Printable View
London area Intercotees,
I am doing planning for a potential trip to the UK. I plan to be in London for no more than 3 days before travelling north. My preference in London would be to stay in a bed and breakfast preferably on the west/northwest side of city center so I have a few questions:
- what are some of the better neighborhoods to stay in (safety, restaurants, transportation, etc.)
- any place I should avoid?
- any specific B&B recommendations?
Thanks for any advice.
I am not English, but I have travelled to London on 11 separate occasions, and stayed for a minimum of 10 days each time.
I would choose to stay in Bloomsbury. It is near the British Museum, close to Covent Garden, and right on the tube! Best part is you can take the tube directly in from Heathrow on the Picadilly Line, and it goes right into Russell Square. Easy as pie! Then you don't need to arrange a car or train or whatever you will use to go up north in until you actually leave London (because I am fairly confident you do not want to drive there!).
There are plenty of "Tourist" Hotels there which you can book for a very reasonable London fee. They ain't fancy, but they're clean and usually provide a continental breakfast, and the location is fabulous for getting around the city!
Just my :twocents:
My family's been to London twice--once we stayed outside the city proper at a hotel in East Croydon (which is south of London) and last summer we stayed at a really nice place in Kensington in the West End. It was called "base2stay" hotel (yes, that really is its name, as is its webpage), housed in an old building, but quite modern inside. The rooms are small but impeccably clean and comfortable, they have free wifi, a kitchenette and their rates are affordable for London; the hotel itself is rated very highly on Tripadvisor. The location is fantastic--the neighborhood is very safe with a park next door and restaurants, shops, convenience/grocery stores just a couple of blocks away. The Earl's Court Tube Station is also just a couple of blocks away, with service directly out to Heathrow and also into the heart of the city on the Picadilly and District tube lines.
I don't have any experience with B&B's in London. Have you taken a look at the reviews on Tripadvisor? Based on what we have read and experienced, most of the neighborhoods you will find west and northwest of Central London are pretty safe.
I've been to London once, and stayed in an area called Earl's Court. Very clean and safe area, with tube stops close by. There's a great pub called The Kings Head, very friendly place to eat and drink and mingle with locals.
Lol--my family had supper and a pint there one evening. Great place!Quote:
Originally Posted by teamblackwell
:thumbsup:HiQuote:
Originally Posted by ryca1dreams
I have no idea on B&B at so sorry :(
If you stay nearer to the heart of London you will be ok
The cheaper hotels are Premier Inns and Travelodges and the Ibis chains are all ok and safe
Keep away from places such as Clapham ,Battersea
Generally south of the river thames is more lively
The london underground is easy to get round and there are always people around the main inner city stations to help you with directions ..
I hope this helps a bit
If you can pop for something like a Marriott - we loved the Grosvenor property, very old world, and they laid on a lovely tea. We've also stayed at the County Hall property, we could look out of our window at the Eye - not sure of prices, we always go on points.