This is kind of a funny question.
My first visit to London was in 1984. I stayed at a kind of awful hotel. I was able to put up with it because I was 20 at the time and I was just so happy to be there. However, one night when I was walking back to the hotel (it was dark) I was approached by a man in a car. The concierge told me Bayswater was a red light district. I had no idea.
Curious: Is this still true? Is it a safe area?
Thanks!
Been staying in the Bayswater neighborhood off and on for nearly 20 years, nary a street walker in site.
Bayswater, or at least parts of it were historically a red light district, and every now and again there are reports of brothels being busted, mainly of the type involving captive immigrant sex slaves held as their 'debts' are unpaid. This isn't likely to be apparent to tourists as it isn't the 'streetwalking' kind of prostitution - there is more of that in Paddington, albeit not what it was even a few years back.
Do an internet search and plenty of escort agencies based in the Bayswater area are shown.
Hi Sandra,
No worries. Bayswater is safe, as is Kings Cross, Soho, and even the east end, which are your more traditional areas for finding ladies of the night. Times have changed, London has evolved, and that type of activity is far more likely to be found online by those actively seeking it.
I live in the area and think it's a rather fine place to be. It's V central, not too crowded, has multiple tube lines (so handy for when a particular line misbehaves, you have options) and brilliant access to Hyde Park. There are some lovely restaurants and shops along Westbourne Grove.
If you're thinking of staying in a particular hotel, do a google street view, and post it here so others can weigh in as well.
Thank you all very much.
The funny/odd thing about it at the time was that a pen pal/boyfriend had sent me the brochure for the hotel. Since we later had a falling out, I always wondered if it had been an oversight (he was not a Londoner) or a deliberate slur of some sort. LOL
One advantage of having our cherished UK resident contributors is that we get insights into subjects not covered in the guidebooks.
:-)
Sandra, let us help you choose a hotel if you go to London again.
Rebecca, I certainly will--thank you!
I went to London in 1986 on a working holiday visa at the age of 19. We were put up in a hotel near Paddington and were warned that if we were walking and a car slowed while the occupants tried to speak to us, KEEP WALKING.
It was and is an area where there are sex workers and their premises. But it has also gentrified to an extent. There are many families, schools and the Princess of Wales playground is on the Bayswater part of Hyde Park.
Having said that, it's as safe as any of Central London. And this is from one who walked at night from Brixton to Streatham in 1986 without incident but was mugged in Neasden in 1987. Learned lots about life in those two years!
Keep walking!
Forgot to add that there used to be tons of phone numbers on labels plastered inside phone boxes advertising "French Lessons." It seemed rather far fetched that so many ladies in the area were fluent in French!
We were told that that was a euphemism for sex acts and then it all made sense!
You still get them in phone boxes, but now they're completely uneuphemistic.
