Where to stay in London?

[howardlander]

Hi all

My wife, 19 year old daughter and myself will be in London for 5 nights this summer. Any suggestions on where to stay? Our normal practice is to try rent an apartment through TripAdvisor or VRBO, but I'm not sure what area makes sense. We will probably want to go to the Globe Theatre and the Harry Potter Studio tour, if that helps. If anyone has advice on day trips or other aspects of London tourism (places to see or eat) I'd be glad to hear them.

Thanks
Howard

[fisheyes]

Always love passing on fun information.

We stayed in SoHo at the Dean Street Townhouse: http://www.deanstreettownhouse.com/hotel
We loved the location in SoHo. It was near a ton of attractions and the Tube. It's very easy to get around London by walking or taking the Tube.

Regarding the Harry Potter studio, GET TICKETS NOW! You have to have tix BEFORE you show up. Dates and times fill up quickly and you need at least 1 month advanced notice to get tix.

Regarding restaurants, we LOVED the Chiltern Firehouse in Marylebone. Probably the best place we ate at in London. For lunch, go to any Ottolenghi shop (there are a few in London) and take out food to a local park. If you haven't had his food, it's a must. He also has a theater district spot for dinner that was fabulous called Nopi. Absolutely fantastic and easy if you are going to a show. For Indian, we loved Amaya.

We didn't expect to love the Winston Churchill War Room museum as much as we did. Well worth it. It is near Westminster Abbey.

Of course there is the Tower of London tour and so many great museums. We loved the Tate Modern which now has a brand new addition. It's right next door to the Globe.

Have fun!!!

[OldPhiKap]

Was there last summer with my family (Mrs. OPK, 16-yo DaughterPK, 12-yo SonPK).

We stayed at the Nadler in Soho, really nice at a great price: https://www.booking.com/searchresults.html?aid=311088;label=the-nadler-soho-L03YPFfh89JvH8WhHFrJagS162169963174%3Apl%3Ata%3Ap1 %3Ap2%3Aac%3Aap1t2%3Aneg%3Afi%3Atikwd-69800191049%3Alp9060456%3Ali%3Adec%3Adm;sid=a28ee4 183c4b557b8159ee70aa2ed31f;checkin=2017-02-23;checkout=2017-02-24;city=-2601889;dcsc=2&

Soho rocks -- Chinatown, theatres, funky village vibe -- but it is also a somewhat, er, sexually liberal place and so if that is a problem take it into consideration. My kids were younger than yours and it was fine, just had to walk by a few store fronts rather quickly. It seemed to have a lot of character that much of London -- as cool a city as it is -- maybe lacked.

Also stayed in the Nadler Victoria for a night after coming back from Ireland. Close to Buckingham Palace, but the neighborhood was meh.

Agree 100% on the Winston Churchill Bunker tour under Whitehall -- thought it would be a little dinky thing, spent hours there and could have spent more.

Loved touring Parliament and Westminster Abbey -- we did self-guided tours with the audio things and it was great.

Even though you can't tour Abbey Road Studios, you can go to the store underneath and walk across the famous crosswalk. Worth the walk and tube ride for me, but I'm a big Beatles fan and the greatest album ever recorded (Dark Side of the Moon) was recorded there. So . . . .

Tube goes everywhere. Download an app before you go with a map of the Tube, and you're golden.

SonPK liked the British War Museum, as did I. Great museums all over town.

DaugherPK and I had a high tea at Herrod's, and also a tea at Fornum & Mason. A good relaxing thing to do with the family, and my daughter really enjoyed it (hard to impress a teenage daughter as you might be aware).

When I travel, my favorite memories are always the small local things. Fish and chips in a pub with a fresh-drawn pint; watching a futbol match on TV with a few hundred screaming fans in a pub; walking around Grosvernor Square early in the morning.

Enjoy the trip, London is a really neat place!

Not sure of side trips. I hear the countryside is beautiful. Our side trip was to Ireland for a few days (not that expensive to book if you have the time to do it) which was fantastic as well. I've heard that Stonehenge is hard to get to, takes a whole day to and from, and you can't get as close as you might like. Had hoped to get there, but was kinda talked out of it. If you go, let me know how it was. Bath is supposed to be a beautiful town outside of London.


Send pictures!

-- OPK

[Clocktower]

Should be a great trip!

