Our family of four (incl 2 kids aged 8 & 9) will be in Britain in August and need family room sized B&Bs with good breakfast. We don't mind rooms with 2 double beds (what we usually use in North America)but we want something nice in the GBP100-165 range.
Any suggestions would be appreciated. Hostels might be ok or university rooms but need to have all four of us in one room. Prefer ensuite bath but shower ok.
Rooms "American style" with 2 Double beds aren't really done in the UK except for American chains like Marriott, which probably are outside your budget.
Its also worth pointing out that B&B in London is code for cheap hotel and not a family run, home from home with personal attention style place. Exception to the rule is the Luna & Simone in Victoria.
In the places outside of london you'll have better luck
Most British would use the budget hotel chains, like Travelodge, Premier inn or Holiday inn Express. Invariably rooms here are a double bed with a sofa bed for the kids. Travelodge UK are doing a summer sale and are reliably cheapest on their saver rates. You can pick up a room here at the moment between 19 - 50 GBP room only.
Helen; Bob pretty much nailed it in terms of the arrangements in the UK. The Luna and Simone is my choice for single/double/twin rooms when in London and they do have a family room(s) as well (I'm told). With a budget of GBP100-165 you shouldn't have a problem but probably closer to the higher number for 4 of you. Book early at the L&S though, they are popular for a reason.
Do some searching on this site and Trip Advisor Forums (if you're not familiar, they're pretty slick and their 'query' function is excellent) and you cut down the choices to a few in each city. With TAF, you can narrow down your searches to UK cities, never mind European 'districts'. Then ask opinions here, and you'll get no shortage of 'been there, done that' responses. I suspect you'll wind up in the middle of your 100-165 range but Google and see what's out there.
We stayed in a B&B in Bath last spring and it cost us GBP185/night for a double with a four poster bed. Lovely, classy, but wouldn't do it again -too many choices elsewhere and it was a special weekend ('nuff said).
My daughter worked in Oxford for 6 months after university and from listening to her, you won't find a shortage of places to bed down the family in one room. Can't say for Canterbury. You will, though, have a wonderful trip based on what I see from your itinerary.
Helen,
My family stayed at the Arran House Hotel on Gower street. It was recommended by Tim of Minot on this board. Not sure why it's not in Rick's book. We had a very good experience, and I found that the price was very good for a family of 4 or 5 (around 130 GBP for a family of 5). The only negative comment I would have is that the ensuite bathroom was tiny! The breakfast was pretty good, and it was very clean. Here's the link - http://www.arranhotel-london.com/about_us.htm
