Stay In Covent Garden, Soho, Leicester Square area while in London?

CG, Soho, LS... All wonderful areas, super central, dont worry about getting around, everywhere is a short tube ride from anywhere when considering the most touristy areas of London... Basically anywhere in Zone 1 and much of Zone 2.

CG is a 20min walk from the London Eye and LS and Soho within 5min of CG, so all very close.

Knowing your age range and tolerance for a party crowd may further narrow your selection.

Thanks Mike. It will just be my husband and I....both in our early 40s. No kids. I would say we don't necessarily want to be in party/club central (I.e thumping club music right outside our windowsill night...lol)....but we wouldn't mind being in an area that has some entertainment in it/nearby. We would probably like that.

I have a pretty good idea on the ease of the tube, and we will definitively use it. . But I'm trying to maximize our options on walking (we feel like walking in a city makes you feel like you got to know it better). So, for example, we might take the tube to get to The Tower and then walk our way back to where we started. Or something like that (might not be the best example).

Walking in London is the best way to see it i think. CG sounds the best of your shortlist... Soho and LS much more buzzing party areas... Of course your actual experience will vary property to property as there is variation within the areas.

All of those areas will be potentially noisy. Check on Google Maps to see if there are bars/clubs close to the hotel, and look at Trip Advisor reviews to see if people complain about noise.

We have really enjoyed staying in the Covent Garden /Neal's Yard area of London. VERY walkable- you can get to Leicester Square, and Piccadilly Circus quite easily. Lots of prominent theatres within easy walking distance, and plenty (and good variety) of restaurants/pubs, too. Depending on exactly where the apartment is located, you may find the Covent Garden, Leicester Square, or even the Piccadilly tube stations to be most convenient. There are some smaller 'convenience / grocery stores' and a Marks and Spencer's to help stock your kitchen in case you want to cook some of your own meals or just want to have snacks and maybe light 'continental' breakfast stuff.

Mike...thanks. Yes..I'll need to take a close look at the specific locations of the properties when I'm selecting the flat.

Philip, we are looking at renting a flat..not a hotel. But, your points are still valid. Taking a close look at street level view on google will certainly tell us a lot about the various property options.

Toni, great to know about the grocery/convenience store options. We would definitely be looking to pick up breakfast items to make our mornings efficient in getting out the door (and not having to stop for breakfast after we leave). Where did you stay in the area? A hotel or did you rent a flat/apartment?

We stayed mostly in hotels- usually at what was then the Mountbatten ( I think it is now called the Radisson Edwardian). One time when we took our then 16 and 9 year old kids, we stayed at an aparthotel at the edge of Covent Garden near Holborn Tube station. I believe it was called Citideins (Not sure of the spelling). We did like you plan to- bought pastries and cereal and stuff for evening snacks. Note- McDonald's would give us large cups of ice at no charge, so we'd stop there on the way 'home' each night to have ice for sodas, etc.

We just returned, and had 2 legs of our 2.5 week trip in London. The first part we stayed near marble Arch/Hyde Park, and it was great-- lots to explore, easy bus to the museums if it's really rainy (it was for us that day), great walking through the parks and toward Buckingham Palace, Covent Garden and the like. So if you're looking to stay near the latter, it'd be an easy place to walk from to lots of areas most out-of-towners want to visit.
Our second stay (end of trip) was right in the city by Blackfriars station. I loved that-- we walked all around City of London, St. Paul's, down to the Tower area. I loved walking through the City, though we really stood out against all the bankers and professionals hurrying around! It was great to discover things we hadn't planned on seeing as well!
--Shelbey

Thanks Toni....I looked up the Radisson Edwardian and that looks really great. I added it to my list of places to stay (honestly, right now it is sitting at the top over some of the apartments I was looking at). I just can't book anything unitl my booking window for my flights opens up (which will be in a few weeks). Thanks for the info on your stay in the area!

Shelbey, I am VERY familiar with the Blackfriars area as that is where I stay about once every 3 months for work. LOL Soooo....I'm definitely trying to stay in a very different part of the city when we go for vacation. :)