London Accomodations

Sherry, My wife and I just returned from London on 11/13/10 we stayed at The Lime Tree Hotel, a few blocks from Victoria Station. We loved the hotel and this would be our first choice when we return to London. We stayed in a triple for the price of a double (no doubles avail) room was very nice. I am 6'2, the bed and room was great. Within walking distance to Buck palace, Westminster Abbey, Harrods and many more sights. Lots of info on their website.

If train transport to Heathrow is important to you, then the neighborhood around Paddington Station is where you should be looking. There are plenty of hotels in easy walking distance from Paddington (I like the Indigo), and from Paddington you can take either the Heathrow Express (15 min) or Heathrow Connect (25 min but half as expensive) straight to Heathrow Airport. Paddington also has excellent tube connections with the rest of Central London.

Michael, Thanks for your quick response. I emailed the Lime Tree and they are booked up. This is the problem I'm having. Many recommended places have no room. Roe, I will try looking near Paddington station. What is that neighbourhood called. I don't see it in Rick's book. Thanks, Sherry

It isn't in Rick's book, which is ok as there are far more neighborhoods in London than Rick has room for in his book. As I recall, though, he mentions some hotels near Notting Hill, which is not too far. The neighborhood around the station is named after the station, Paddington. Try googling hotel and London, then zoom in to the area near Paddington (it's on the Circle Line at the top left-hand side). Pick out a few places of interest and hit Trip Advisor for reviews, and perhaps other guidebooks as well. As I mentioned earlier, I have stayed at the Indigo, a boutique hotel that was very new and very pleasant, but the rates vary widely depending on season; you might get a good deal on the room. But there are many hotels nearby. Another neighborhood that Rick omits is Bloomsbury from Euston Road near the three great rail stations that cluster there south to Russell Square/British Museum. This is a pleasant academic area (well, more so as you move away from Euston Road) in which I have stayed many times. It has superb Underground connections, and is just a few stations away from Paddington for Heathrow. Again, there are multiple hotels in this area, though I think Rick only mentions the Ibis and the Premier Inns near Euston Station.
Keep checking back for ideas from other posters, and don't be afraid of picking a hotel that Rick doesn't mention; his hotel and restaurant choices are always dependable, but his readers tend to swarm them, making it often difficult to get in. But London is a huge, great metropolis with thousands of hotels, many of which are excellent...you just have to do your research.

Thanks for great information Roe. I have currently booked at the Belvedere near Paddington Station. Good reviews from Trip Advisor for cleanliness, breakfast and location. No elevator or internet access but that's o.k. They quoted me 89 and 99 a night including breakfast and vat. I'm a little worried about room size since we will have large luggage but i'm sure it will work out.
Thanks.

Most hotels have a room for luggage storage. Maybe you could put some of your luggage in it. You are only staying overnight, right?

This hotel charges a bit for storing luggage but we will be doing that because our flight out of London leaves at night.

If you only have the one night. i agree, near paddington makes most sense. Stick with the hotel you found even if you put some luggage in their storage overnight, but this probably wont be necessary. (99% of the world is not in Ricks books)

If you want to continue looking for hotels, check out the Earl's Court area. I've seen several recommendations for this area on TripAdvisor's London Forum. You might even want to post there. There are several regualrs who are VERY familiar with accomodations. AdamHornets and TravellerPlus and Cannuks are among my favs and most trusted. Earl's Court is on the Picadilly line which goes from Heathrow to Paddington and other parts of London.

Toni: The Piccadilly Line does indeed go to Heathrow, but it does not go to Paddington.

Is it still easy to get around to the touristy sights from the paddington station area? i hope i've done the right thing. We have 2 days and nights in London before our cruise and one day and night after our cruise. I just wanted to be near easy transportation to and from the airport because I didn't want to take up precious sighteeing time . It's very confusing for someone that hasn't been to London. Thanks everyone for your help.

