Hubby and I are going to London in 2 weeks time. Staying close to Russell Square and will be child free.

We're off to see Dirty Dancing and wondered if there are any recommendations for restaurants and anything else to do? We'd like to do the ice bar.

We went to London last October and in July with the kids and have done the london eye, madame tussauds, the bus tour but thinking about doing the boat cruise on the Thames and we'll need to go to Hamley's and the Apple Store.

We arrive Friday pm and leave late on Sunday.

I often stay close to Russell Square, great neighbourhood! British Museum is a very short stroll so definitely a must do.
Ice Bar can get very busy so if your visit's on a weekend it's definitely worth booking beforehand http://www.belowzerolondon.com/
Dinner or drinks at Galvin At Windows is lovely. It's on the 28th floor of the Park lane Hilton and has fantastic views. Quite pricey but the lunch and pre theatre deals can be good http://www.galvinatwindows.com/
Sarastro Restaurant on Drury Lane is good for something 'very' different - the decor and atmosphere is fantastic, especially on Opera Night (Sunday/Monday) http://www.sarastro-restaurant.com/indexfr.html
The Lowlander on Drury Lane is also good if you like to try different beers http://www.lowlander.com/

HI

For anyone traveling to London I would strongly recommend one of those luxury hotels that
everyone gets so excited about. I was really skeptical at the beginning but trust me, London
can be really nasty in some parts therefore it is really important to pick a hotel in a center of
the city...as long as u have enough funds of course

Excellent and reasonably priced Chinese worth a try... Golden Dragon, Gerrard Street, Soho

Hey eevryone,

Me and my boyfriend are thinking of going to London at the end of March and staying over for a night (or 2 depending on price!!)

I would like your opinions on hotels there please... which one do you think is best to stay in? I have not been to London before so I'm not really very clued up on where is close to the centre and where isnt? I have been looking but it doesnt make much sense to me

Any help and hotel suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Than-you!

Hi it all depends on what your budget is really. I've stayed in a few London hotels over the years but the best one we stayed in last month, was the Hilton Metropole. There was an underground a stones throw away and it was so central to everything! The hotel was also fantastic.

As well as budget, it depends on what you would like to do. Most, if not all, of the major sights are easily reached from anywhere by tube, buit you don't want to spend ages travelling in & out of the city. generally, the hotels in the centre are expensive, getting less so as you move outwards, and then getting expensive again as you get out into the greener areas.
So, where do you want to go, and how much do you want to spend?

doonhamer32 wrote:

As well as budget, it depends on what you would like to do. Most, if not all, of the major sights are easily reached from anywhere by tube, buit you don't want to spend ages travelling in & out of the city. generally, the hotels in the centre are expensive, getting less so as you move outwards, and then getting expensive again as you get out into the greener areas.
So, where do you want to go, and how much do you want to spend? ;)

Thanks for your replys!

As for budget... we only want to stay for one night, i got a broucher with hotels in and they started at about £40 for a room for 1 night, so anything between that probably £100? Im not sure if that is me being really cheap but as I only want to stay for one night dont really want to pay an exstortionate price! If this really is too cheap I may consider something a bit more!

As for what we want to go for, defiantly want to go to Madame Tssauds and for a look around all the main shops, not sure what else yet, but as we will only be there for two days, doubt we will have time for much more anyway!

Thanks for your help!

You may want to consider the Premier Inn at County Hall, here http://www.premierinn.com/en/hotel/LONCOU/london-county-hall?CMP=KNC_Gb
It's well within your budget, centrally placed, so handy for everything

if anybody would like a really fantastic chinese meal in London, try Young chuen (sp) its in Lisle street,chinatown and the front of the restaurant is painted creamy white, there are ducks etc hanging up in window.
We always go whenever in London, there are loads of chinese people that eat there too. The lunchtime menu is brilliant and very good value, they also do dim sum, you have to try barbecued pork dumplings... yum yum.

Another place we recently found is in Fenwicks of Bond street they have a Carluccios cafe, of Anthony Carluccio (TV Chef) fame.
really nice food, good value for london and really friendly staff, theres a loo nearby too.

Hope somebody tries these and is pleased.

Hi- anyone know what the queues are like for Madame Tussauds on a Saturday morning? I'm guessing they are long, but wondered how quickly they move?
(Don't want to book in advance as I have a voucher)
kate

Hello everyone,

I am planning to travel to London next week, any good apps on iphone that can show you where to go and etc?

Thanks!

Has anyone stayed at the Bestwestern Premier Shaftesbury London Kensington? I've read some horrendous recent reviews on Tripadvisor. Many guests seem to end up in the sister hotel Kensington Townhouse & have had very unpleasant experiences.
I have e-mailed the hotel who replied assuring me I would have 'a very nice room' but haven't confirmed I'll be in the main hotel as per our booking.
Getting worried but trying to keep things in persepective )
ANy info most welcome
Thanks

Until we get someone with experience of the hotel lets consider the perspective side;

1. Tripadvisor now has such a reputation for allowing malicious reviews that some hotels are reported to be sueing them

2. even without malicious reporting, many of tripadvisors members don't speak English as a first language and then make inaccurate or misleading posts - a relative of mine recently wasted days trying to book on a recommended train only to to find it hasn't run for 3 years and the website he was directed to doesn't do reservations anyway!!

3. the way these hotel names grow out of control is just asking for the above people to get even more confused "Bestwestern Premier Shaftesbury" is all branding and not unique to any specific hotel. But it is the name of the original Shaftesbury which isn't in Kensington!

4. The Bestwestern website is now so hopelessly complex it just makes mistakes more likely to happen. The two Kensington hotels are shown as seperate entities (not main building and annnexe) but it would be easy to book the wrong one.

So, if you are certain that your booking confirmation from Bestwestern shows Premier I wouldn't worry too much (unless it comes via a third party agent...). But do let us know how you get on.

Thanks Steve for your detailed response.
I understand there are problems with Tripadvisor & how it can be open to abuse and do try to take a balanced view across many reviews. Unfortunately the ones since we booked have been dreadful & got me worried as don't want the accommodation to spoil our trip.
We definitely booked the Premier. It was through Lastminute.com's Top Secret option, so fingers crosssed for a successful & stress-free stay.
Thanks again.... will post after the event to let you know.

We've just realised that Wales will be playing Australia when we'e in London. Hubby says he wouldn't mind going to watch it in the London Welsh rugby club, which is in Kew Road, Richmond. We're staying in Central London and the closest underground station to us is Russell Square. Can anyone tell me the easiest way to get from one place to the other and a rough idea of distance and time please?

Sorry folks - hubby's just told me he made a mistake - the game's the following week

Can anyone recommed a reasonably priced central London hotel, that has family rooms please? We're looking at taking our grandchildren for a couple of nights next June, but the choice of accommodation on offer seems really poor and very expensive.

Have a look at Premier Inn and Travelodge chains, both have central London hotels and tend to be good value for family rooms (especially if Travelodge have a sale/saver rate available).
http://www.premierinn.com/en/
http://www.travelodge.co.uk/

Thanks for that, there's some reasonable prices there.