London : Hotel recommendations request

hey hey techtrainer61
when is this trip, one hotel room or two?
london is a big & busy city and expensive like other big european cities, supply and demand and high season seems to last all year nowdays. good luck & happy holiday
aloha

What's your budget?

When is your trip?

It's easier if you can quite in £, which is the local currency, so save us converting. Am I right in assuming you $ is USD (we have $ here in Singapore as well)?

Based on the two hotels you've identified, on location alone, both are fine. Queen's Gate is arguably less central, but South Kensington is a very smart and nice area, and it's convenient for museums and Harrods, if that's on your list. The Hilton you've identified is in a much less smart area, but it's fine and it is convenient for tube and train.

Price - if that's USD3200 for five nights for a triple room, then that's cheap. I would budget about £200-250 a night for a double, and that would be a small room. That may or.may not include breakfast (you can also grab an egg and bacon roll from Pret if you're wanting to save money).

It's not common to find triple rooms for three adults. You will have more choice if you look for two rooms, and Premier Inn is good if you're on a tight budget. Also, lots of small budget hotels around King's Cross Station.

The Doubletree is in a much more central area and one that is now heavily redeveloped. Angel tube is very close and King's Cross only half a mile away, so the location allows you to get round the city easily. Upper St by Angel tube is full to bursting with a wide range of bars and restaurants and has a great atmosphere.

I would suggest going to booking.com and searching for what you want.

Then you could book on booking or go directly to the website of the hotel and book

When I was in London I stayed at Hotel 63 right across from Kensington Gardens. It is a small non-profit, very historical. Location is wonderful and it is very close to very good public transport. Breakfast is small but sufficient. However I do not know if they would have a room for three,

There are only 16 rooms and two of the rooms are for one person. Your daughter could stay in one of those. However the cheapest room which is the one that I stayed in was not particularly nice. The more expensive of the two single rooms is acceptable but they had some rooms that were very nice.

https://hotel63.co.uk/

I am looking at Premier Inn - but they have room for only two.

Have you tried checking for 2 rooms on the Premier Inn site? You might find the price of 2 rooms is comparable to the price you are paying for the Hilton.

I'd rather be in Angel then South Ken personally.

I'm with Gerry - Angel is for me also the better location.

As far as walking to attractions, I knew I'd timed walking from Angel to Piccadilly Circus (via Roseberry Avenue) in Strava at some point. On checking, it's 2.5 miles and took me 40 minutes.

Techtrainer, I don’t know when your trip is, or if you’d be interested in accommodation like this, but the LSE offers rooms, some apartment style for families, across London when students are on break. Many like this one at Bankside (they have family rooms I believe) have breakfast included.

https://www.booking.com/hotel/gb/lse-bankside-house.en.html?aid=7921924&no_rooms=1&group_adults=2

Edit: UCL also offers this type of accommodation, not sure about the breakfast offering

https://www.ucl.ac.uk/residences/ucl-summer-residences

Last one, Imperial College London

https://www.imperial.ac.uk/visit/summer-accommodation/

I usually try to avoid talking about Hrry Ptter, but that Doubletree is right by a lesser known movie location.

Personally I would choose the one at Angel/Kings Cross- lots of good transport connections at Kings Cross and you are close to Upper Street which has lots of great restaurants.

Without knowing your dates, I would imagine you could book 2 Premier Inn rooms in a more walkable location for less than $3200.

When are you traveling?

Unless the 3 of you are used to long walks, almost all attractions from the DoubleTree will require tube or bus.

The Queen's Gate is close to the V & A museum and Hyde Park and a 10 minute walk to the Gloucester Road Underground Station with the District, Circle and Piccadilly lines that will get you most everywhere.

Think about what you want to do in London. Then go to Google Maps and see what the transportation and walking options are from the hotels you are considering.

Thank you all your help.