We rented a small townhouse for a group of five from One Fine Stay, a UK based version of VRBO that seemed a little more personalized. Stay relatively close in but rely on the tube to get you around. I highly recommend London Walks, walking tours which are very easy to join and staffed by remarkable guides. Very comprehensive website that describes the many offerings. Also, we relied heavily on a very good London guidebook by Rick Steves.

I agree on Bath as a side trip. Also Windsor Castle is good and either Oxford or Cambridge make a nice day trip.

Please look to your right before you step off the curb . . ..

[OldPhiKap]

Please look to your right before you step off the curb . . ..

And mind the gap on the Tubes.

[devildeac]

It's been 13 years since we've been and greatly enjoyed our curry on Brick Lane and seeing several shows (Lion King, We Will Rock You, Stomp and Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat), along with many of the above mentioned activities. We skipped the London Eye and opted for a boat ride on the Thames. We walked or took The Tube just about everywhere.

[duke74]

Hi all

My wife, 19 year old daughter and myself will be in London for 5 nights this summer. Any suggestions on where to stay? Our normal practice is to try rent an apartment through TripAdvisor or VRBO, but I'm not sure what area makes sense. We will probably want to go to the Globe Theatre and the Harry Potter Studio tour, if that helps. If anyone has advice on day trips or other aspects of London tourism (places to see or eat) I'd be glad to hear them.

Thanks
Howard

I used to be in London twice a month for my firm for a period of about 10 years. Granted, business travel is different, but I brought my wife and youngish son over at least two or three times a year. So here goes (I know we have some Brits on this board so chime in)

Stayed at the InterContinental Hyde Park Corner. Thought it made sense for the shopping (walk to Knightsbridge for example) and general location. Wife also not one for smallish hotels, even cool ones.

My favorite restaurant: Sale e Pepe on Pavilion. Right by Harvey Nick's in Knightsbridge. Loud, raucous...not elegant but great Italian food. Tony is Maître d', Pietro my waiter. (I have others, but many could be closed...been a few years)

Used to do a day trip to Paris via EuroStar - expensive but an experience. First train out of Waterloo at 7:00 AM - at Gare de Nord at 11:00 AM (losing the hour). Last train back at 8 PM I believe. Back at Waterloo at 10PM (regained the hour).

War rooms sensational...testament to survival and courage.

Day trips? Can do Stonehenge/Cotswolds; Stratford upon Avon; Henley; Windsor; and...depending when you go, Wimbledon for the Championships (July 3-16 - queue up - my wife and son did whilst I was working...I then joined them)

More perhaps as I think a bit....

Enjoy...I'd be living there if I could.

[Bostondevil]

I've stayed near Euston Station. Next time I go, I want to stay in Russell Square. Just north of Euston Station is a hot bed for Indian restaurants.

The British Library is very near Euston Station. Its permanent Exhibition Room is free (although sometimes they have special exhibits which have tickets) - you can see the whole thing in under an hour and there is no way I'd ever go to London without stopping in at the British Library. Their stamp collection is probably the best in the world - they have a One Penny and a Two Penny Post Office.

The original Twinings Tea Shop on the The Strand has a (very) small museum at the back and a tasting bar.

My favorite room in the British Museum is where they have all the clocks and watches.

If you walk up to buy tickets at a theater on a Tuesday - you can get half price tickets but you might have to sit in the front row.

[fidel]

A little off what you asked but I'll add (from my light reading - I have a number of auto/biography examples as well)...

I read Sarum, which inspired me to see Salisbury Cathedral and Stonehenge. Both fantastic, but neither an easy bounce from London (but close to each other).

I read Longtitude, which made me want to visit Greenwich and the Naval Museum (great boat ride from London to Greenwich on the Thames, I might add).

I read London (same author as Sarum), which gave a lot of relevance to what/when/where in London. Westminster, the Gates (Bishopsgate, Newgate, etc), Blackfriars, the plague, the Fire, St Paul's, etc.

I read Philip Kerr's Dark Matter, on Sir Isaac Newton as Warden of the Mint - made me want to visit The Tower (was the mint for a while) and the royal mint museum specifically. Not a great book but an easy read on a fascinating topic.

I know I read something on the War Rooms from Churchill days, but can't remember what.

[FadedTackyShirt]

Has anyone ever seen any of the London Premier League teams play? Curious how difficult it is to get tickets. Have seen Liverpool play in Anfield and it was terrific.