Yank needs help planning London trip PLEASE!!

[chrismiss56]

Good Morning to All

DD20 will be studying in Spain this summer and the rest of the family (myself, DH and DD17) will be visiting her. For her 21st birthday we want to take her to London for 3 nights at the beginning of August.

My questions are the following and hoping you are able to help -

Easyjet is offering a fare of $100 per person from Madrid to London. Has anyone ever used them before?

Looking for a hotel (economical which will accommodate all 4 of us in one room. We found a Holiday Inn that is on a residential street about 10 - 15 minutes from Kings Cross Tube station. Is this location acceptable for a family of 4 Yanks? Still looking for alternatives but most places are wayyyyyyy too pricey. US dollar is taking a beating against the British Pound

Planning on getting tickets for a musical on a Friday night. What are my chances of getting discounted tickets? There are certain plays we are interested in. Should I just be safe and purchase them ahead of time?

Last - we have 2 full days to explore. Suggestions? Do need time to shop!! Remember I have female children

Thanks for reading this and any information you can offer!!

Can't wait to visit!!

Have a magical Disney Day!!

 

[carolfoy]

Hi, will try and answer everything as best I can,
first Easyjet are fine, they are a 'budget' airline and definately no frills but you'll only be in the air a couple of hours so thats good, get on and book the airfare soon tho' cos they have a habit of hiking their prices RIGHT up nearer the time.
London hotels aren't great for a 4 berth room but try the premier travelinn chain they'll be a reasonable standard or try the london tourist board for Bed and breakfast accommodation in private houses. superbreak.co.uk are another one for hotels and they'll do most budgets although you unfortunately aren't in a great position for bargains with the dollar being so weak
Kings cross area is 'ok' not great but is easy to access the rest of london, their are cut price ticket booths in leicester square and covent garden but you may not get the pick of the seats and may end up paying just as much for worse seats than if you book way up front.
as for what to do - welcome London is great for everyone, tower bridge, buck house, harrods, carnaby street, camden market, natural histor museum, london eye, v&a museum, so much,
Once you've booked your accom and flights come back to us and I'm sure there are plenty of londoners here to help

 

[chrismiss56]

Thanks - will book easyjet this evening...........

Have a magical Disney Day!!

 

[BONZO]

Hi,

Your local London Cheeky Chappie here!

Easyjet - Used them many times, does what it says on the tin - cheap and no frills and would recommend.

King's Cross is not the greatest area in London (I worked there for a number of years) although this is based near Bloomsbury / Farringdon so it's better.

Other cheap hotel chains include http://www.travelodge.co.uk/ and http://www.premiertravelinn.com/pti/home.do and http://www.novotel.com/novotel/index.html and http://www.jarvis.co.uk/

Most budget rooms for 4 will consist of 1 x double bed, 1 x single and 1 x roll-away

Visiting London - try this link http://www.visitlondon.com/

Cut price ticket info - try this link http://www.officiallondontheatre.co.uk/tkts

Note: - Many popular shows will be sold out unless you are very lucky.

 

[Joanne UK]

Hello,

www.lastminute.com is a good place to get cheap tickets for theatre tickets as well as many other tickets. Some shows you can only get tickets for the next few days but others you can book cheaply up until October. Worth keeping an eye on this site incase any tickets become available for the period that you are here.

Joanne

 

[chrismiss56]

You are GREAT!! Thanks!!

Have a Magical Disney Day!!

 

[London Calling]

Hiu Chris

Ive been living in the Old Smoke (London) for soimetime now and its a great place to live and visit but it is pricey.

as everyone else has said easyjet is fine .

Kings X however, is seedy, and immediately infront of the sdtation is full of prostitutes and drug dealers although they have tried to clean the area recently. try www.travellodge.co.uk and www.travelinn.co.uk and spread throughout London and in much nicer places.

Ive always managed to get discounted tickets for theater and good seats at that, and if u get off the underground at Picadilly station and walk towards Leicester Square there are a number of places selling tickets at discounted prices, I recommend Mama Mia ( abba based musical) as its really good fun.

Finally , things to do in London. Well we have the best Football team in Europe based in London, and although I cant quite remember if ur coming during the football season, its always worth paying ones respect. Closest station is Arsenal.

Also, London hosts a number of great markets ion both saturdayu and sunday including camden ( hip n trendy), Portobello ( antiques etc etc ) and one round Brick Lane, name escapes me, worth a visit too,

Enjoy

 

[chrismiss56]

Hi

I have figured out that Kings Cross would not be the best neighborhood for my family. THANKS!! So what neighborhoods or areas should I look in which would be safer? Can I stay alittle further out where it might be more economical and take the tube in? I am sooooooooooo confused and will appreciate any help.

Have a magical Disney Day!!

 

[London Calling]

Hi Chris, good decision,

I would go for one in the surburbs that has an underground close to it. Have u had a look at the websites that I mentioned. I know of one in Redbridge which is 30 mins from Oxford Street on the Central line.

The area is good, and ur still cvlose enuff to town

 

[chrismiss56]

Morning!!

Thanks for the help but I am still really confused. Went to both websites and do not find a hotel at Redbridge. The problem I am having is that they list the hotels by area and I don't know the areas That is how I ended up with a reservation in Kings Cross.

I tried the one in London County and the room would be over $300 a night US dollars YIKES!!

Again any suggestions on areas is most appreciated......I'm Lost!!

Have a magical Disney Day!!

