that London is a big and congested city. You could get stuck in traffic on your way back to the airport and miss the flight to Japan.

As for checking your luggage through: If you booked both flights on one ticket, your luggage will most likely be checked to the destination. If these are separate bookings but both with "traditional" airlines, there is a chance the check-in personnel might check your luggage to the destination. But if the first flight is say Ryanair, you most definitely will need to check your bags in twice.

Kairi

Thank you very much for your reply, undo!
Now I have something extra to look forward to, mini sightseeing in London!

undo wrote: »

But if the first flight is say Ryanair, you most definitely will need to check your bags in twice.

flybmi.com wrote: »

Connecting customers
If you're connecting via London Heathrow with baggage, you must check in at least 60 minutes prior to departure or at the stated Check-in time, if this is longer.

I'm flying with BMI and like you said, it looks like I have to check in my luggage again at Heathrow.

Thanks once again, undo.

JeffCash

Hey,

I'm heading to London over this Friday to visit some family and I won't be coming back until Tuesday. It's been years since I was last over in London properly. Admittedly a huge amoung of time will be taken up with socialising in the evenings but can anyone recommend what's really worth seeing or where to start. I'm going to a show on Saturday night and will definitely check out the London Eye but besides that it's a blank slate! I was debating checking out Thrope Park but not overly sure whether it's worth the hassle! Any advice or anybodys personal experiences would be much appreciated.

Thanks a million!!

unreggd

Roller Disco

JeffCash

I fear my coordination wouldn't quite survive roller disco as cool and all as it might be. I broke my hand playing football a little while back bringing skates and alcohol in to the equation seems like it may be a case of wreckless endangerment!

Fratton Fred

If you like roller coasters, then Thorpe is worth it. I think there is a bus from either Staines or Chertsey stations.

What sort of thing do you want to do? Football, museums, shopping, zoo?

JeffCash

Fratton Fred wrote: »

If you like roller coasters, then Thorpe is worth it. I think there is a bus from either Staines or Chertsey stations.

What sort of thing do you want to do? Football, museums, shopping, zoo?

I'm open to most stuff really. I'm extremely in to football but was looking at the matches this weekend and most of the London teams are playing away plus I presumed tickets would be very hard to come by. I like rollercoasters so it might be a good way to spend a day. The zoo is definitely idea and I'd like to do some shopping and check out some of the museums. I'd like to cram in as much as possible tbh. Are there any museums that are worth visiting more than others?

kelle

If you have small children, Kensington Gardens are a must - and it's free. We spent hours there at Diana's Memorial playground and fountain! We also visited the Victoria and Albert Museum, and the Natural Museum near Victoria station. the kids loved them and again it was free!

I found this webpage which I printed and took with me

http://www.virgin-vacations.com/101-things-to-do-in-london.aspx

Have a lovely break!

dellas1979

Any recommendations for hotels centre location - nothing too pricy for 6 girls - 2 nights 05 nov to 07 nov (2 nights). Would it work out cheaper 3 per room?
Have tried hilton tower - little expensive though.
Thanks

Fratton Fred

Leyton Orient, Millwall, Brentford and Barnet are all at home on Saturday:D

Natural History and Science museums are a good place to start. the Tower of London and Tower bridge are good as well.

If you want to do shopping, avoid Oxford street especially Tottenham Court Road end as they are doing roadworks and the pavement is restricted. It is impossible to move along there at the moment.(I can never understand why people go there anyway) but try and do Regent Street if you can. Covent Garden is good as well.

If you have friends in London who will forward on a parcel for you, you could get a pair of personalised runners knocked up at Nike Town. you have to book though and they only deliver them to the UK.

OPENROAD

kelle wrote: »

If you have small children, Kensington Gardens are a must - and it's free. We spent hours there at Diana's Memorial playground and fountain! We also visited the Victoria and Albert Museum, and the Natural Museum near Victoria station. the kids loved them and again it was free!

I found this webpage which I printed and took with me

http://www.virgin-vacations.com/101-things-to-do-in-london.aspx

Have a lovely break!

Even if you don't have children its a must

Enter from High St. Ken entrance you have Kensington Palace, walk through to the Serpentine near Knightsbridge. Actually I often walk from he High St Ken entrance right through to Marble Arch/Oford st, sitting down throughout and watch the world go by:)