Paddington is on the Circle Line (Yellow), the Bakerloo Line (Brown), and the District Line (Green), as well as the Hammersmith and City Line, which probably will be of little use to you. Because the sights of London are spread out across a large area (though not as large as metropolitan London itself, which sprawls over 600 square miles), you need to use the Underground or Tube (our subway). For example, if you wanted to go to the British Museum from Paddington, you could take the Circle Line to Kings Cross and the Piccadilly Line one stop to Russell Square OR you could take the Bakerloo to Piccadilly Circus and change for the Piccadilly Line up to Russell Square. In either case, you would be under 30 minutes including walking time. Check out the Transport for London website and begin playing with the Underground map and which lines you would take to different destinations. The lines are named and color coded, and with a little practice you will feel perfectly at ease. But really any location near or inside the Circle Line is only a few minutes by Underground from any other, and virtually all the sights you want to see are in the area enclosed by the Circle Line. The Tower of London (Circle or District to Tower Hill), Big Ben & Westminster Abbey (several lines incl Circle to Westminster), Trafalgar Square and National Gallery (Bakerloo to Trafalgar Square) are just 3 examples. The Transport for London website also gives excellent explanations for the different ticket & pass options.

Actually, what Roe said is perfect, unless you're on the Tube on a weekend. London is building CrossRail which is an east to west new line. The construction for this and extensive rail replacement works mean that large swathes of the Underground network are shut on weekends, especially Sunday. Particularly badly hit most weekends is the Circle Line and the two other lines which share its track on the top part of the Circle (yellow), the Hammersmith and City (pink), and the Metropolitan (purpley blue). If in town on a weekend check the TfL website carefully and plan on alternate routes or buses.

Does this mean that we will have trouble getting to and from Heathrow. We arrive from Venice to Heathrow on a Saturday afternoon and need to return to Heathrow for a 5:00 pm flight on Sunday.

The 3 routes to and from Heathrow mentioned previously are not normally affected. Bits of the Piccadilly Line often are, but not the bits you would use. The two train options from Paddington to Heathrow are not normally affected unless they have rail engineering works, rare on that bit of the Paddington main line and the Heathrow branch. If you look a few weeks before you travel on the Journey Planner of Nationalrail it will call out planned closures. Of course, nobody can plan for acts of God. That's why you have a backup plan.

As your hotel is in the Paddington area you will be able to use either of the two train services to get to Heathrow. You should have an easy walk to Paddington Staion (if not grab a taxi, you are close enough that it wont be expensive). Train to Heathrow is far quicker (and more convenient) than tube. From paddington area - even if Tubes are completely down- its a reasonable walk to central London (eg Piccadilly, Trafalgat Square, Westminster ) tourist sites. Comfortably enough to se to more than fill the time you have available. You will be able to operate even with zero Tube service

Have stayed around the Paddington area in the past and found it a very convenient area for getting around London. Lots of restaurants and shops (and tourists) in the area too. From Paddington, you can take the Heathrow Express or Heathrow Connect trains to the airport - the first takes you to Heathrow in 15 minutes and the second in 30 minutes. Train and Tube lines in London often get interrupted because of maintenance work, construction, or unforeseen occurrences like 'leaves on the track', but signs are usually posted at the stations informing commuters of alternative routes and they run buses to replace train lines /routes that aren't running on that day.

Thanks for the great information. I'm feeling more comfortable now with my hotel booking being near Paddington. I do prefer to walk around to get the feel of the culture of the cities i visit so Brian's comment about not having to take the tube to see some sights is refreshing. We also fly out of Gatwick on Friday evening to get to Venice for our cruise. I'm assuming it is as easy to get to Gatwick.

Yes, there is frequent direct train service to Gatwick. However, it leaves from a different station, Victoria, which is just a little north of the Thames and west of Westminster Abbey. Victoria is also served by multiple tube lines, and would be an inexpensive taxi ride from Paddington. And, as another poster pointed out, there are also buses that run everywhere, and if all else fails walking (though I wouldn't care for walking carrying lots of luggage). You'll be just fine. Relax, and start thinking about where you would like to eat dinner...London is packed with interesting restaurants of all possible cuisines.

Victoria is served by the Victoria (light blue) and Circle (yellow) and District (green). There is no direct connection between the Victoria and the Circle and District. There are stairs out of Victoria Tube station into Victoria Station (railway). As you go into Victoria Station from Victoria Underground station turn right and go to the far right corner for Gatwick Express (more expensive and every 15 minutes, less frequently in the very early morning - takes half an hour Victoria to Gatwick, nonstop), and a bit further around to the highest numbered platforms for the Southern Railway services to Gatwick which is 7 to 10 minutes slower, stops once or twice, much cheaper, at least half hourly but often more frequently. The District Line from Paddington is different from the District Line which goes to Victoria. The best bet is 7 stops counter-clockwise on the Circle Line, a bit slower than the optimum Bakerloo change at Oxford Circus onto Victoria Line (combined 7 stops, cross platform change).