London hotel recommendations?

[pbaldy]

My wife and I are going to Italy in a week or so, and it so happens our travel arrangements leave us with an afternoon/evening in London before continuing the next morning.

First can anyone recommend a reasonably priced hotel? We have to leave early in the morning, so I suppose somewhere not too far from the airport.

Second, any thoughts on what to see in that short time? Someone in my office recommended the Tower of London. Any thoughts on that or other things would be appreciated. Neither of us has ever been to the UK.

 

[Matt Greatorex]

Which airport are you using? They're pretty well spread out.

 

[pbaldy]

Sorry; showing my ignorance. Heathrow.

 

[Matt Greatorex]

Sorry; showing my ignorance. Heathrow.

I didn't realise myself, until I lived close to Gatwick and made a habit of avoiding Heathrow

The easiest way into London from Heathrow is the express train into Paddington Station. As I understand it, though, this can be very pricey, so you may want to use a cab. I suppose it all depends on how much of your budget you want to blow before even reaching the city.

Afraid I can't help with the hotel side of things. Being a 'resident', I didn't get to stay in hotels much. When I did, the company paid, so I ignored the price.

My personal favourite tourist attractions were the London Eye (great views over the city), the Tower (as you mentioned) and the South Bank (just a nice atmosphere). If you want to see as much as possible, there are plenty of open-topped tour buses running from almost every train station that circle the key sights and allow you to hop on and off as often as you want. That way, if you see somewhere you want to visit in more detail you can do so.

 

[pbaldy]

Thanks Matt. The London Eye looks cool. We'll probably ride around on a double decker bus too. Seems very "London".

 

[Ron_dK]

Second, any thoughts on what to see in that short time?

Abbey road studio's ? (St Johns Wood, London NW8 9AY)

or

Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club
47 Frith Street, Soho, W1D 4HT

 

[pono1]

Reasonably priced hotels are pretty hard to come by in London, esp. given the exchange rate. If you do stay near Heathrow, consider a visit to Windsor since it's pretty close to the airport... Have fun -- wish I were going to Italy...

 

[pbaldy]

Thank you!

 

[dt01pqt]

If you don't want the express train you can go by tube (Piccadilly), you might have to change terminal. If you are carrying lots of stuff probably not a good idea though. As pono1 hinted central London is a bit expensive for hotels there are quite a few discount websites . Because I live in London I don't really know which hotels are good because I don't stay in them. One you've dumped your stuff you can buy a travel card. This is good on the tube, buses. I would definitely plan where you want to go and have a few contingencies to avoid disappointment. Generally the tube is a great way to get around, but you must check if the there are any lines with engineering works (there usually are). Hope that helps. Btw for those that are staying in London longer than a couple of days it is possible for tourist to get an oyster card (travel prepaid) since voluntary registration, a lot of people don’t know that.