First time to London, looking for the best neighborhood hotel to stay

which attraction? Nowhere is near everything. Before we can say where will be near the attraction you want you need to say which attraction that is.

Or be prepared to travel from one to the other, bus, tube, train, taxi or other.

What attraction? There are so many?

What’s your budget?

Can your 73 year old dad do flights of stairs?

As you’ve mentioned it’s your first time London I’d immediately see if you can book at the Premiere Inn County Hall. Right near the London Eye. Easy stroll
across Westminster Bridge to Parliament Square.

If that Premiere Inn is not available check to see if the one near Victoria Station has space. Close to the Palace.

I always stay in Bloomsbury:

• home to the British Museum
• lots of well-reviewed, relatively inexpensive hotels (I recommend the Celtic or the Morgan)
• well served by Tube (Central, Northern and Piccadilly lines)
• Russell Square is a nice open space
• Soho and the West End within immediate walking distance to the south
• Euston, Kings Cross and St Pancras train stations within immediate walking distance to the north
• within a half hour walk of both the City (Tower, St Paul's) and Westminster (Parliament, Trafalgar Sq)

It would help to know your budget, how/where you are arriving and how/where departing London in order make appropriate suggestions.

Are you and he comfortable with stairs and escalators? If so, then the tube might a good idea for getting around. How far can he walk and does he use a walker or cane? If he is limited in walking distance or need to use assistance, buses or taxies might be better.

You will want to plan ahead- routes, times, etc. to avoid very large/pushy crowds if those might present a problem.

If you identify where you want to be the most, if you have several sights in the neighborhood, that's a good start. In my experience, it's so much more functional if I choose a hotel chain that I already know and like. I would love to spend 3 days wandering in the Victoria & Albert museum, the jewelry room closed early when I was there in April :) and it looks like there's massive amounts to see, with many benches and it's accessible if you ask people repeatedly for a map to get to the lift, you'll find it eventually :)
It's good to identify what you both REALLY want to see, and how you're both the most comfortable and what kind of hotel you'd like. Heathrow can be massive and having a car come pick you up can be huge. ALSO, this past visit I found that they've started offering lanyards for people with hidden physical challenges to wear (I have a metal rod in my back and mobility challenges that are not visible) and it was a DRASTICALLY different experience. Got treated like the Queen and also could bypass the 400+ people in the immigration line, and go to a nice short one. If your Dad wears it, then everyone traveling with him will also stay together and get treated like royalty.
https://www.heathrow.com/airport-guide/assistance-at-heathrow/hidden-disabilities
You just email them info and they mail it directly to you for free, it was super easy.
Hope you have fun reading your guidebooks and doing your fun homeworks :)
-Alison

Thank you for all your response, greatly appreciate it.

I loved staying at the Adria in Kensington. It had an elevator, the neighborhood was absolutely beautiful. It was a short walk to the underground and easy access to all the sights of London.

We just stayed in London for the first time....we stayed in Notting Hill and honestly, probably wouldn't stay there again. Also definitely stay near a tube station with more than one line at it. The 5 days we were there there was at least 1 line down every day

I would look at Ham Yard Hotel. It’s a beautiful hotel in the Soho - Piccadilly area. It’s a beautiful property. In the middle of everything yet serene.

We had tea there over the summer. It has the nices staff. Here is the review on tea: https://www.olivemagazine.com/restaurants/london/ham-yard-hotel-afternoon-tea-review/

The hotel is owned by the Firmdale Hotel Group.
https://www.firmdalehotels.com/hotels/london/ham-yard-hotel/

The other area I would look at is South Kensington. It has several sights nearby (major museums, Hyde Park, Kensington Palace) and it’s super easy to use the tube to get to places like the Tower of London and Buckinghams Palace.

Best is a relative term since it varies per person. We always stay in S. Kensington by the Gloucester tube stop. Easy access to/from the airport and there are three tube lines to get one to all the city’s sights. If you just wanted to walk out of the hotel to get to one or more sights, then you should select a location near the sights you want to visit.

London is a walking City...and I mean WALKING! If you are not used to it you will be exhausted and sore! London is my favorite City and I know my way around but still have to "gear up" every trip.
The Tube and buses are the easiest to use to get around but flagging down a Black Cab saves your feet from Point A to B.
Now, we stay near Victoria Station a main transportation hub and great neighborhood, Belgravia. We stay in a B & B that includes a FULL English Breakfast, ask for a low floor. Rick recommends a few on Ebury St. Do your research and have a fantastic time. 😍