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Trouble booking a room for 3 and the train to Paris

Greetings,

We'll be in London in late Dec. into Jan. I need a room for 3 as we're travelling with a teenager. We are seniors and have some walking issues so we need to be in a clean place with an elevator or few stairs near the Tube. I've checked hundreds of hotels and can't seem to find an affordable option that's close to the Underground and can handle 3 in a room with a queen bed and twin or 3 twins. I"ve spent at least 12 hours online and via emails looking for a place to no avail. I like being near Victoria Station or in Belgravia but no luck. If you have any suggestions, I'm listening.

Also, I have discounts for American hotels as I work for the govt., AARP, etc. It doesn't seem like those work online for European hotels. Is there another way to obtain discounts codes such as these?

Finally, we're leaving London on the Eurostar for a few days in Paris. Would you recommend changing hotels for one night to be close to the train station or just Uber to the train?

Thanks,

MOB

Posted by
1268 posts

Triple rooms aren’t so common in London but you should be able to find something. The Travelodge chain allows 3 adults to share. It’s a budget chain but perfectly acceptable if you don’t want to spend more. You could also look at aparthotels which will give you more space.

I don’t know anything about discount codes but as they are related to working for the US government I think it’s unlikely you will get discount for that outside of your own country.

Posted by
9062 posts

What’s affordable to you?

Some Premier Inns have an “extra” single bed in their rooms.

Or try 63 Bayswater and ask for Room 107 which has 2 Dbl beds. Confirm with management that’s still the case.

63 has an elevator and is 1/2 block from the Lancaster Gate Underground Station.

It’s Europe NOT the USA. Why would you assume AAA, AARP or any other American membership would be accepted?

Lastly, you’ve chosen to post in the Reviews section of the Forum. I suggest you post in the England Forum to obtain more responses to your questions.

Posted by
5312 posts

Have a look at the Premier Inn website. Many of their hotels have family rooms. For other hotels, look at booking.com and use their filters to refine your search. I seriously doubt that a US government (or other) discount would be honored in any foreign country. Hotel loyalty points would be.

As for getting from your hotel to St Pancras, I wouldn't change hotels. Whether to take an Uber, taxi, bus, or the Tube would depend on time of day and where your hotel is located. Keep in mind that you must be in the Eurostar queue 90 minutes before departure.

Posted by
11 posts

Thank you all and I will repost in the correct forum. My mistake sorry.

I've had no luck with any of the Premier hotels for a reasonable rate. I'm trying to figure out the room configuation for a Millenium hotel which is coming up with a great rate but I can't confirm that the rooms serves three even though that's what I entered into the # of guests field. No US phone number either.

I'll try travelodge. Most of the US hotel chains are already sold out for December. I think it's because we need a night during our week that includes New Year's Eve.

Thanks again.

Posted by
2045 posts

Try the Luna and Simone hotel. We have stayed there a couple of times. They offer triple rooms and were very accommodating when we requested a room with as few stairs as possible (there can be many stairs).
Halfway between Victoria Station and Pimlico tube station. Breakfast included, friendly, cheerful and helpful staff. A bus to Trafalgar Square stops in front of the hotel. We’ve been pleased in the past, hope it may work for you. Safe travels.

Posted by
2513 posts

Not answering your hotel question but a possible note of caution. How old is the teenager? Over 18? If he/she is under 18, you would need permission forms of some sort signed and notarized by the parents to carry with you due to child trafficking laws.

Posted by
1268 posts

Premier Inn don’t allow 3 adults per room which is why that’s not working for you.

Have you tried booking.com? It’s very easy to filter results and find all the available options.

Posted by
33392 posts

If you have mobility issues as you say, you may find that being in a location with good bus service will suit you better than the Tube.

Most Tube stations have some stairs, even those with escalators, and the walk underground can quite long.

There are some stations with step free access from street to train but they are still fairly rare. My wife is disabled so I keep an eye on such things.

Most buses kneel so the step up is slight, and even if you go upstairs (great views, especially from the front couple of rows) it is no worse than going upstairs at home.

Posted by
11690 posts

In neither of your posts have you defined "affordable", with a per day cost. Hard for folks to suggest something with that key bit of info missing.

Presumably you have used something like booking.com and input your budget, dates and needs to see what is available?

Would you recommend changing hotels for one night to be close to the train station or just Uber to the train?

What time does the train depart?

Posted by
33392 posts

just a word of caution - if you think London rooms are small wait until you see the closets sold as hotel rooms in Paris.

I would agree that a large part of your problem, both availability and price, is because of New Years Eve in London.

Please tell us how much you would consider reasonable - if it is too low we may have to think aparthotels, but they're not cheap, or hostels.

Posted by
33392 posts

just thinking - if you're running into New Years Eve problems, will you also be in London on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day or Boxing Day? If so, are you aware of the almost complete shutdown in London over the period?

Posted by
11 posts

Thank you for all the good advice. The young adult is mine, we are older parents.

We were in Paris same time 2018 so I get the room size is small and that’s fine as we won’t be there much.

What is it to pick up an order at target I’m wondering if I should go now and go before or go after dinner any ideas on that?

We don’t need or want extras so I was thinking an average of close to $300/night. Resident Hotel seems to have a room through Booking.com really cheap Sym but nothing on 30-31 Dec. on their web site the room is well over $300/night every night which I don’t understand. I don’t mind paying extra for the holiday, but I don’t understand why it’s still so expensive on the other days when I can dobetter atbooking.com.

