Requesting advice for stay in London

[cathrowan]

Let's take it as a given that I should have sorted this out two months ago. That said, I'd be grateful for suggestions about finding accommodation in London (England). We plan to be there for a week at the end of August. We don't need anything fancy, and it does not have to be in central London so long as it's near some sort of transit. Any particular neighbourhoods I should look for, or avoid? Any other suggestions for a first-time visitor? oursin, cosmolinguist, got any advice for a clueless Canadian?

Comments

[cmcmck]

There's some reasonably decent places close to Victoria mainline station and underground which are not to pricey although August is a busy month tourist wise. Pimlico and that sort of area. Also decent eateries around there which aren't alarmingly pricey.

Worth paying for an oyster card for public transit.

[cosmolinguist]

Everything is near transit in London, so you don't need to worry too much about location if you're not wanting to stay near anything particular. The budget hotel chains here are Premier Inn and Travelodge, I'd look for something like that.

[melita66]

sorry! You don't know me; I saw this via James Nicoll's Reading list. American, traveled to London several times for personal and business trips.

I stay in one of the small hotels on Gower Street. They're across from UCL and several blocks from the British Museum. Euston is the closest train station but King's Cross is also close. You're a few blocks from Tottenham Court Rd, and within a few tube stops is Charing Cross, Oxford St/Circus, National Portrait Gallery, National Gallery, etc.

The hotels are inexpensive for London, usually, but no elevators, very small rooms, minimal furnishings. Usually rooms have a very small en suite bathroom with a shower. No AC. Free wi-fi. Ridgemount, where I've stayed a few times, has a full breakfast and they'll do your laundry for 10 pounds. Others incude Arosfa, Jesmond, Arran House

Occasionally some noise from students in the evenings.

Tube stations are Goodge Street (Northern), Euston Square (Circle), Russell Square (Picadilly), Warren Street (Northern, Victoria), Tottenham Court Rd (Elizabeth, Northern, Central). I've never used the buses, but there are stops on Euston rd, Tottenham Court Rd, etc.

I checked a couple of the hotels and they didn't have any available for a full week in the 2nd half of August unless you piece together different rooms.

[smokingboot]

I lived in London for about 38 years. I can't tell you much about hotels, but would recommend you work out the stuff that interests you most and find somewhere close to that then branch out, cos travelling around London can get a bit arcane. Buses are frequent but traffic is terrible, most stick to tubes and trains or even, if the weather is good, a boat down the Thames, though that's more for enjoyment than actually getting anywhere. Euston station and Kings Cross are useful hubs towards the northern part of the city, the latter used to have a rep as a pretty dodgy red light district after dark, but I think they have cleaned it up. Victoria's good for the southern part, and Charing X is good for the centre. In general, expect to pay more for accommodation as you go West.

[oursin]

Transport is so expeditious that you do not need to be terribly central (providing you avoid areas which are Tube black holes, as I have already mentioned). We used to recommend researchers coming to visit my former workplace (on Euston Road) the hotels in Cartwright Gardens, Bloomsbury, as cheap and convenient to mainline stations, public transport, many sights, as well BL and our place, but I'm not sure what they're like these days

[rmc28]

I agree with everything cosmolinguist wrote (I don't live in London but Cambridge is pretty close, under an hour by train, and I go there often enough).

https://tfl.gov.uk/fares/ has info about how to pay for transit and what fares are likely to be.

https://tfl.gov.uk/plan-a-journey/ is very useful for figuring out how to get from A to B. Google Maps isn't bad either.

Travelodge/Premier Inn have lots of hotels across the city. They usually have basic furnishings (bed, ensuite probably with bath and shower over, desk and chair), lifts above the ground floor, and optional breakfast. They don't tend to have laundry.

[rebeccmeister]

Just in case it winds up being helpful somehow, don't forget to look at youth hostel options. Usually budget accommodations, can often be booked on pretty short notice, typically close enough to transportation, full of advice on things to see and do, often with the ability to cook your own food to keep costs down if that's a factor and of interest.

They work for and appeal to certain tastes, of course. :^)

[watervole]

If you have time, and like naval stuff, the Maritime Museum at Grenwich is amazing (also the British Museum, of course)

We enjoyed the Maritime Museum so much that we want back for a second day!

But it's out of the city centre, and if your time is limited, you've got to allow for that.