Hello! My husband and I are travling to London at the end of march with a couple of friends. We are only in town for 4 days. We have a couple places booked and are trying to decide which one is better. One is by Kingscross station/Euston because we plan to be using the trains and busses a lot. There are two more- one is between Shoreditch and Bethnel green. The last one is in Kennington. As none of us have been to London before we would love opinions on which area's are the best.
Posted by
Lynnwood, Washington
8931 posts
It is always important to look at proximity to transport when visiting London. If you have access (can walk there in about 5 minutes) to a tube station that makes a huge difference. I would focus on locations with good transport options as close to the center of London as you can afford.
Posted by
UK
774 posts
Of those locations, the area around Kings Cross & Euston is the most central by far and would be my choice.
However it would be useful to know a bit more context - nearer Euston or Kings Cross? South of Euston Road and therefore in Bloomsbury? Or further north? Etc.
Posted by
OP
United States
3 posts
The one is off of kings cross road- not far from Clerkenwell, I think. it's really close to Percy Circus garden!
Posted by
UK
774 posts
The one is off of kings cross road- not far from Clerkenwell, I think. it's really close to Percy Circus garden!
Oh, is it a Travelodge that used to be called something like the Royal Scot Hotel? Because that was always known as an absolute dive used only by budget coach trips. It may be better now but please check reviews carefully!
That area is okay, bit rough round the edges but nice and close to Kings Cross for trains and buses. Would I be right I guessing that you’re on a tight accommodation budget?
I actually lived very close to Percy Circus as a student way back in the mid-80s. It’s a decent area but not the most obvious tourist area.
Posted by
OP
United States
3 posts
Actually- we have an airbnb right there. So it is a little nicer than a budget hotel/motel. We just wanted to be close to nice, transportation as we might be going out of the city a bit for day trips and wanted to be closer to a bigger station. Thanks for all the help!
Posted by
Washington DC
28290 posts
In case you are not aware, you don't necessarily have a choice about which London train station you use for an out-of-town trip that is beyond the reach of the Underground (subway) system. Different destinations are served by different London train stations, though for some destinations served by multiple rail companies you may have more than one option. To find out which London station(s) you'd need to depart from for a particular side trip, go to this website: https://www.nationalrail.co.uk/, enter London (All stations) in the "Departing from" block and the town you anticipate traveling to in the "Going to" block. Choose a date (best to match the day of the week on which you plan to travel, if you know that) and a time consistent with your plans, then click on "Get times and prices". The actual London departure station will be shown for each train.
Don't freak out too much about the prices if you've chosen a date in the immediate future. UK rail fares can be painfully high if you buy the tickets on or close to the date of travel, but you can usually save quite a bit of money by buying in advance. Just pay attention to the change/refund rules.
Posted by
Duluth 🛶
8235 posts
We just wanted to be close to nice, transportation as we might be going out of the city a bit for day trips and wanted to be closer to a bigger station.
I would strongly suggest that when you have your day trips figured out, you come back here to the forum and ask for more specific advice about trains (for example, We're going to Windsor Castle on a Thursday in June and would like to know the best and cheapest way to get there from Kings Cross Station... and so on).
There are many people who can give you information on train travel, the best time to buy, the best place to buy and so on. I saved a lot of money earlier this year by listening to the forum members here when it came to train travel.
Posted by
Lake District, England
8209 posts
Oh, is it a Travelodge that used to be called something like the Royal Scot Hotel? Because that was always known as an absolute dive used only by budget coach trips.
Gosh, that's a real blast from the distant past. British Rail (before privatisation) used to do rail inclusive holidays (they were called Golden Rail or something like that) and I stayed there once. It is a nice enough building from the outside, but totally agree it was a bit of a dive. Probably the worst hotel I've ever stayed in. I hope Travelodge have given the building a lot of sorely needed investment.
Posted by
Tresana, Highlands Ranch, CO, USA
23650 posts
If you had asked without the two references, we would have recommended the Victoria Station area. Over the years this is our go to area. On the last three trips we have used the Hotel Best Western - Victoria Station. The annex is a little less expensive.
Posted by
Huntsville, AL, USA
8342 posts
We are now staying at the Premier Inn Paddington Basin which is just a couple of hundred yards NE of Paddington Station where the Heathrow Express arrives from the airport in 15 minutes. The new Elizabeth Line also goes there from the airport.
It's just a short distance from the north end of Hyde Park, Bayswater and Kingsbridge too. Restaurants are all around the train station, and you can catch the Underground there to get anywhere in town fast.