My knees are the walking issue and it’s unpredictable. I hope the issue will be resolved soon but I won’t know for a bit, so I need to be wary.

Thanks again

Posted by
11 posts

We’ll be in London December 30 and depart Jan 8 for Paris. Will it be a problem and will the train still be running? Maybe that’s when I should head to Liverpool to visit a friend.

Posted by
1268 posts

Booking.com is often cheaper than booking direct. It’s obviously part of a marketing strategy. I always compare and book where I can get the best rate.

NYE can be expensive but also it’s a long way out. No hotel wants to undersell their rooms. If bookings look slow closer to the date prices might well drop. That’s why it’s not always cheaper to book hotels far in advance.

Posted by
980 posts

If you sign up with The Resident Hotel as a member (free), you should get 15% off when you book directly on their website. I see that the Resident Kensington has a non-refundable deal for your dates at GBP 1,847 total (before the membership discount).

Posted by
7214 posts

We’ll be in London December 30 and depart Jan 8 for Paris. Will it be a problem and will the train still be running? Maybe that’s when I should head to Liverpool to visit a friend.

Presumably you mean the Eurostar train. Yes that will be running. New Years Eve is big in London.

There seems to have been quite a lot happened in Liverpool last NYE- https://theguideliverpool.com/26-ways-to-spend-new-years-eve-in-liverpool/

On NYD few if any buses will run (Mersey travel may fund a reduced service on some key routes), but main line trains run a normal or near normal service starting a few hours later than normal. Local Merseyrail trains will run to a Saturday or Sunday service. On NYE trains will close down at about 7pm.

Posted by
8285 posts

My wife is also mobility challenged, and we travel with a 13 year old granddaughter. We've learned to adapt to our yearly vacations as my wife uses a Luggie folding travel scooter. It's been to Europe 3 times, to Las Vegas and we just returned from Alaska.

She rides to scooter thru the airport and to the door of the airplane. It's gate checked and we pick it up at the airplane door upon our getting to our destination. We're always the first to get on the plane too.

We only travel with 21 inch swivel wheel carry on bags--one apiece. I easily tow her bag and mine--no problem getting around with no assistance.

We've been flying into LHR and taking the Heathrow Express to Paddington Station--15 minutes. We stay about 500 yards away in the Premier Inn Paddington Station which is a very clean and modern hotel with a decent restaurant for all meals. We usually travel around London on the underground, but we also catch some taxi's at night. And I do pay attention to the underground station maps to make sure they've got elevators. (Some old stations often just have stairs.)

Posted by
414 posts

3 persons one room, not for me. I would look at renting an Airbnb. I have found that you get at least twice as much for half the price. I'm not in any way affiliated with the company, but that is just what I use when I travel all over Europe. J

Posted by
504 posts

$300 is not that much for a room in very expensive London. Especially with the conversion rates. Have you recently stayed in any US hotels? Lodging has gotten very expensive
Think you need to rethink your per night budget for three.
Are all the US chains sold out? Do you have any points you can use toward your room? We used points when my family was last in London.
I would also take seriously the note about pretty much everything is closed over the Christmas holiday. Very different than in the states.

Enjoy your visit. Paris & London are magical that time of year.

Posted by
542 posts

We stayed at Number 93 with our teenage son. I just put in your dates, but it will not give me more than a week. For a family room
( which we stayed in and found pleasant) it is 1850 pounds which works out a bit more than $300 USD, however it does include breakfast. I have travelled through much of Europe with 1-3 kids, and I must admit that London was the hardest I found for affordability when you go above two people.

Posted by
890 posts

There's really no need to be at St Pancras 90 minutes before departure, assuming you already have your ticket. We saw people show up 15 minutes before departure and they got on board. (Not recommending this.)

I'd say 60 minutes should be ample; that's how early we arrived, and we were among the early birds. That said, the later one arrives, the harder it is to find a seat in the crowded waiting room.

Posted by
1268 posts

Jph when did you travel? Because since Brexit check in has slowed dramatically at St Pancras and it is now recommended that you do arrive 90 minutes ahead. Check in closes 30 mins before departure so it’s not possible to arrive with 15 minutes to spare.

Posted by
9991 posts

I did Eurostar from Paris to London and back last month.

Recommendations on my ticket for time to be at the respective stations were:
Paris: 45-60 minutes
London: 60-90 minutes

Around the holidays, they may well adapt their recommendations.

Posted by
11690 posts

https://www.eurostar.com/us-en/travel-info/your-trip/check-in

Your ticket class also affects the "When should I arrive at the station" time.
I would tend to go with the suggestions those operating the service publish.

I would not expect there to be a grace period on the gate closing times

I did not see a definition of who qualifies for "accessible travel " time limits

Posted by
890 posts

Jph when did you travel?

Day before yesterday.

By the way, we were directed last year to be at the Gare du Nord (Paris) two full hours before departure. But the doors didn't even open to admit passengers until 90 minutes before departure. Perhaps they're finally figuring things out.

Final note: the Eurostar representative we talked to told us not to worry; if we arrived too late for our train, we'd be able to get onto a later train with no penalty. No promise that first-class seats would be available, though. We did not hold Business Premier tickets.

Posted by
1 posts

We stayed in a Royal Leonardo Tower Bridge last week and had 2 queen beds. They have 2 locations. It was fine for 2 adults and 2 teenagers. Look for a superior queen room. You can take an uber or taxi to St. Pancras station for not too much money.