Where to stay in London

Sandi, when we went to London last June, we stayed at the Premier Travel Inn London County Hall in central London ( www. travelinn.co.uk ). We found it in Rick Steves guidebook. easier to book on line. This hotel was located near the Eye, Big Ben among other tourist attractions. From our hotel, we were able to walk along the River Thames without having to take the tube ( subway ) or taxi. There are plenty of places to eat, visit art gallery and the Globe theatre is right along the river. Have a jolly gooe time in London.

I've had good luck staying at a couple of the small hotels just south of Victoria Station. They all have pretty similar rates, especially for the super-cheap "student rooms" that are kind of beat up but perfectly clean and safe. Try the Elizabeth Hotel or the Georgian House Hotel.

You won't have to take a taxi, no matter where you stay. Get a visitor's travel card or an oyster card and use the tube/buses. Most of London is very walkable- and worth the walk. You can walk from Covent Garden to Leciester Square, to Picadilly Circus, to Oxford Circus...We've been to London 40 times and only used a taxi on the day of the bombings that shut down everything (July 7). The 7 day visitor's card is well worth it.

Try londontown.com. We found a non-catering apartment on this site just south of Hyde Park and near the Glouchester Rd tube station that was reasonably priced and a great location.

Morgan Hotel
(http://www.morganhotel.co.uk/findus.html) is where I stay every time I go to London. All rooms ensuite, full English breakfast, clean, reasonable, well run hotel.

I agree! Premiere Inn is a great location and (for London) reasonably price. You can't get lost if you can find or see the London EYE! Average price is about 86 pounds a night, which isn't a budget but its clean, close to all the sites and very spacious.

Last time I went on hotwire.com and got a great rate of $100 dollars (yes dollars) and lucked out by staying in the heart of the Theatre Distict. The only bad part of hotwire is not knowing where you'll be staying, but I've been pretty lucky getting brand name hotels like Hilton, Radisson and Crowne Plaza. For this attempt, I stayed at the Hilton Wardorf, just steps away from the Producers and Lion King. The rooms, however, were extremely small, but for $100 I got to be in the heart of the city and I could not ask for a better 4 star hotel!

Thank you for your response. Do you recommend doing money exchange before I go to Europe or here in the states. Also how much cash do you think I should take with me, is credit card safe to use as well. Thanks again for your help

Sandi from Nebraska

Use a credit card for major purchases and get cash from ATMs for everything else. There are some important things to do BEFORE leaving home to be sure your cards will work in Europe. Read this article by Rick Steves in his Travels Tips section: www.ricksteves.com/plan/tips/moneytip.htm. I store a few hundred dollars in cash (for emergencies only) in my moneybelt and plan to bring all of it home with me. Save your credit card receipts. After I got home and checked my statement, One time I found that I was charged twice (two different amounts for only one meal) at a restaurant. My card company resolved the issue quickly because I was able to send in a copy of the valid receipt.