Spending a couple days in London hotel train, etc

[DMRick]

Hi, I've been over on cruise critic, but thought I would try to get some answers from those who actually live in London. We will be staying there pre cruise for two - three nights in April. I wanted to be close to Victoria Station, so we could grab a train to Harwich (which makes me nervous, but the cruise transfers are such that we would have to go back to the airport to get them, and it sounds like the train ride isn't bad). Right now I have two possible hotels..Luna Simone ($200 a night full breakfast) or Cherry Court Hotel ($100 a night, fruit basket). We also talked about staying eleswhere, within an inexpensive cab ride but easy to get to the underground.

Any other suggested places? Or thoughts on these places? Our dollar has taken such a beating, that I'd like to keep the room costs down.

Also, if anyone wants to give me exact directions on going to Harwich on the train from Victoria station I'd appreciate it. It sounds like when we come back, the cruise train (or bus and then the train on our day, since the train will be down for repairs) goes to Victoria Station, and then we will take the express train to Gatwick..and then going onto Dublin for a bit before coming home.

Thanks so much for any and all suggestions.
Doris

 

[Dimplenose]

Sorry, don't know about hotels but I think the Harwich trains run from Liverpool Street station in London. So you will need to get the tube to there first (should take about 20 minutes on the Circle line). The journey from Liverpool Street to Harwich takes about 90 minutes.

Libby

 

[DMRick]

Oh no..I see you are right. So, when we come in at Gatwick we take an express to Victoria station. But when we leave to go to Harwich, we have to get to Liverpool.

So, would we be better off staying in the Liverpool area and taking a cab from Victoria Station..any ideas on how much that would be?

Everytime I think I have this down pat, it gets confusing again LOL.

Any suggestions for a hotel in Liverpool?

 

[Daysleeper40]

I stayed at 196 Bishopsgate Apartments booked through Hotels-London.co.uk in December and was very impressed. They are serviced apt's with no minumum stay.

Right opposite Liverpool St Tube station and very well equipped - full kitchen facilities / tv / DVD player / Hi-Fi etc. Means that you could buy food in and save money on eating out / paying extra for breakfast etc.

It was £100 per night for a one bed apt when I stayed there.

 

[FloridaSam]

Oh no..I see you are right. So, when we come in at Gatwick we take an express to Victoria station. But when we leave to go to Harwich, we have to get to Liverpool.

So, would we be better off staying in the Liverpool area and taking a cab from Victoria Station..any ideas on how much that would be?

Everytime I think I have this down pat, it gets confusing again LOL.

Any suggestions for a hotel in Liverpool?

Hi,

Your train to Harwich would leave from Liverpool Street Station which is in London, so you won't need to travel up to Liverpool.

Sorry I can't help with accommodtion as we tend to stay in Premier Travel Inns in London and then make use of the tube to travel around London to our destinations.

You may find this site helpful. http://www.visitlondon.com/

Sam

 

[Dimplenose]

Also remember that you will need Harwich International station to get to the cruise terminals. I did this as a foot passanger over 20 years ago now but found it very easy to get to my ferry.

I found this page that you might find interesting

Harwich Travel

Good luck with the planning.

Libby

 

[DMRick]

Hi,

Your train to Harwich would leave from Liverpool Street Station which is in London, so you won't need to travel up to Liverpool.

Thank you. How far is Liverpool Street Station, if we decided to stay by Victoria Station?

 

[Dimplenose]

It's about 4 miles. As I said before it should take about 20 minutes on the tube. If you go via the Circle Line (shown in yellow on the underground maps) you won't have to change tube trains between Victoria and Liverpool Street.

Libby

 

[DMRick]

It's about 4 miles. As I said before it should take about 20 minutes on the tube. If you go via the Circle Line (shown in yellow on the underground maps) you won't have to change tube trains between Victoria and Liverpool Street.

Libby

Thank you. Would you suggest we stay in the Victoria area or Liverpool street area coming from Gatwick?

 

[Dimplenose]

I don't think it really matters although I suspect there is more night life, theatres etc. near Victoria. Victoria is nearer to Buckingham Palace, Westmister Abbey and the Houses of Parliament. Liverpool Street is nearer St Paul's Cathedral, Tower Bridge and the Tower of London. Both are really easy to get to via the tube.

Decide what you want to see and then look at a map to work out which location will work better for you.

Libby

 

[DMRick]

Thanks. We were in Luna Simone, but were able to add another night to London, and they didn't have another night, so we switched to Cherry Court..which is half the price, and still getting good reviews. I made our plane reservation with MBI from London to Dublin.
I think all I need now is good directions from Harwich to Heathrow, and I'll be good to go! I'm thinking I will prob have to take the cruise train (well, bus that day, because the train will be being worked on) to Victoria Station and switch from there to Heathrow..I think by bus.

 

[peanutgirl]

DMRick, How did you like Cherry Court?

 

[DMRick]

Just saw this..sorry it took so long to respond.

Cherry Court was in an awesome location. It was very near Victoria Station..an easy walk. The owners were very nice. I always forget washclothes aren't including in London/Ireland..Europe in general, but she had no problem loaning us some. The daily fruit basket was very nice. Free wifi in the downstairs hall was nice. There is no seat (to discourage you fagainst being on long, I think). The room was clean..not overly so, but clean. It was in a nice area.

If you are claustrophobic, this is not the place for you. The room is very very tiny. Very hard to find a place, other than the bed, to open the suitcase on..you could not keep it open, no room. The bathroom is strange. It's right there in your face, so to speak (because the room is so small), and the only door (which I knew before I left because of reviews) was a sliding door with glass pains. Privacy is non existent.

Would we stay there again? Probably. It was half price from anything else we could find, and our needs are pretty small. I think 2-3 nights would be our limit though.

 

[peanutgirl]

Thanks for the review.