My partner and I are spending a few days in London in August. In addition to seeing some of tourist highlights london has to offer, the last night of our stay, we are going to an event at Wembley stadium. However, the next morning, we are flying out from Gatwick. Do you have an area that we should consider that would be ideal to (i) be able to see the sights, (ii) head to Wembley for our last night, and then (iii) easily get to Gatwick the following morning? Any recommendations on areas to stay for ease of getting to all three? Would City Centre probably be most ideal?
Posted by
Preston UK
1087 posts
The key bits of information missing are what time you expect the event at Wembley to finish, is it in the Arena or the Stadium and what time you need to be at Gatwick.
Posted by
OP
2 posts
The event is at Wembley stadium and will get done around 11:00 p.m. The flight the next morning is at 11:30 a.m, which means we probably need to be at the airport around 9:30-10:00a.m.
Posted by
Preston UK
1087 posts
If it's at the Stadium then it's going to take you quite a while to get back into town.
Where is your flight to Gatwick going? If it's long haul then you are recommended to be there 3 hours before departure, short haul 2 hours. Either way you want to be staying somewhere very convenient for a train down to Gatwick quite early. That would be near Victoria, St Pancras, Farringdon, Blackfriars or London Bridge stations. From Wembley the Metropolitan line will get you straight to King's Cross/St Pancras and the Jubilee line to London Bridge. The former is a bit quicker but then the train the day after a bit slower but we're only talking a few minutes for both. Victoria would require 3 tubes so although only a bit slower a lot more faff.
King's Cross/St Pancras has a wealth of hotels at all price points. I guess if it's just for a short night then a decent cheaper hotel would be fine - in that case any of the 3 Premier inns nearby (King's Cross, St Pancras and Euston) would be fine.
But it sounds like you will be in London longer beforehand. The Premier Inns are still good solid choices but there are plenty of other options and if your budget will stretch to it the Renaissance St Pancras is outstanding, as well as being right above both the tube and train stations.
Posted by
Vancouver, BC
289 posts
I know that many people prefer Premier Inn but I will put in a plug for Travelodge. I have stayed at the one in Watford and it is perfectly adequate for a short night and getting somewhere early the next morning. We have reservations at a few different ones during our trip in July this year.
I happen to look for a couple of dates in later July in the Kings Cross area and there are three locations near the station and the prices are pretty good for the area.
I also like the Imperial Group chain of hotels. They used to have good deals which included breakfasts and a dinner on your first night. Join their mailing list for better prices. They are not as close to Kings Cross but some of them may be close enough to a Tube station to get to the Gatwick train.