Which of these three areas is best for London?

If I had to put the in order for you and your 18 year old daughter I'd go with:
1:) Kensington/Knightsbridge, 2:) Earl's Court/S. Kensington and 3.) Bloomsbury
No real reason for the list except personal preference.

Truthfully you can't go wrong in any of those neighborhoods. Easy bus and tube transport to the train stations for your day trips. All safe. Loads of shopping.
Good pubs. Hyde Park nearer to 1 & 2. British Museum in Bloomsbury. London is a very walkable city and you'll enjoy the "sites" in all those neighborhoods. Enjoy!

Thank you Claudia. Bloomsbury was my last choice too as it seemed as though it could be like staying in the middle of Times Square! But, not knowing how difficult it is to get from point A to point B, I thought perhaps being in the middle of everything might be the way to go.

Is there anything you can share with me about the other two areas?

Bloomsbury is not the least like Times Square. What a strange idea.

Never having been, I wouldn't know. That is why I am asking.

I understood Bloomsbury to be close to the theater district, the university, and tourist attractions such as the museum, etc. Thus I made the comparison thinking that it would be a busy area due to all attractions in close proximity.

No offense was meant in comparing it to Times Square.

Bloomsbury is definitely not like Times Square! The theatre district is pretty civilised. It won't be like staying above a nightclub! I would stay in any of those areas. To be honest I walk/tube between those areas as part of my normal everyday life. Central London is pretty small and very easy to get around so I don't think you need to worry too much.

Thank you for the information, Laura.

I guess what I am trying to find out, is what the different "feel" is to each area. While they all are nice and convenient, how are they different?

And, are there any specific characteristics that identify them?

Again, I use NYC as an example in the way that the Upper East side has a different "feel" to it than the Upper West, or Soho or the Village. They are all convenient and easy, but different.

That is what I'm looking for that the guide books don't really tell you. You have to have been and experienced it.

Thanks to everyone for trying - I should have been clearer in my first post!

I think one of the problems with London is that it is small and crowded so the character of the area can change from one road to the next. I live near Ealing and you can literally walk down one road and think "Wow, look at the beautiful houses and arty shops and it's so quiet. I want to live here". Then you turn a corner and it's a very different story! You can have multimillion pounds houses at one end of the road and rough council estates at the other.

I like South Kensington as there are some nice quiet roads, but am less enamoured with parts of Earl's Court. I don't like Knightsbridge. It just looks trashy to me and it has some big, noisy roads going through the centre of it. I personally like Bloomsbury. It's not necessarily the most glam part of London, but has some relatively quiet streets you can stroll around and there are lots of places within walking distance. I would possibly choose your hotel according to street address (e.g. do you want to be on a main road or not?) and proximity to the Tube station. It's also useful to be near a Tube that has more than one line going through it as that gives you more flexibility.

As a former NY'er and someone who has visited LOndon often, it's almost impossible to compare neighborhoods in London to neighborhoods in New York.

Kensington/Knightsbridge...these are two separate areas. Knightsbridge is upscale and the home of Harrods. Kensignton is also upscale. Home of embassies, princess, and yuppies.

South Kensington is one step below the above areas, home to the V & A museum, Royal Albert Hall, a bunch of small "colleges" and lots of residential. (I like this area). It's a mixture of residential, tourist, international students. Not wild at all but not dull.

Earls Court is a mixture of residentail and tourist. Lots of Aussies if I remember corrreclty, probably one step below South Kensington

Bloomsbury...not Times Square at all. Residential, home to the British Museum..Nice area. Not as affluent as say Knightsbridge or Kensington.

Technically, you are closer to central LOndon in Bloomsbury but you're talking an extra 5-10 minutes by tube from the other places.

At night, I'd say Piccadilly Circus/Leicester Square/parts of Soho are more like Times Square.

It's more about the hotel at this point than those areas. I don't think you can go wrong with any of them.

If there's something you're specifically looking for, let us know.

We stayed in an apartment on Queen's Gate, equidistant from Gloucester Road tube station and South Kensington tube station. We could also easily walk to Harrod's in about 15 minutes from our apartment.

We loved South Kensington! There were easy busses to Knightsbridge, Green Park, Picadilly Circus and Trafalger Square. Also easy busses to Notting Hill and Portobello Road. We'd stay in that area again in a heartbeat.

I think I have just narrowed it down to two locations. Earls Court and South Kensington. I guess at this point, cost will be the deciding factor! I really like the Ashburn in S.K., but I am wondering about issue #1 below.

Two more questions:

1. I do not like to use hotel laundry services as they tend to be outrageously expensive. We are packing light (one carry on each + backpack), so we will need to do laudry. I did see that there were laundramats nearby the hotels in the Earls Court area, but none were mentioned in the S. Kensington area. Anyone know if there are any close by?

2. I am leaning toward hotels with breakfast included because of the convenience, however there is one hotel that looks wonderful, but has no breakfast or restaurant (Base2Stay). It seems that not having to worry about breakfast each day would be a huge convenience, but is it really that big of a deal, and how much does breakfast out everyday add up to? I am also wondering if a room has a fridge and microwave, we could manage breakfast with that? Too bad they don't come with toasters, then I would be set! I could live off of toast and bagels. :)

Darlene, If you take quick drying clothes you can wash them in the sink. We have travelled in many countrie in Europe, including London and never used laundry, even on a 5 week trip. There used to be a clothing section in this site, but I do not see it now. maybe someone can direct you to it if it still exists.

Eating in London is expensive. Wetehr you feel you can get breakfast for what yo save on the room will deend on what you have for breakfast, but most included breakfasts will give you enough that you will need little for lunch. Our experience is that you will pay at least in pounds wat you spend in dollars on this side fo the Atlantic for meals.

