London areas to stay

As you will quickly find out, hotels in London can be very expensive. If you are going to be there for an eight day stay, it might be more cost effective to consider a short term apartment rental. VRBO.com is always a good place to check. Below are a few places you could look as well as some hotels from our guidebook:

Holiday-Rentals.com lists thousands of vacation rentals by owner Apartment rentals: http://www.vrbo.com/ (vacation rentals by owner)
Home Away is at www.homeaway.com .
www.homeatfirst.com
http://www.rentavilla.com/ Seattle based company that rents properties in Italy, France, and Portugal. This “local” Seattle company offers rentals to a more “upscale” clientele; in other words, its properties are more expensive. Their reputation is excellent!

Cross-Pollinate is an online booking agency representing B&Bs and apartments in a handful of European cities, including London. Cross-Pollinate handpicks its listings, selectively presenting each one as if recommending it to a friend. Search their website for a listing you like, then submit your reservation online. If the place is available, you’ll be charged a small deposit and emailed the location and check-in details. Policies vary from owner to owner, but in most cases you’ll pay the balance on arrival in cash. London listings range from a Chelsea B&B room for two for £100 per night to a two-bedroom Marble Arch apartment sleeping four for £280 per night. Minimum stays vary from one to five nights (US tel. 800-270-1190, UK tel. 020/3514-0083, www.cross-pollinate.com, [email protected]).
Coach House Rentals offers a range of hand-selected apartments around the city, nearly all of them in real homes. As with any apartment rental, these can be an especially smart option if you’re traveling as a group of four or more. Generally speaking, the more central the apartment, the more you pay (around £200/night for place in Pimlico, £425/night right by Westminster Abbey, £120-150/night farther afield). Each comes with a packet of neighborhood info, a “starter pack” of breakfast snacks, and usually either cable Internet access or Wi-Fi. A staff member meets you when you first arrive, and someone’s always available over the phone (5-night minimum, £90 fee on top of quoted rental, tel. 020/8133-8332, http://rentals.chslondon.com, [email protected]).

[$$] Luna Simone Hotel rents 36 fresh, spacious, remodeled rooms with modern bathrooms. It’s a smartly managed place, run for more than 40 years by twins Peter and Bernard--and Bernard’s son Mark--and they still seem to enjoy their work (Sb-£75, Db-£110, Tb-£135, Qb-£165, these prices with cash and this book in 2014, free guest computer and Wi-Fi, at 47 Belgrave Road near the corner of Charlwood Street, handy bus #24 to Victoria Station and Trafalgar Square stops out front, tel. 020/7834-5897, www.lunasimonehotel.com, [email protected]).
[$$] Bakers Hotel shoehorns 11 brightly painted rooms into a small building, but it’s conveniently located and offers modest prices and a small breakfast (S-£45-55, Sb-£70-80, D-£70-85, Db-£85-90, T-£90, Tb-£110-120, family room-£135, can be about £5-8 cheaper per person off-season, discounts for stays of at least a week, ask for Rick Steves’ discount when booking direct, free Wi-Fi, 126 Warwick Way, tel. 020/7834-0729, www.bakershotel.co.uk, [email protected], Amin Jamani).
[$$] New England Hotel, run by Jay and the Patel family, has rather worn public spaces and somewhat faded but well-priced rooms in a tight old corner building (small Sb-£69-79, Db-£89-99, Tb-£119-129, Qb-£129-139, prices soft during slow times, breakfast is very basic, pay Wi-Fi, 20 Saint George’s Drive, tel. 020/7834-8351, www.newenglandhotel.com, [email protected]).

Lots of hotels all over London but I do love staying in South Kensington. Lots of shops, restaurants, museums, and excellent access via tube and bus.

Thank you Abe & Lee. I have looked at some apartments but they were generally the same price as the hotel. I will check out the websites you mentioned as I have not looked at those.

I am really looking at 2 hotels at this point: The Sumner in Marble Arch area or Millenium Bailey in South Kensington.

Another website to look for apartments is airbnb.com.

I've stayed at the Millennium Baileys a number of times and think the location is super convenient. It is directly across from the Gloucester Road tube station (Piccadilly, District, and Circle lines). It has been four years since my last stay there (they've raised their prices so I no longer stay there). I prefer this location to Marble Arch.

One more thing ... If you stay at the Sumner, there is a great little wine bar with good value food called Vinoteca right around the corner.
http://www.vinoteca.co.uk/marylebone/

You can't go wrong with either as London is so easy to bus and tube everywhere. Its way easier than any US city to get where you are going on public transportation. If you're driving then good luck.

I would stay in the South Kensington area - the transportation links there are far superior to the Marble Arch area.

I stayed at the Sumner several years ago for a few nights. Lovely place and staff, breakfast in the am, a comfortable parlor with use of a computer if you don't have one, and a superb staff. May even be going back there in early summer again. I have nothing but good things to say about it.

We also enjoy the South Kensington area, as recommended above. We have stayed at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, South Kensington. We were there four years in a row, for a minimum of one week - each time. It is directly across the street from the Gloucester Tube station. The hotel offers two free computers, off their lobby. The hotel is very clean and convenient. I absolutely live to go back to London and to this hotel.

Thank you all for your help. I am still not convinced I want to stay at the Sumner. We will be using the tube and buses (no car, thank goodness). I am still considering the Millenium Bailey and also still looking at rentals, although, most rentals seem to be pretty far from any tube.

