Planning trip to Cornwall in May (have place to stay there) and tacking on about 2 days in London afterwards (mid-May). Flying in and out of Heathrow. Advice for pleasant, affordable accommodations for 3 people--myself and parents, one of whom doesn't have a lot of walking stamina, so need to be very near public transportation hubs or options. Interested in Tower of London, and beyond that, not sure. Would a boat tour be good option? Or day Coach tour? Thanks!
Posted by
Mission Viejo, Calif., USA
1010 posts
Dear Sarah, My husband and I have been to London three times since 2009. We have always stayed at the Crowne Plaza Kensington. It is 100 Cromwell, South Kensington. It is directly across the street form the Gloucester tube station. You can take the tube all over. We also took advantage of Gray Line day or half day tours. We toured London itself, Stonehenge, Bath, the Cotswolds, etc. The Crowne Plaza is part of the Priority Club hotel point system. It is owned by the same peple who run Holiday Inn, Intercontinentenal hotels, etc We have been extremely happy with the Crowne Plaza. Some of the Gray Line tours picked us up almost across the street at the Holiday Inn or we took the tube to the train station to join the tours. You will love London. We also took a canal ride to Churchill's home and took the train back to the city. That is an all day trip and you have to make sure you get the earliest canal boat out there and not the last train back into the city either. There are just so many places to see in and around London. Try to walk around Kensington Gardens/Hyde Park. They are adjacent to each other. We could walk there from our hotel. Elaine
Posted by
Land of La
9221 posts
Didn't look to see if there is a 3 night minimum but this place on the VRBO website looked promising. Since one parent has limited walking stamina you might consider accommodations near Paddington Station. Both the Heathrow Express and Connect arrive and depart from there, underground and bus hub. Boat tour and ride to the Tower is a great option. Did that one December, yes, December, because 1.) 5 out 7 days were sunny with clear blue skies and not freezing and 2.) this was pre oyster card days and the 7 day travel card had a two for 1 option for the cruise. With a little research I bet you can find a deal like that as well. Parts of the Tower are only accessible by steep stairs but those areas can easily be missed. The Crown Jewels have moving walkways so your parent will be just fine. Go first thing in the morning. Will be less crowded and you'll have the rest of the day to see other sites. The Tower Hill tube is across the road outside the entrance to the Tower. If your parent has the ability to climb one set of stairs, the top deck of the double decker buses have nearly floor to ceiling windows in the front seats, large windows on the sides as well. Fabulous way to see London when traveling from site to site.