 

[London Calling]

Hi sorry I should have said Ilford, just had a look at it and rfamily rooms are a£60 per night.

Its actually in Redbridge opoosite Redbridge tube station, I know the area well, as I live just down the road.

hope that helps

 

[chrismiss56]

Hi

Ilford is a suburb of London? Which direction is it in? I can't find it or the Redbridge tube station on my map of London. What line is the Redbridge tube station on?

Thank you for being so patient with me.

Have a Magical Disney Day!!

 

[carolfoy]

Il ford is in Essex (look north east from london liverpool street) and Redbridge is down near southampton, a bit far out for day to day london sightseeing

 

[carolfoy]

Sorry meant to say that redbridge tube is also north east of london liverpool street (was getting my redcbridges muddled )

 

[RICH]

Just to clear this up , look for the travel inn in Ilford Essex(east London as good as) , the one on Redbridge lane.Redbridge tube station is on the central line(the red one).
Redbridge is the name for the borough that Ilford is in.
They have family rooms sleeping 4 but i think the kids have to be under 12,either way the room would be tight with 4 adults.
It's well located you fall out of the front door and the tube stop is there.
I think you'll be fine there but you might need 2 rooms.

 

[littlegreydonkey]

I don't know if it has family rooms, but when I stay in London, I stay at Jury's Clifton Ford on Welbeck St, W1, which is RIGHT in the centre of town - 5 minutes walk from Oxford St, 10 minutes to Madame Tussauds, Regents Park etc in a very safe area and actually an okay hotel (complete with indoor swimming pool - a marvel in central london). They do rooms for about 105 GBP a night (including full english breakfast) and there is a supermarket round the corner for sandwiches, beer, etc. I don' thave the website handy, but a quick search will do it - I find August is cheap season for London (especially central hotels, as not as many business folks)

You can also check lastminute.com for hotel deals about 2 months out, (their 'secret' deals are incredibly good in W1 - and it's pretty easy to work out what hotels they are for as they use the decsriptions from the hotel websites, type in a few select phrases and you can easily work it out).

Personally, I think if you're only there three days, travelling in from Ilford might be a bit much (sorry, I used to live in London and even travelling into the centre from zone 2 every day was too much for me) and by the time you've added in travel etc, your cheap deal might not be so great (remembering travelcards only work after 9.30 on weekdays). Just MHO though.

If you have teenage girls, the big shops to visit that you don't have in the US would be Top Shop in Oxford Circus, The big New Look in Oxford Street and Selfridges ground floor. If they are into make-up Pout in Covent Garden and Pixi in Carnaby St are the main 'meccas' and don't miss a little brand called Eyeko in Selfridges (owned by my friend so have to give them a plug!).

 

[chrismiss56]

Morning to All!!

Have a couple of additional questions for the experts. Still trying to find something closer to London.

Found a Marriott which will take all four of us in one room. It is located in an area called London Marriott Hotel Maida Vale. Now I have read that it is really closer to Kilbourn. What type of area is that? Safe for a family of four?

Researched the Jury Clifton Ford and it looks wonderful but pricey in US dollars.

I am getting some wonderful suggestions and I thank you!!

The problem is that the US dollar is taking a beating against British currency and I cannot afford to pay $400 per night when I have budgeted more like $200 for the 4 of us.

So the suggestions you make are GREAT but when I convert them to US dollars and in most cases need to have 2 rooms the cost is EXPENSIVE

Not giving up yet!!

Thanks again.

Have a Magical Disney Day!!

 

[carolfoy]

A couple more suggestions for you, The generator is a london 'youth' hostel which has a fairly good reputation, there aren't private facilities however but you do share a bathroom with a maximum of 10 guests, also there is london house, address 78-82 kensington square gardens which also has shared facilities but is in an excellent area for sight seeing, this is a terrace of victorian townhouses that have been knocked through, if you like pm me with details of dates etc and i'll get you rates, or the dudley on clapham common south side is again very budget conscious,
I stress these are hostel type properties but you'll probably find you won't spend too much time in them

 

[BONZO]

Hi again!

We'll get there in the end for you!

With London (as with most major cities) - the closer to the heart, the more expensive, so you have to strike a balance between proximity / price unless you have unlimited budget.

I have worked near to the Generator http://www.generatorhostels.com/london/mainlondonhostel.cfm and it's a hostel / backpacker accomodation - close to King's Cross and "cheap as chips" - not sure if I could recommend it for a family though but it'll save you $$$$$.

I've been to the London Marriott Hotel Maida Vale hotel and it's very nice - I'd say typical Marriott 4* hotel - good links to London but breakfasts are pricey so you may want to eat out.

Off to look for other hotels in your budget....

 

[minkydog]

Have you considered staying at a bed & breakfast? I wish I could think of the name of the one we stayed at three blocks from Victoria Station. It was clean, very affordable, and included a hearty breakfast. I believe it was about $50 pounds(4 yrs ago). There were pubs nearby, the bus statino around the corner, little shops to buy sandwiches. Buckingham Palace was maybe 5 blocks walk--not too bad. The first day we caught a ride on one of the Big Red Buses, which tours around the city. You can hop on/hop off as you like.

If you have kids, you must see the Tower of London--that's where the Crown Jewels are. We also enjoyed St.Pauls, Harrod's, walking along the Thames, and a visit to the British Museum. I don't know how many rooms full of mummies they have, but it seemed endless. You can get to all these places via the Tube, btw. The Tube was an adventure in itself.