Accommodation recommendation Aug 17 - 30

Have you looked at a site like Booking.com? Far more efficient way to search than trying to contact individual properties. For two weeks, you might want an apartment so you can eat in a bit and have some space to relax other than on a bed.

Are you thinking of a hotel or apartment? We have spent as long as 3 weeks in London on various visits, and much prefer the latter for the space and to be able to make our own meals when we choose (breakfast always, dinner often, lunchtime varies). After spending hours and hours sifting through VRBO, etc. a couple of times, I have discovered apartment hotels like Citadines, Staycity, and Marlin, which make it much easier.

Our current favorite is the Marlin Queen Street, a few blocks from St. Paul’s Cathedral, and a short walk over the Millennium Bridge to the Tate Modern, Globe Theater, and Thames path where we love to walk. Looks like they have one-bedroom apartments available for your entire stay with a “long-stay” discount, at 213 GBP a night.

https://www.marlin.com/locations/London-City-Queen-Street

They have 6 other locations in London, so if that one does not appeal to you, check out the others.

https://www.marlin.com/services

Citadines has a nice location near Trafalgar Square:

https://www.discoverasr.com/en/citadines/united-kingdom/citadines-trafalgar-square-london

Yes, I was just looking at one called Native Bankside. I wonder if there are others. Seems like an apartment might be the way to go. I’m pretty unclear on what neighborhood/area to focus on.

`Richmond

25 minute tube ride from the city center. Lovely neighborhood. Pleasant high street. Nearby are Kew Gardens. Isabella Plantation in the massive Richmond Park is an hour walk away. From the hotel you can amble into the Park along Kings Ride Gate. The path is canopied in trees. It parallels the East Sheen Cemetery. Wonderful walk and hopefully you’d get to see the herd of red and fallow deer when you enter into the Park.

Personal Favorites: The Angel and Crown, The White Cross pub adjacent to the River. The Dragon Inn, Teddington Cheese, The Crown, Cafe Milano, Bill’s, Butterbeans, Alligator Books, The Kurk Grill and the Hare and Hounds.

I’d also check to see what will be on stage at the Richmond Theatre.

EDIT: Forgot, its the Premiere Inn Richmond on Mortlake.

2nd suggestion in the Bayswater Neighborhood are the Vancouver Apartments on Princes Square.

For ease and convenience, try to stay within Zone 1 (London Underground map) for ease and convenience of getting around London.. But probably out of central London unless you want to be in the center of the action.

Many of us here like the Kensington/South kensington/Earls Court area of western London. Another nice area with convenient transport into central London is the area around Hampstead Heath. These areas are somewhat residential but offer what you are looking for.

There are numerous accomodations that include kitchens whether they be extended stay hotels, serviced apartments, or airbnb's. If you didn't want to eat out all the time, this would be a good suggestion.

Some hotels, like the Resident Hotels have kitchenettes in the rooms. Not enough to cook a meal but okay to heat and store take away meals.

I like the Locke hotels -- https://www.lockeliving.com/en

I've stayed at Locke at Broken Wharf, and will again in August, though there are other Locke hotels in London.

I'd want to stay in the city centre - Zone 1. I think Lola's suggestion looks a great choice - lots in walking distance and not a long tube ride/bus anywhere central. Also, if staying in the centre, and you want to do day trips you would just have to get to the relevant train terminus - have a look at www.walks.com for their day trips outside London, I know they stopped them due to the pandemic but I hope they start again shortly.

I had totally forgotten about the Native apartment hotels—-thanks for the reminder. I like the Bankside location a lot, and the apartments are lovely—modern and tasteful. If one is available and the price reasonable, that would be a great choice.

I would change our own September visit to that if we were staying longer than the 3 nights we have for London. I will keep them in mind for next time!

I'm checking out the suggestions and wonder Lola, what do you suggest for shorter stays? We're planning late August also.
Thank you!

These “Aparthotels” with serviced apartments like the ones discussed above (Marlin, Native, etc.) can be booked for short stays as well as long—sometimes even 1 night. Just find the one you like. Most have a very flexible cancellation policy these days (unlike VRBO and other apartments on owner-listing services).

Location-wise, because we prefer to take the Heathrow Express to the airport for our departing flight (I buy the tix well in advance to get the 5-pound lowest price), we like to stay north of the river, within striking distance of Paddington by taxi or walking, when we have only 2-3 nights in London. If fortunate enough to have time for a longer stay, like a week or three, we love to stay south of the river and quite near it, like that Bankside location. Then we move to a Paddington hotel (The Indigo) for our last night to make it easy.

I developed this habit after a miserable experience with a morning Tube ride to Paddington from our apartment near Tower Bridge, where we had spent a lovely 3 weeks. I dislike the Tube to begin with, and try to avoid it at all times, but on this occasion we opted for the Tube because it “seemed” so easy, and we knew a taxi from there to Paddington would be £££. And slow during morning commute hours. It turned out to be a nightmare trying to get on a train with luggage at that a hour. The platform was crowded and the trains even more so—-to the point where we could not board the first 2 that came along. When we finally did get on one, we were so jammed in it was hard to get off where we needed to. Ugh, no more Tube with luggage for us.

August should be a great time to be in London—-although we have not been at that time. I like to aim for May or September. The latter is when they have a month-long festival celebrating the river, with various events and programs.

https://thamesfestivaltrust.org/

But I am sure you will find some great things to enjoy in August. Maybe we should start a thread on “London in August—-what to see and do”.

Thanks so much for all the information! This group is the best!! I ended up choosing The Resident Kensington; I think the kitchenette will be enough for us and it sounded like the right blend of easy to transportation but nice for wandering around. (Was probably also influenced by RS’s recommendation in his London guide that arrived in the mail today). I got a bit scared off by the recent reviews on Trip Advisor for the Marlin and Native apartments I was interested in. I know you have to factor in the “negativity bias” but I was swayed, although those locations looked great too. Thank you again for the help!

