Going to London this weekend last minute - need hotel advice!

Take a look at The Cumberland - thecumberland.com

I've never stayed there but I've stayed in the Marble Arch area several times and find it convenient and The Cumberland seems not hideously priced - around 125GBP per night.

I've stayed at the Lime Tree Hotel on Ebury Street which is near the area you've targeted. It currently lists on it's website double rooms for 175£ and 205£. You have to send and email to check availability so I did not do that. They have a nice cooked breakfast as well.

You don't need to book any of those sights ahead of time anyway.

Take a look at Premier Inn County Hall or Premier Inn Waterloo. Both are right across the river from Westminster Abbey and close to lots of transport options.

After you've decided on lodging, run your destination through the TFL website and that should give you options to get back to Heathrow.

Heidi,

I hope you have a great weekend.

Can you let us know when you find a place so we stop looking? We are looking for under 200, but under 200 whats? Canadian dollars, US dollars, Pounds Sterling? Which did you mean? There's big difference....

If you're in Boston I'm guessing you meant either US dollars or Pounds.

Hi Heidi. No help to offer on hotels, but I agree with Emma": use a booking site like Hotels.com or Booking.com.

The Westminster Abbey audio guide is terrific, by the way. And we found entering there after 2:00PM this week it was almost empty. Loved it! the Cabinet War Rooms were deserted at opening (9:30AM) but filled up about 10:30. By then we were well ahead of the crowd.

No need to book in advance for Big Ben or the British Museum, as you can't go in the first and the second is free entrance. You do need to book in advance if there is a high-profile ticketed temporary exhibition at the British Museum that you want to see, but there isn't one at the moment.

Hi everyone! We booked our hotel last night at a Hilton directly across the street from Paddington Station. While I know this isnt the most "authentic" option like we all try to have considering the amount of time we will be there I want to be able to connect to Heathrow and all the main sights easily. Thank you all for the help!

I literally just booked the "tower of london" voucher for Sunday. It seems like there is no direct time you have to go in which I guess gives you flexibility. Is there an easy skip the line que? I want to go to Westminster but they're closed for services Sunday and Saturday they take last admission at 1:30 pm. We should be out and about Saturday by 10 am but, I dont know if I want to cut it that close. Has anyone been to Windsor and know where to buy tickets at the castle?

Do you mean the Hilton Paddington? It's right on top of the station - you don't even need to go outdoors to go between the hotel and the station. Very convenient. I've stayed there and found it to be a perfectly fine Hilton property.

Enjoy!

Parliament Square should be your first stop. Get out early. 9am instead of 10am if you can. Westminster tube station.
I like EXIT 1 because when you walk out you see the Thames, the London Eye and Westminster Bridge. If you turn right and look up you'll smile. Climb the steps and start your London Adventure. Big Ben, Parliament, Westminster Abbey ALL right there together. Since you can't get into the Abbey, head toward the Churchill War Rooms by walking up Great George Street. If you want to stop at the war rooms then do so. If not follow Birdcage Walk thru St. James Park to Buckingham Palace. 20 minute walk at most. I'd walk back down The Mall to Horse Guards Road and if you didn't go to the War Rooms earlier go now after you stopped at the Horse Guards. If you wanted to see the Changing of the Guards, check here to see if its scheduled. http://changing-guard.com/dates-buckingham-palace.html This viewing of Parliament Square (early before the hordes) would be a Nice start you morningAfter Churchill War Rooms, when not enjoy some pub grub. I would have suggested the Two Chariman pub on Dartmouth street but alas it's closed down. Sad. My next suggestion would be either the Westminster Arms on Storey Gate. Walk back out of the Churchill War rooms, turn left, walk straight ahead, cross over Great George Street and on up to the pub which is located on the right hand side of Storey Gate. Or walk back on Great George Street toward Big Ben to Parliament st/Whitehall and turn left. The Red Lion on is a half block up and across the street. OTHERWISE you could walk back to the Westminster tube station and take a Circle (yellow) or District (Green) train, 3 stops to Blackfriars. Exit the ultra modern station and cross the road to the stunning art deco Blackfriars pub. Dine, then instead of the British Museum (unless it's Egypt you are wishing to see) maybe substitute the Museum of London which is wonderful in explaining how London became London.

Stay outside as much as possible on your day of arrival to cut down on jet lag! Have a wonderful weekend!

There are bus options right out the door of the hotel on Praed St. You are also within easy walking distance of Bayswater Rd., which has bus options and Lancaster Gate tube stop. Out the hotel onto Praed, turn right, walk to London St./Sussex, turn left and walk to Stanhope (circle) turn right and take either Brook or Westbourne to Bayswater ( Lancaster Gate tube is right there).

There are some places on the lower level to pick up groceries /snacks, as well as the statue of Paddington Bear.

Have fun!

Will you come back after you get home and tell us how it went (I assume you are here now).

Hello everyone! I want to thank everyone for the help planning this weekend's trip. I got back last night and our hotel was very convenient to the main sights being connected to the Circle Line. Our plane out from Boston was delayed three hours due to de-icing issues so I'm glad I didn't pre-book Westminster Abbey otherwise I wouldn't have made it in time! I feel as if we saw a lot for only two days such as the British Museum, the Churchill War Rooms, Imperial War Museums, Big Ben and Tower Hill. We spent hours at Tower Hill! Having been to both Salzburg's and Rome's city fortress this one was much more in depth and I felt as if we could have spent the entire day there!

Besides the train connection, Paddington was a great place to find restaurants whereas in other places it was hard such as Victoria and Nottinghill. One thing I might mention to Rick Steves for a review is the London Nightbus tour.... He says to be at a hotel with a G (cant remember name right now) out of Victoria Station to pick up the bus. The hotel concierge says people wait there and the bus never shows. We waited the bus never showed. Oh well. We didnt have wifi in our hotel to check, but when we came home we compared RS's book with the online sight and it give a different time for pick-up as well as a different location (Piccadilly).

Again thank you all for the help. I had a wonderful trip and I'd love to see more of England someday - perhaps the lake district or the Beatles hometown of Liverpool! ;)

All of the restaurants I went to were across the street from each other and a block from Paddington Station. We went to Garfunkels twice for fish and chips then a late night dessert. It was okay if you're in a pinch but, nothing to write home about. However, the Italian restaurant San Marco's down the street was fantastic ! Their food was better than some of the food I had in Rome. Oliver's Steakhouse across the street from there was also very good.

We stayed near Paddington last spring and enjoyed these nearby restaurants:

Mimo's for full English breakfast
Satay House for Malaysian food
Mughal's for Indian (tho my half-Pakistani travel companion says it was more Pakistani than Indian)