I have never seen a fridge or microwave in a European hotel room, except the mini bar type of fridge in more expensive hotels.

I did a search for launderette in South Kensington on www.yell.com and there are a couple. I personally hate hand-washing clothes...

Laura, since you live in London, perhaps you could take a look here. The locations mean nothing to me.

http://www.allinlondon.co.uk/directory/1261.php

I don-t care for handwashing clothes either, other than under clothes. Most of the clothing, such as jeans and socks, will not dry quickly, nor are they easily hand washed.

Iain, two hotels that I am looking have rooms with kitchenettes. I am debating kitchenette versus breakfast included in rate.

Laura, are you familiar with Base2Stay in Earls Court, or The John Howard in S. Kensington? These are two that I am considering for kitchenettes.

The two that offer breakfast are The Ashburn Hotel and the Radission Edwardian Vanderbilt in SK, and KK George at Earls Court.

Any experience with any of these, anyone?

The two launderettes in South Kensington on www.yell.com (which is the online Yellow Pages which is the most widely used business directory in the UK) are:

Gloucester Launderette (Kens) Ltd

9, Gloucester Rd, London, SW7 4PP
Tel: 020 7584 8916

Bo Bo's Bubbles

154, Cromwell Rd, London, SW7 4EF
Tel: 020 7244 6861

They should both be convenient for South Kensington. You could do a search on yell using the hotel's postcode to see if there are any others nearby.

Laura, thank you for the information on Yell. It will be an invaluable tool during our stay. I am getting closer to a decision,now having narrowed down to 3 hotels:

SK - Radission Edwardian Vanderbilt and Ashburn Hotel

E. Court - KK George

Experiences and/or opinions welcome!

May I suggest you check out the hotels on TridAdvisor to see what others have to say.

I'd also suggest the boards at Frommers.com and Fodors.com for better information about these hotels. All are 4 star and not the typical hotel an RS traveler might bed for the night. (I'm not saying they wouldn't, but it's more likely you'll find people who have on the other boards.)

Thanks Frank. You posted very helpful advice on a previous board of mine. I didn't realize that the RS travelers were any different than the Frommer's/Foder's. I may hope over there, but generally I am not so impressed with some of the advice I have seen in the books, that's why I chose this forum.

I have checked Trip Advisor - it is my travel Bible! It's really a toss up between the two - they both look like excellent properties that will meet my needs (both as I have eliminated the Radisson).

Now, I guess it comes down to price, and they are both very close, and it there is really any significant difference in location. I know you would probably go with the Ashburn based on one of your previous posts.

Thank you for your continued advice!

That should have read "if there are any significant advantages to one location over the other."

My bad for not proofing before I post. :(

We always stay in South Kensington. The tube stop closest to the hotel we stay at is Gloucester. There is a laundromat around the corner - we have typically let them do it for us - drop off in morning and then pick up in evening. The last time we were there was 2 years ago, so I assume it's still there.

Darlene,

My wife and I nearly stayed at Base2Stay in Earl's Court. They have a very favorable rating on Tripadvisor, and offer rooms with a small kitchenette so you can make basic meals or snacks. It is within walking distance to the Earl's Court or Gloucester Road tube station. There is a great Waitrose and Tesco Express supermarket at Gloucester Road.

Darlene, you might want to consider looking into B&B's in the central area of London. After reading hundreds of reviews on Trip Advisor, I decided not to take any chances on the hotels. Too many of them had both great and very bad reviews. Why take the chance? There are some very well-reviewed B&B's at all budget levels, and usually the full breakfast is included each day. I'm staying just a few blocks from Paddington Station, which is very convenient for tube, bus, and Heathrow Connect.

Thanks for all the input! I have, after much agonizing, :) decided that I can't go wrong with Mayfair, so for our first trip, we will stay there and explore the city from Green Park tube station. I think I've made a good decision in terms of convenience, safety and a highly rated property. Perhaps on our next trip, having seen the city for myself, I will branch out a little and save a bit of money in the process! Thanks again for all the help.

Darlene- Most areas are of personal preference. We've stayed in Earl's Court, South Kensington, Knightsbridge and Bloomsbury in the past - hotel or B&Bs in Earls Court and apartments in all other areas. Knightbridge is only two tube stops from Green Park on the Picadilly line and both are nice areas.

Knightsbridge is very upscale so restaurants are expensive though there is a Wagamama just a block or so from the tube station that is very affordable. Cafe Rouge is only a few blocks away and right across from Harrods, good, basic french food and very affordable compared to other restuarants in the area. Also, there's a M&S Simply Food located at Beauchamp Pl. and Brompton Rd - about a 5 minute walk from the Knightsbridge station. We purchased a lot of our picnic supplies from Simply Food and saved a great deal of money overall.

The Gloucester tube station area is great as well with plenty of shops and restaurants and much more affordable. Nando's restaurant is right across the street from the tube and has good food. A restaurant has been at that corner for over 60 years (according to one of the waitresses) with the original called "Dino's" and their sign is still on the building.

Have you considered renting a flat for your stay? We had a nice place on Basil street and were able to fix breakfast in the am, do laundry at our leisure and it was cheaper than a hotel. We also met a lot more locals this way.

I found breakfast out to be way too expensive for my tastes. I'm happy with some tea, toast and jam or cereal/porridge and the cheapest I saw was 6.50BPS per head. Fixing our own bfast meant all four of us could eat for less than 6.00BPS.

All the areas you've chosen are great - it really boils down to personal preference. When we stayed in Bloomsbury we were a 10 minute walk from King's Cross station in a quiet little flat on Gray's Inn Road.

Whichever you chose, have a great trip!