Two Weeks in England, Too Many Options-HELP!

I found out the hard way the time zone impacts-I tried to stay awake as recommended, then go to bed at my "normal" time. I finally got to sleep at 3 AM, and was awoken by the hotel staff banging on my door at 2 PM the next day, wondering if I had died in my sleep!

I like your itinerary (ie, Bath, Cotswolds, London)-I'll run it by the CFO (my wife) and see what she thinks. She actually told me she would be fine with London for the entire trip, so I don't think too much time in London will be a problem. London also seems to be the best train base city by a large margin, so that might work out well.

Get an apartment in the less gentrified area of London known as Bayswater. The Vancouver Studio Apartments is where I often stay. Room 213 is nice and "large" for London. Large being a relative term. In my doz. trips to London I have yet to stay in a hotel or an apartment that is as big as a Best Western. Price made NO difference. You'll have a sink and stove as well as coffee pot, dishes, plates and silverware. Small fridge. Table with 2 chairs, TV. Very nice shower. You have access to two tube stations and all the bus routes. Sweet pub across the park and loads of interesting shops and restaurants to choose from. Also an indoor mall. If you like the website and choose to stay there make certain you don't get a room on the 3rd or 4th floors. No lift and very small stairs to negotiate. Use London as your base. Bath, Oxford, Stonehenge, Salisbury, all day trips by rail. Check out the Original London Walks and take one of their weekend tours & at least one of their walks.

Kent,

I tend to agree based on my own experience. Bath is a small place, although our first "day" will be following an 11 hour flight, so we will probably not do much more than eat dinner and fall into bed. Maybe we should increase the London time to 10 days or shoehorn another place between our Bath and London stays.

If it were me, I might do London first, esp if you are coming into a London airport. quicker to get into town than Bath.

I would not try to do both Bath/London and York/Lake

It is at least a 5 hour haul on the M to the Lakes (I know I have driven once, never again)

AS for London prices, Ouch! I checked into the prices for our favorite hotel(in Bloomsbury)for a potential fall trip. No London this year

Good Luck

Tom

I contacted A Place Like Home, which was recommended to me by a family friend that travels extensively to the UK, Italy and France (4-5 trips per year!). They sent me a long list of apts in our price range (900 pounds or less) in Kensington and Knightsbridge, many of which look very nice and include at least 1 bedroom, sitting/living room, full kitchen (with oven/fridge/dishwasher!), and a 3/4 or full bath. Some also have balconies, washer/dryer, lift and porterage services, broadband/wifi service, and several other nice amenities I usually don't see at hotels unless there is an additional charge (if they are available at all). We are now in the process of reviewing these, any of which appear to fit our needs nicely. They have no cleaning fees, but they do require a large deposit and full payment 60 days prior to arrival.

I did look at the Vancouver Studios, but they looked much smaller and more spartan than the apt photos I got from APLH for more than most of the apts from APLH.

BTW, the 900 pounds ceiling is per week!

My experience with hotel prices was the same, and I was pretty unimpressed with what I found unless I looked at places that wanted over 300 £ (WAY out of our budget). The apt option is looking better and better, but it obviously is an option only if your stay is a week or more.