Thank you princess pupule :
Our dates as Aug 21-26 (5 nights, which gives 4.5 days) to explore. I have flights booked from SFO-LHR-SFO, arriving Aug 14, leaving Aug 29. We are visiting Paris from Aug 15-21, leaving the rest of the time in London. We have family in Croydon with whom we will be staying rest of the days. We prefer one room (that way all three of us stay together), but is not a deal breaker.

Hi Frank II -- Budget wise .. hoping to keep to < 300 GBP (US $ 400) per night, if possible

Thank you Simon. I should have clarified -- and made a mistake in price.
Queens Gate Hotel is coming to USD $3,469 ( or 2566 GBP) Total with breakfast.
whereas Doubletree Hilton is coming to USD $2100 (or 1552 GBP)

Thank you bostonphil7 -- hotel63 is a wonderful suggestion -- but will need two separate rooms. Cost is very reasonable though
for two rooms ( USD $2,884 or £2,121.75 for 5 nights). I have booked this option for now.

Mustlovedogs - student housing at LSE, UCL and Imperial College is interesting. I see max is 2 beds per room and no breakfast.

Thank you jeanm for your suggestion on Queens Gate

For those dates there is a wide range of options for two rooms in Premier Inns. Probably the very best, with a perfect location at County Hall, is more expensive at £1,764, but there are many a lot cheaper. The PI at Angel is £1,344 for example. Just avoid the Hub by Premier Inn options, as rooms can be very small at these. OK for a night or two but probably not for five.

Angel or the St Pancras/King's Cross area will also be perfect for getting to and from Paris from St Pancras and for Thameslink trains to Croydon.

The Premier Inn County Hall gets lots of love on this forum from many posters. You would be a short walk across the Thames to Westminster Abbey, Big Ben and Parliament and the walk along the South Bank is a great way to spend an afternoon or evening. I have not stayed at County Hall, but we did stay at the St. Pancras location. While it was clean, comfortable and quiet, we chose it for convenience. We were not seeing the London sights on that visit,.

I would not choose my hotel for 5 nights based on a train ride or 2, but that's just me.

Something to keep in mind, 2 rooms = 2 bathrooms.

Also, while once upon a time AC wasn't necessary in London, now days I wouldn't book a hotel without it. We were in the London during September 2023 when temps were in the 90s. The AC at the Premier Inn was wonderful.

It's interesting that the UK responders prefer King's Cross & Islington to something more central.

Thank you Johnew52 and jeanm.

I was able to get two rooms at Premier Inn County Hall for a total of £2148 ( approx USD $2,906.34) - including breakfast for all three (or USD $ 300 per night).

jeanm ==> this is wonderful insight. I never thought of extra bathroom convenience.
Hope they get us rooms close by.

Something to keep in mind, 2 rooms = 2 bathrooms.

Also, while once upon a time AC wasn't necessary in London, now days I wouldn't book a hotel without it. We were in the London during September 2023 when temps were in the 90s. The AC at the Premier Inn was wonderful.
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My original recommendation was for the choice between South Kensington and Angel - I and others chose Angel - a cheaper option in a more central location with access to Upper St, one of the great places for food and drink options.

When we got the dates I recommended County Hall, which was a bit more expensive than other options, but does win out on location. What I probably wouldn’t recommend though is booking breakfast for every day with 3 adults. The PI breakfasts are pretty average for me. It’s a great choice with children as they eat free but I would eat out locally with just adults.

I think Premier Inns charge the same for breakfast whether you book in advance or day of. I'm not a big breakfast eater, so I usually pass on hotel breakfast. I would say try it the first morning. If it's not up to what you want, there are several places nearby such as Gail's Bakery and The Black Penny Brunch.

I had a great breakfast in March at The Victoria House Coffee and Food near the British Museum. It's very popular, so reservations are advised.

Johnew52, thanks. I'll have to check out Upper St. next time.

