Help - One night in London before going to Ashridge - where to stay?

[KristaTX]

I posted this on the "regular" Community Board, but also want to post it here since I figure UKers can offer me the most help. Thanks in advance!

We will be in London for one night in December before going out of the city for a few days to Ashridge Business School by way of Berkhampsted.

We've never been to London, and from the books and websites I'm looking at I'm not getting a "feel" for it like I have been for Paris, where we will be going to after Ashridge. It was easy for me to figure out the neighborhoods and where we want to stay in Paris, but it's also going to be for several nights vs. one night in London.

We fly into Heathrow on a Saturday and just need that one night in London. We need to be able to get from Heathrow to our hotel, do some sightseeing (advice on what-not-to-miss?), and then leave from the Euston Station on Sunday afternoon to get to Berkhampsted/Ashridge.

Is anyone here familiar enough with London and the trains to be able to help me figure out what part of the city we should spend that one night in that would let us see some stuff and also not be too far away from the trains? I'd like to not spend Sunday pulling our suitcases through the city looking for the right train station. We'd like to be able to leave our bags at the hotel for the early part of Sunday, go back to retrieve them, and be handy to the train station(s) we need.

 

[MazdaUK]

The Westminster/London Bridge area is most central for getting in and out of town, seeing things you'd want to see (let me guess, Big Ben, Tower of London, Buckingham Palace/changing of the guard, London Eye) and getting back on the tube to Euston when you have to move on. You can get the tube from Heathrow into central London. There's a Park PLaza hotel just openened near County HAll Mariott which apparently does good deals (ArizonaRita from the craft boards went there this year). Either a Big Bus tour or something similar (the amphibious "Duck Tours" are excellent) will be the best way to maximise your "must see tick list". Also google "2for1 London" to see special offers

 

[Dimplenose]

Euston Station isn't in the best position for sightseeing so the hotels that the previous poster has suggested would be better.

Euston is on the Northern Line on the tube (underground) as is Waterloo which is near the County Hall hotels.

I'm sure you'll be jet lagged on your first morning so a bus tour might be the best way to see a lot in a little time. Not sure how much you will realistically acheive in just one (partial) day.

 

[janiebubble]

I can highly recommend the city inn in westminster. It's a direct tube ride ... no changes on the victoria line to pimlico. it is very very highly rated on trip advisor and is considerably cheaper than many hotels in London. It's next to the Tate art gallery, walking distance to the Houses of Parliament, Big Ben, Westminster Abbey and the London Eye. They keep your bags for you and have free wifi and imac computers in all rooms.

We've stayed there twice now and have booked for the end of decemeber at £99 a night.

www.cityinn.com

 

[A Small World]

If you want a hotel near Euston Station I can recommend the Novotel. Its between Kings Cross and Euston and they do allow you to leave your bags there (not all hotels in London do)

You could get the underground from Heathrow to Kings Cross (It takes about an hour but is direct and you are first on so should get a seat - I did this last month). Then walk about 5 mins to Novotel. You would then need to use the underground again to get to where the main attractions are but can collect your bags just before getting the train from Euston.

You can also get the Heathrow Express into Central London which is much quicker but more expensive and only goes to Paddington Station so you would then need to change onto the underground

The idea of doing a bus tour sounds good as you will get to see a lot more.

 

[Laurafoster]

I live about 10 minutes outside of Ashridge - its a gorgeous place I hope you'll get some time to walk around and enjoy the estate? There are lots of deer around and other animals at that time of year.

Check out the Ashridge estates website too - they quite often have Christmas Events on

 

[MazdaUK]

The restaurant at the City Inn Westminster is quite reasonable (especially for lunch) - or its a 5 minute walk to Pizza Express from there

What time does your flight get in? If its a morning landing I'd recommend doing most of your sightseeing on the Saturday as you will be soooo tired on Sunday morning!

 

[KristaTX]

The Westminster/London Bridge area is most central for getting in and out of town, seeing things you'd want to see (let me guess, Big Ben, Tower of London, Buckingham Palace/changing of the guard, London Eye) and getting back on the tube to Euston when you have to move on. You can get the tube from Heathrow into central London. There's a Park PLaza hotel just openened near County HAll Mariott which apparently does good deals (ArizonaRita from the craft boards went there this year). Either a Big Bus tour or something similar (the amphibious "Duck Tours" are excellent) will be the best way to maximise your "must see tick list". Also google "2for1 London" to see special offers

Thanks! I wasn't sure where the best place was for sight-seeing. We are thinking of doing a bus tour, and I'm going to check out that Park Plaza hotel you mentioned.

Euston Station isn't in the best position for sightseeing so the hotels that the previous poster has suggested would be better.

Euston is on the Northern Line on the tube (underground) as is Waterloo which is near the County Hall hotels.

I'm sure you'll be jet lagged on your first morning so a bus tour might be the best way to see a lot in a little time. Not sure how much you will realistically acheive in just one (partial) day.

