Where to stay if spending two nights in London - close to train station?

If you are taking a train outside the UK, then your only option is to take the Eurostar from St Pancras. I would suggest that you look at the Bloomsbury area nearby.

Day 1 maybe a right off if you suffer from jetlag, so this may not give you much time to see anything of London. Why not fly directly to wherever you want to spend your time?

What an ambitious trip.

The train that gets you out of the UK is the Eurostar and it leaves from is St Pancras so I guess you want a hotel near there..

Which airport are you arriving at in London.. Heathrow or Gatwick?

We always stay either in Bayswater or Kensington--within walking distance of each other. It is a rather yuppie section with good restaurants and nightlife. Two tube stations can get you anywhere in town fast.

There is a premier Inn near St Pancras. I haven't stayed there before, but will be staying there next year as we are taking the Eurostar which leaves at 8:58 am to Brussels. London is fairly big and there is no one place that is within walking distance of all of the major sights. Since you only have one full day maybe you should consider which sights you would want to see in that day and choose a hotel near those particular sights?

Premier Inn -- if booked well early -- are definitely best value in terms of reliable quality, clean, etc -- and there are now 3 of them within easy walking distance of St Pancras, which is the train station you will need for trains to Europe. The added bonus is they let you store your luggage there for free after checkout -- which will cost you about 12 pounds per piece if you do it at the train station! There are 6 underground lines from St Pancras to take you to the sights, much easier to stay near there and then go sightseeing without your luggage, than having to schelp your luggage to some other part of town on the underground, which often involves steps.

I always stay at the Jesmond Dene on Argyle St. Just a block or so from Kings Cross station (train, metro, buses) and St. Pancras Station
It is a small hotel - no elevator. You can get a full English Breakfast each AM.
If you pay your bill in cash at the end, you get a discount.
Here is the link.

Jesmond Dene Hotel
I've stayed there several times as a single, double, and quad. It is my go to Hotel in London.

I have stayed at the Jesmond Dene hotel twice. Great location to St. Pancras for your train travels. About a 3 minuet walk. Discount if you book through their web site. Clean rooms request room with private WC. English breakfast every morning and other breakfast items. Kettle, tea and coffee in room. Friendly and helpful staff.

I would stay near the train station as well, it's very easy to get around London by public transportation, on foot not so much.

Define cool.

Historic? Trendy? Museums? Clubs? Parks? Street Markets?

As noted if you plan to travel by train outside the UK, then bunking near Kings Cross/Pancreas station makes sense. You didn't mention where out side the UK you wish to travel so do a bit of research on the Eurostar and book your ticket as soon as possible to cut down on travel costs.

If you change your mode of travel and decide to fly, flights are plentiful to all parts of Europe. If a savvy traveler traveler you could pack one bag and take advantage of cheap airfare on RyanAir as an example.

London has excellent public transport so take advantage of the Underground. In a short amount of tome you can get from Buckingham Palace to the Tower of London. From the British Museum to Brick Lane.

By train you can see Windsor Castle, Hampton Court or Stonehenge.

Whatever you think is cool.

Another vote here for staying close to St. Pancras. Which is what we did a couple of weeks ago. We landed at Heathrow early in the morning, bought our Oyster cards from a machine, and caught the underground Picadilly line to Kings Cross. From there it was a 5 minute walk to our hotel, the Premier Inn St. Pancras. It's right across the street from the British Library. I highly recommend the hotel. There are a few pubs nearby serving decent pub fare. Both Kings Cross and Euston underground stations are nearby to get you to all the usual London sights. Bus stops are close by, too.

I believe that there are actually two premiere inns close by to St. Pancras station. My wife and I stayed at the one on Euston road directly across from the British Library last month. What it lacks in charm (and it definitely lacks charm) it makes up for in comfort and convenience.

Premier Inn London St Pancras is in a good location for what you need.
https://www.premierinn.com/gb/en/hotels/england/greater-london/london/london-st-pancras.html?cid=GLBC_LONSTP
You can walk to the British Museum, a couple of blocks south of this hotel, or take the tube to one of the other attractions.
The Tower of London is not too terribly far away from your hotel.
Both of these are a great way to spend several hours.

I agree with Rebecca about the Premier Inn St Pancras - however, I do want to point out that it is .9 miles from there to the British Museum on foot. Certainly walkable, but more than a few blocks:)

Thinking of staying two nights in London (flying from Seattle, WA)...
When you said two nights, do you include the night of the arrival? For instance, fly in Saturday, spend Saturday night, Sunday and Sunday night and leave Monday?

If so, that only gives you a day when museums, etc. will be open. That's not a lot of time, especially when you'll be suffering from jet lag. The five hour time differential from the East Coast is bad enough. I can't imagine adjusting to an 8 hour time difference.

If you're heading out of St. Pancras via Eurostar, I guess it would make sense to stay nearby.

There's plenty to do in the area, including the Charles Dickens museum, the British museum, the British Library and even platform 9 3/4 and the Harry Potter shop at King's cross, which is next door. Even Parliament Square is just an easy 20 minute tube ride away.

I just want to take a minute to tease Zoe and Jill for being weenies! :D

My wife and I are 66 and just got back from London and Paris. We checked our iPhones every night and averaged walking 9 1/2 miles a day! The weather was gorgeous and we enjoyed strolling instead of taking a bus or the tube. We stayed in Westminster and walked home from Selfridges one evening. We also walked home from St. Paul's one evening. In Paris we thought nothing of walking the Champs Elyse from the Arch de Triumph to the Louvre.

Jill, you are right! :) I understated the distance involved in walking to the British Museum from Premier Inn. You are correct that it is important to be exact about distances a person has to walk to a certain attraction. Could make a difference, especially for anyone for whom walking is difficult. Thanks for adding the exact distance.

To the OP, acamilleking; I will mention that the tube and buses are great ways to get around London. You can pick up a tube map or bus route map from many tube stations. Taxis are expensive, but it can be fun to take one trip in one while you are in London.

You had asked for neighborhood suggestions. Bloomsbury is the neighborhood of the British Museum, and it is a convenient neighborhood for getting around London. One of the tube lines that comes through there is the Piccadilly line, on which you can come in from Heathrow Airport. Look on the tube map for Russell Square tube station. Lots of hotels around there.

DougMac - I'm not a weenie:) I do a LOT of walking when in London. I just wanted to make sure anyone reading this thread would be clear about the distance to the British Museum. Weanie! Humph!!! :) all in fun!

Another neighborhood on the Piccadilly line is Covent Garden. This is a great neighborhood for walking around and sampling all the restaurants and coffee shops there. See the tube map here. Enlarge it using the plus sign at the top of the page. Look for Covent Garden. http://content.tfl.gov.uk/standard-tube-map.pdf
You can get on this line to go from Covent Garden to Kings Cross/St Pancras Station.
Using the tube and buses you can get anywhere you want to go in London.

I just came back from there this week, flew from SEA to LHR, stayed at Kings Cross, as usual, this time at the Alhambra Hotel, excellent place with a very reasonable price for a single en suite...well worth it. I like the Kings Cross St Pancras area since it so very convenient with three Tube lines converging there, plus a direct train St Pancras to Gatwick (a most pleasant surprise) instead of having to go Victoria first. The Oyster card is valid for that.

You can go to Luton from St Pancras. The Oyster Card is not valid for that. That covers two airports, and from Kings Cross direct to LHR.