Staying and Playing in London

My best find in London is lovely Garden Court Hotel 1.5 blocks from Kensington Park and metro.. Walk to many sights incl Victoria N Albert Museum, Royal Albert Hall,harrods area etc. save alot by opting for share bathroom, sinks are in all rooms.the area is very safe and clean.

You can have a lot of fun just wandering through London. We always allow time on our schedule. We particularly like seeing an attraction and then walking back to our hotelThe lanes and alleys in the City (especially behind the bank of England) hide a wanderful array of old puns and churches ; walk from St pauls to the west End along holborn, Fleet street and the Strand, poke into the Inns of Court and the Templar Church; Cranaby Street and Kings Road. South bank from the Tower to Westminster is now a poular walk

Great advice from the above posters. We are just back from London and used Priceline for the hotel. We got Hotel Harrington Hall (4 ****) for 95 USD per night. Location was great and just a two minute walk from Gloucester Road tube station which also took us straight to LHR for our departure flight and this was a big $$ saver. Another hotel in that area is Bailey Milineum which we would have preferred but it would have cost more. We spent five days on PL with bidding. Went to the theater the afternoon of the play we wanted to see(Oliver) and got tics for 26 euros each so there is not a real need to bother with Leicster Square tic booth if you have a play you really are set to see. Evening Song at Westminster Abbey was wonderful. We also stumbled upon a cello concert right after leaving WMA at Temple Church-9 BP per ticket. Dinner followed at Olde Cheshire Cheese Pub on Fleet Street. We packed a lot of sights into our four day stay. And don't miss the fabulous Borough Market in Southwark!

We enjoy walking around Covent Garden, Leciester Square, Picadilly Circus and down down Regent St. and Picadilly, and from Leciester Square down toward Trafalgar and Westminster and Pall Mall. I also enjoy China Town. I know these aren't really neighborhoods, but there are great opportunities for people watching, window shopping (or real shopping), etc. The neighborhood around Kew Gardens is also very nice for a wander. Lovely houses and shops.

Visit easyHotel.com. They have several hotels in London. The rooms are the least expensive I could find. All of the rooms are ensuite, but they are really, really small. They're very clean with comfortable beds.

We were able to find a "buy one get one free" ticket at the train station that got us into St. Paul"s and also Windsor Castle which is a day trip from London, not sure if you want to do that but you could probably do it in a half day. Tower of London take the walking tour with a Beefeater guard but skip out the last part of the tour which ends up in the chapel and we found it very long and very boring and a waste of an hour. In the back of St. Paul's see the American Chapel dedicated to all US servicemen stationed there in WWII show who were killed in action. Beautiful stained glass windows by Chagal with a depiction of all 48 states. Enjoy the trip. You can also find brochures on London Walks that are free. I think you can find this information at train station or tube stops.

Keep in mind that the major museums (the British Museum, the National Gallery, the Victoria and Albert) are all free admission. Or more precisely, whatever donation you choose to make. That means that you can pop in when you're in the neighborhood for a quick look at an exhibit or two and not necessarily feel that you have to make it a major investment of time to justify the admission fee. It's also good to know which museums are closest if the weather suddenly turns wet on you.

You might try the Premier Inn Country Hall at Westminster. Great location and reasonable for London. You can walk anywhere from there (except The Tower of London) and there are two tube stations nearby. I too will be there in May but this time staying at The Olive Tree. London is magnificent and you can spend days wandering the street. I would highly recommend Westminster Abbey and Harrod's for the fun of it.

We like to stay at Darylington Hyde Park Hotel near Paddington Station. Get to the London Walks web site www.walks.com as for a small fee you meet the guide at a tube station and have a wonderful 2-3 hour journey in the back streets of any part of London. They also do days out for a bit more but a lot less than regular tour companies. We went to Salisbury and Stonehenge, and Toured Hampton Court palace complete with a boat ride up the Thames River and through a locke on the river, really wonderful and special day, also did Eaton and Windsor Castle with them.