We really like the South Kensington area. It is charming and the Queens Gate Hotel would be walkable to the Gloucester Rd Tube which has several underground lines. The Queens Gate Hotel is also walkable to Kensington Garden which was a relaxing area to stroll.

We stayed at the Bailey's Hotel in Kensington right across from the Gloucester Road tube station. It has a fantastic breakfast and is also near the Hereford Arms which is a great place for dinner. The Bailey's hotel would have rooms for 3 people if you choose a luxury family room which has 2 full beds. You could see how it compares to the Queens Gate Hotel.

I just checked on www.tripadvisor.com and the Bailey's Hotel London Kensington has a luxury family room available for Aug. 21-26 with 2 full beds. If you choose free cancellation and include breakfast it comes to $2, 934 plus tax on Booking.com. We enjoyed our stay there and would highly recommend it.

Kay51 - Thanks for the recommendation.
Checked 'The Bailey's Hotel London Kensington'
It is indeed available with 2 full beds for USD $2,934 --- but there is 20%VAT to be added ( $587 ) which brings cost to USD $3,521
( or £2,590.15)

Which brings another interesting question for you all -
I believe we can get VAT refund (minus processing fee) -- but is there a way to recover VAT we pay on hotels ?
-- my uncle always complains that he cannot get a refund on US sales taxes when he visits, but we get (US residents) get something back from VAT in the UK :)

Johnew52, jeanm -- I hear you both on breakfast at Premier Inn (at £ 13.99 per adult per day) - may not be worth it. Better to explore options outside.

You can't recover VAT on hotel cost - its a service. Vat refunds are only available on goods.

The VAT refund scheme ended after Brexit, although it was in any case never recoverable on hotel bills.

I believe we can get VAT refund (minus processing fee) -- but is there
a way to recover VAT we pay on hotels ?

No, you can only get a VAT refund for purchased goods, and I think there is a minimum purchase amount required, so unless you're buying some high end items it may not be worth the hassle. I view VAT and sales taxes as the price of travel, no point fretting on it.

I have stayed at Vincent House in the Notting Hill area and am scheduled to stay again in August. Simple accommodations, quiet neighborhood, close to tube station. Ample breakfast included. You would need two rooms for your group, but it does have availability for your dates. Unfortunately it does not have AC (and when I stayed in June 2022, it was over 90 degrees in London, so August could be tricky).

No more VAT refund on purchases in UK. And there was never a refund on meals, hotels, ... It was only on purchases leaving the UK. Tell your uncle it all ended a several years ago.

By, the way, I stayed at The Bailey's London in March. It is a lovely hotel, but some rooms can be on the small side. I didn't mention it since I thought you were looking for something less expensive than The Queens Gate. And you'd also be back to only 1 bathroom.

I thought some of the university housing had triples, quad rooms but I am sure they go fast. It’s not an accommodation style everyone likes, obviously the PIs are superior- esp those beds! but I thought I would mention them. My family of three actually looked into staying at university summer housing - for two rooms bc of having an additional shower/bath. It really does help with getting everyone out the door in the mornings.

We also stayed in the Kensington area of London and really enjoyed it. Wherever you end up, I hope you have a wonderful time!

Oh, one last thing. I was forever of the mindset that I wanted breakfast included with our stay. My last trip to London in October w my daughter blew that longstanding belief out of the water. Our PI had kitchen issues and couldn’t offer breakfasts. It turned out to be the best thing! Not only did we find some really great little places to eat breakfasts- Gails being one- we really didn’t spend any more on them, actually less in several spots. Totally changed my mind from here on out. Just another opinion about that to consider.

Lost Property by St Paul’s

Thank you Katy, Johnew52, CL, jeanm on clearing up VAT refund issues.
We had not kept up with it .. indeed, this ended in 2021 after Brexit. And yes, this was never applicable to hotel stays.

Thanks again, all of you .. your insights have been very valuable. Much appreciated.