Any more guidance about any other areas would be appreciated. I do not want to stay in Notting Hill... Too far away from most sites.

Besides the Crowne Plaza, South Kensington, we have also stayed at the Double Tree, in Westminister. It is owned by the Hilton Hotel Group. You can use hotel points from previous charges, or earn points during your stay. We got a senior rate, less than two years ago. We could see the Thames, by looking to the left side, out our window. The hotel is just off the Thames. You go out of the hotel, turn left, walk to the back side of the hotel and you are on the Thames. We could walk a short distance to the Tower Bridge, Parliament, Big Ben, the Horse Guards Parade area, Whitehall Road, the hop-on-hop off bus, the regular buses, etc., etc. If we stood in front of Parliament, the hotel was to our right. We also took a tour of Parliament. That was really enlightening. We also could walk to where we got the boat rides on the river, or to Greenwich, or to Hampton Court. We also sat on the benches overlooking the Thames - everyday. We were there for 10 nights. We were perfectly happy with the Crowne Plaza, but it was booked up with ESPN employees, due to the Olympics coming a few weeks later. The Double Tree offered a breakfast with our rate. That was nice, as we could start off the day, without worrying about where to grab a bite to eat.

I stayed at Bailey's Millenium and found it to be quite lovely; my first trip out of the US and alone, and I caught the Tube from Heathrow and exited at Gloucester Rd and there it was. The hotel is old and charming, renovated nicely and my room was very spacious with an enormous bathroom. One thing I particularly appreciated was that they had a plug wired for US appliances in the room. The area itself was attractive and very close to the V&A and Harrods, amongst other things, and there was a great pub across the street as well as numerous other dining options.

Hi. I can't let this post go on without giving a plug to The Pelham Hotel, across the street from the South Kensington tube stop. Still near the museums, RAH. And lots of cafes and restaurants of all sorts. Was there last summer, and am returning this Wimbledon. Small, quiet, upscale, very friendly folks.

If you want to opt for more budget accomodation, we stayed in the Hammersmith area, for purposes of business mainly, but found it to be a nice area, lots of restaurants, and a mix of budget chains (Holiday Inn Express, Premier Inn) and smaller B&B (we stayed at Adria Hotel )

Transport is easy, right on the Piccadilly line from Heathrow, and Hammersmith station is served by 4 underground lines and is a major bus hub.

My sister and I stayed at the Millenium Bailey in March. It was really nice, clean, good service, convenient. Breakfast buffet was great. We were automatically upgraded to a more spacious room that was available. It was a bit of a splurge for us at 142 pounds per night, but it was well worth it. I hope this helps. Enjoy your trip.

You may like The Lime Tree Hotel on Ebury Street, not far from Victoria Station; it is conveniently located. Many trains, tube lines and city buses run through the Victoria Station area. The price will include breakfast. There is no elevator or lift, just the stairs, so ask for a downstairs room if you don't want to go up and down the stairs. Also entire place is nonsmoking. Hosts are very nice and helpful. We stayed there the first time we were in London. Great location with buses, tube and the train station nearby. Steps away from the hotel is a good restaurant that serves reasonably priced (but not cheap) English food, sandwiches, roast dinners, steak, and burgers; The Ebury Restaurant & Wine Bar.

I also recommend Premier Inn County Hall, near the London Eye, and Westminster attractions. Great buffet breakfast. It is near the Millennium Pier, where you can catch a boat to travel along the river to many other attractions; near many tube and bus lines for transportation, and walking distance to perhaps half of the attractions you may want to see. Also look at Premier Inn London Southwark. It is on the south bank near Shakespeare's Globe Theatre, Southwark Cathedral, Borough Market, and Tate Modern Museum; a great location for walking to many attractions. Also good bus and tube access.

I also recommend London Hilton Hyde Park, with bus lines right outside the front door, and tube stops a couple of blocks away. Also, check out this thread, "Central Hotel In London", from here on the Helpline:
https://www.ricksteves.com/graffiti/helpline/index.cfm/rurl/topic/107831/central-hotel-in-london.html

Just in case sewscana checks this thread now it's been resurrected, the Piccadilly line isn't stopping at Gloucester Road through December. FYI.

Also you can look up Aster House in So. Ken. 2 minute walk to So. Ken Tube stop. RS recommends also. Highly recommend it and in the center of So. Ken. Walk to Harrods, V&A museum, etc.

I would assume the OP is still checking back to see what posts have been made to her thread, since she said she was going in the fall, and it is now July. Also, a number of older threads have been pulled up by some work/reshuffling the Webmaster has been doing. This one appeared on page one of recent threads before I posted, even though it is a couple of months old.

Hi all. Yes I am still checking the thread. Everyone has such great ideas and suggestions. Thank you so much for your effort to input to the thread and the suggestions. I have looked at all the suggestions and actually found a fantastic apartment in Earl's Court only 2 minutes from the Earl's Court station. I found it on VRBO and the owner is lovely. Earl's Court is a stop off the Piccadilly line which is great. There is a Tesco market and even a Starbucks within walking distance (less than 5 min). I am jazzed about the apartment because it is absolutely beautiful with a very cute patio for having wine in the evening. And it was about $500-$600 less than The Sumner Hotel. It it also within walking distant to Harrod's (not sure I want to go) and V&A Museum.. It is farther than I was hoping for but it is right on the train line and the bus line is around the corner on Old Brompton Road.