Wow. That is so disappointing! I had not looked at the reviews on TripAdvisor (I didn’t know they had apartment reviews). The Marlin sounds very different from my sister’s experience (she was the one who recommended it to me). I am so glad you pointed this out.

However, we so much prefer the location in this part of London, on either side of the river, over the Kensington area. We love to walk on the Thames Path and the area just feels like “home”, as we have spent so much time around there and like it. I guess I will cancel the Marlin and look for something else. . . .

hey hey all
another site to check is:
cross-pollinate.com
many different apartments & BnB's to check out.
read all the fine print
aloha

If you want to know anything about the Resident Kensington, let me know. I have stayed there over 250 nights in the past six years, including last month, and have a planned 12 night stay next month.

I'm there so much, they keep a small bag for me.

Thanks again for the suggestions.
Frank, the Resident Kensington looks lovely for a visit to London with my daughter.
Do you have a suggestion for room type for a quiet room? I'm a light sleeper.
Thanks!

The Resident Kensington looks like a great choice. Short walk from the Earl’s Court Tube one way Gloucester Road the other. Get a pocket tube map if they are still made for reference.

BTW if either or both of you are Dr Who fans there is a Tardis outside the entrance to Earl’s Court station.

Nearby Brompton Cemetery is of interest. Further away is the Holland House ( check if reopened) and the Design Museum. 15-20 minute walk to the V & A Museum.

Tasty Kebabs at Bosphorus on Brompton Road. Often stop there if visiting the V & A. Or if wanting a pint, head to the Queens Gate Mews and pop in at the Queens Arms. Or head back to where I stay on Bayswater Road and enjoy the gorgeous Victoria Paddington.

Claudia - thanks for the awesome neighborhood suggestions!

Frank II - I’d love to hear your recommendations for places to eat, cool things to see and tips/tricks!

Jules--the rooms tend to be on the small side compared to US hotels. For the two of you, I'd suggest a twin room or larger. Make sure they know you need two separate beds with the reservation so they make it up that way. They also have two "bunk bed" rooms. The floor plan of the hotel is not usual and every floor differs so it's hard to say what rooms are quiter. Higher up will be quieter or the rear of the hotel on the lower level.

dp1571--Earls Court Station is the tube station to use. It's a 3-4 minute walk to the hotel. Gloucster Road is about 10 minutes.

There are numerous pubs and eateries on Earls Court Road. Many are chain restaurants and most of the pubs are owned by the same brewery.

The Blackbird Pub specializes in pies. (That's meat pies.) There is a Marks & Spencer Simply Food (small grocery) across the street. It's on the corner of Barkston Gardens and Earls Court Road. South of Barkston Gardens on Earls Court Road are the nicer places. North of Barkston Gardens are the more casual and fast food places.

The Pembroke is a gastropub about a 10 minute walk from the hotel on Old Brompton Road. It's an indpendent pub with a rooftop dinig area.

There is a pub north of Cromwell Road called the Devonshire Arms. It caters more to locals than tourists. It's currently going through renovation but is scheduled to reopen at the end of this month.

There's another pub north of Cromwell Road called the Builders Arms. It's also a pub for the locals but can be a little tricky to find if walking from the Resident Kensington.

For a closer pub, try the Kings Head. It's either a 3 minute or 7 minute walk from the hotel depending on how you go. A little classier and quieter than the pubs directly on Earls Court Road as this one is set back about a block away.

There's a full size Sainsbury supermarket just east of the hotel. It's about a 4 minute walk.

There's not a lot to see around the hotel and is it mainly a residential area. Museum Row is a 15-20 minute walk or 2 tube stops or a ride on the 74 bus.

I like staying at the hotel because the atmosphere is very peaceful. After a busy day in the center of London it's nice to come back to a quiet, peaceful place to unwind. The staff is amazing and the service is top notch.

The kitchenette does come in handy. They supply all the coffee, tea and milk you need. And you won't have to buy bottled water. The sink in the kitchenette has a Brita water filter built in. It's the center tap. Wifi works very well and the A/C system was refurbished last year.

One last thing, download the Deliveroo and Uber Eats app on your phone. Most restaurants have delivery and the hotel will deliver your food directly to your room. Good for those nights you're tired and don't want to go out to eat.

Frank, thank you so much for the information!

Thank you so much Frank!

I have a newbie question: my credit cards have chips but I have not set up PINs for them. Do you need to use a PIN when in England?

Most US credit cards don't have PIN's for purchases. It's used for cash withdrawal from ATM's. The cards are chip and signature.

More useful if if your cards are contactless. If not, see if your card issuer offers them.

Another alternative is to set up Google Pay or Apple Pay on your phones depending on the type of phone.

It looks like procrastination has cost me a king room at the Resident Kensington - only small doubles left for our stay in late August.
Any reviews of the other locations?

Thank you!

The Resident Kensington fills up fast. It's popular. (I'll be there Thursday. And that reminds me to make my reservations for the fall.)

I have never stayed in the other Resident Hotels in London. I have stayed at their Liverpool location and give it a big thumbs up. But if you're looking for a quieter location in London, I would first choose the Resident Victoria. Then the Resident Covent Garden and then the Resident Soho.

The Resident Kensington does get cancellations so keep checking back.

I'm going for the first time to London this August. I would make the reservation soon. I delayed doing the one coming back and even though I was planning on staying at a different location, I noticed the first hotel was now booked up. I like Booking.com, lot of reviews and the comments give you an idea of what is close by or any specific issues you might not like.