Hi.planning a trip to London in early January. Looking for advice on hotels

[joeybee12]

I'd like to stay near Covent Garden. But i think that'd be expensive. What are the neighborhoods near there I should check out. Thanks! Cheers!

[geardaddy]

1. We like to stay up by St. Pancras/King's Cross Station.

You can find fairly decent hotel rates there.

[joeybee12]

4. Thanks

I have dug up my tube map and get re-oriented with the areas. I'll check it out

[T_i_B]

2. Avoid any "Easyhotel"

That is the only advice I can give.

I'm increasingly coming to the conclusion with hotels that the way forward is to avoid the many comparison websites and to get recommendations from locals.

Sadly I'm not local to that there London town though! I usually commute to there from my old stomping ground in Essex.

[joeybee12]

6. Is easy hotel a chain?

If it's cap that would be fine because so am I!

[T_i_B]

11. Yes.

It's a particularly manky hotel chain.

That said, I've stayed in a hotel in Bristol this week and I wouldn't say it was like Fawlty Towers, but I did very seriously consider ordering the Waldorf salad for breakfast!

[genxlib]

9. Do you find that works?

I have lived in a fairly touristy area and people ask me for Hotel recommendations quite often.

I find that I have no idea what to tell them since I never need a hotel near where I live. I am actually more qualified to recommend a hotel somewhere else that I have traveled to.

[T_i_B]

13. It has worked for me before yes!

In the town where I used to live friends recommended a really good B&B that suits my needs better than any hotel on the price comparison websites!

[Glorfindel]

3. The Westbury in Mayfair is wonderful. Check it out.

http://www.westburymayfair.com/

[joeybee12]

5. Thanks

[CurtEastPoint]

7. I am going in Nov. and am staying here:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g186338-d199151-Reviews-London_Lodge_Hotel-London_England.html

I'll try to remember to add my 2 cents when I return but the reviews are mostly very good and the location is good, too.

[joeybee12]

12. I stayed in th a t area last November

Lots of smaller hotels in Kensington. Mine wasn't bad, the room was tiny. I would just like to try a different area, although Kensington and West Kensington are reasonable

[genxlib]

8. I'm Jealous

I love London and go whenever I can. I have been enamored with it since doing a study abroad there 30 years ago.

We have very limited options in Hotels since we are a family of three. The nature of London real estate is that there are tons of places that sleep 2 but the options narrow somewhat when you need more.

Having said that, we stayed at the Thistle Kensington Gardens in Bayswater and really liked it. It overlooks Kensington Gardens and is just a couple of blocks from the Underground station. It is a new styled hotel so it lacks a little of the London charm but it does have the benefit of being modern. As for location, I had ulterior motives because Bayswater is my old stomping grounds so I like to revisit. It is convenient to downtown but not as Centrally located as you were looking.

I agree it is nicer to be more Centrally located but the Underground is so easy to use that I never felt too far away from anything. The main benefit to being centrally located is to take a break between outings. It is nice to be able to stop between sightseeing and a show for instance.

Thisle (Hotel Chain) has a number of locations around London. I can't speak for the other locations but I was impressed with the value for a fairly nice place.

Enjoy

[joeybee12]

15. Thanks

This will be my third trip to London. The only time I saw Kensington Gardens was in 1992, and also saw Kensington Palace, hoping to see Princess Di!

[PoliticAverse]

10. I have no idea where you should stay in London, but I will warn you to stay away...

from the barbershop at 186 Fleet Street.

[joeybee12]

14. But I'll need a haircut and shave while I'm in London

[SwissTony]

16. My wife and I like staying in IBIS hotels.

Cheap and nothing fancy, but clean and good. We haven't stayed in an IBIS hotel in London but have done so (multiple times) in Glasgow and Liverpool. There's an IBIS hotel about one mile from Covent Garden. They are now our first choice when visiting the UK.

I have no connection with IBIS other than being a customer.

We have stayed in a number of hotels in London. Some were great, some were, to say the least, extremely dubious.