Thanks for the information on the train station. I am concerned about the jet-lag, too, so I am also thinking a bus tour might be the easiest for us. I wish we were going to have more time in the city, but my husband's classes will take up 3 of our days in England, and then we are moving on to Paris and Disneyland Paris.

I can highly recommend the city inn in westminster. It's a direct tube ride ... no changes on the victoria line to pimlico. it is very very highly rated on trip advisor and is considerably cheaper than many hotels in London. It's next to the Tate art gallery, walking distance to the Houses of Parliament, Big Ben, Westminster Abbey and the London Eye. They keep your bags for you and have free wifi and imac computers in all rooms.

We've stayed there twice now and have booked for the end of decemeber at £99 a night.

www.cityinn.com

Thanks for the hotel information. I have looked it up. Where did you find the 99 pounds rate?

If you want a hotel near Euston Station I can recommend the Novotel. Its between Kings Cross and Euston and they do allow you to leave your bags there (not all hotels in London do)

You could get the underground from Heathrow to Kings Cross (It takes about an hour but is direct and you are first on so should get a seat - I did this last month). Then walk about 5 mins to Novotel. You would then need to use the underground again to get to where the main attractions are but can collect your bags just before getting the train from Euston.

You can also get the Heathrow Express into Central London which is much quicker but more expensive and only goes to Paddington Station so you would then need to change onto the underground

The idea of doing a bus tour sounds good as you will get to see a lot more.

Thanks! I'm also going to check out the Novotel.

I live about 10 minutes outside of Ashridge - its a gorgeous place I hope you'll get some time to walk around and enjoy the estate? There are lots of deer around and other animals at that time of year.

Check out the Ashridge estates website too - they quite often have Christmas Events on

I will have PLENTY of time to explore! We will be there 3 nights. My husband is going to be there for two days of class, so I'll be free most of that time. I know we don't know each other, but if you are free and want to meet up, let me know . We can PM each other about that if you are interested.

The restaurant at the City Inn Westminster is quite reasonable (especially for lunch) - or its a 5 minute walk to Pizza Express from there

What time does your flight get in? If its a morning landing I'd recommend doing most of your sightseeing on the Saturday as you will be soooo tired on Sunday morning!

My flight arrives early in the morning Saturday, so we are planning to check into our hotel as soon as we can, drop our bags off (my thanks to those of you who have said that not all hotels will allow for that - we definitely need to be able to do that), and head out to explore. Hopefully I will have gotten at least some sleep on the flight over.

 

[wicket2005]

Another vote for the novotel st pancras, lovely hotel, stayed there 3 times so far. The thing about london is that it is easy to jump about on the tube, just buy an oyster card, load it up then jump around all the sites

 

[sewlyn]

Hi

Where will you be staying whilst your husband is in class?

All the suggestions so far ar great, Ashridge is a 40 min train ride from Euston. then the college itself is 10 minutes by road.

Sewlyn

 

[KristaTX]

I'll just be hanging out at Ashridge unless I find someone (i.e. another person's spouse or someone local) to go do something with. I'm hoping the estate and the beautiful grounds are part of the college. It was hard to tell from what I read online, but I think they are one and the same?

The Novotel is full on the one night we needed it . I got so frustrated trying to figure out where to stay/what to do for a single day in London that my husband has kindly taken over figuring it out with the help we have gotten on this thread. Because he has a late meeting the night before my arrival, he has to get from Brussels to London on that day (Sat. the 11th) to meet me. We thought he'd just come to the airport, but my flight gets in quite early in the morning. I may wait around the airport for him, or I may just catch the public transportation from the airport to meet him at whatever hotel we stay at that night.

 

[MazdaUK]

Is your husband flying from Brussels or using the Eurostar? (Eurostar is less hassle - i used to go to Brussels at least once a fortnight for work, and its much shorter check-ins etc. and it doesn't dump you miles from the centre) I always find that landing early morning, the best thing to do is keep going as long as possible before sleeping - and have a couple of alarm clocks AND an alarm call if you can arrange it

Hope you find a suitable hotel!

 

[KristaTX]

He is going to take the Eurostar.

 

[janiebubble]

Thanks for the hotel information. I have looked it up. Where did you find the 99 pounds rate?

we booked directly on their website ... obviously it depends on your dates and how popular they are - ours was the 'visiting friends and family rate'

 

[A Small World]

He is going to take the Eurostar.

If he is getting the Eurostar then he will arrive at St Pancras which is very central (next to Kings Cross Station and just up the road from Euston) so theres no point you waiting at the airport as it will take him a while to come and meet you there - if you arrive first its better that you make your way into central london to meet him. Most of the main line stations have luggage storage if needed - I think it cost me about £8 to leave my case for the day at Euston

 

[MazdaUK]

If you're going to stay round Westminster then I'd say go straight to the hotel, check in and stretch your legs - he'll get to you there much quicker than getting to Heathrow and back.