London on a Budget

Old Jan 20, 2014, 2:01 pm
  #46  
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Originally Posted by BrightlyBob
Like any major metropolis, London has no real "city centre" where everything is within walking distance.

Nightlife can I guess mean 4 major things,

1. Theatreland, lights, crowds, pubs stay open late

2. Entertainment area, Leicester Square with it's many pubs, clubs, eateries and constant crowds

3. Adult area, Soho

4. Nightclubbing, Dunno!

The tube runs late enough for most, so there's no need to stay within the expensive circle line, but if your idea of nightlife is clubbing till 2 to 4am, then you'll need to find out where the clubs are and stay local to them. Camden has been mentioned which is by no means central...
I would quibble with Soho as an "adult area", perhaps it was in the 60's and 70's but these days it is mainly populated with decent restaurants, nice bars and quirky shops.

All 4 areas you describe above tend to blend in to each other in the West End, Covent Garden, The Theatre District, Soho and Leicester Square all merge into each other.
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Old Jan 21, 2014, 3:21 pm
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Originally Posted by Land-of-Miles
I would quibble with Soho as an "adult area", perhaps it was in the 60's and 70's but these days it is mainly populated with decent restaurants, nice bars and quirky shops.

All 4 areas you describe above tend to blend in to each other in the West End, Covent Garden, The Theatre District, Soho and Leicester Square all merge into each other.
I'm with you during the daytime but OP is looking at nightlife, and Soho is definitely different at night, though I've been there many times and always felt safe it's nightlife aspect is definitely "adult" orientated...
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Old Jan 21, 2014, 5:22 pm
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Originally Posted by BrightlyBob
I'm with you during the daytime but OP is looking at nightlife, and Soho is definitely different at night, though I've been there many times and always felt safe it's nightlife aspect is definitely "adult" orientated...
I am still not sure it is that "adult" themed and I do tend to eat and drink there in the evening from time to time. Soho is a bit of a centre of the London gay scene however but many other areas could lay claim to that title. Much of Soho is far less in your face say than Canal Street.
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Old Jan 22, 2014, 3:29 am
  #49  
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90 per cent of the Soho strip clubs have gone in the last 15 years. The brothels are still there but they are all first floor so most tourists don't even see them. There is zero street prostitution in Soho, and indeed most of London. Soho is primarily a bar and restaurant destination now.

For odd reasons, the legal lap dancing / strip clubs are not in Soho at all, probably because they are aimed at the office market and there isn't a high concentration of white collar workers there.
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Old Jan 22, 2014, 7:54 am
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IHG have just posted a picture of Golders Green HIEX on Facebook along with a link to the hotel page on IHG.com

An interesting promotion is detailed at the bottom of the page which states that if you stay for three consecutive nights they will give you a two day travelcard. I must admit looking at the actual hotel pages is something I rarely do so there may be other offers lurking around that are not universally visible on the room rates pages. They also offer Kosher and Shabbat dishes.

http://www.ihg.com/holidayinnexpress...London_1.22.14

Last edited by chrism20; Jan 22, 2014 at 7:55 am Reason: added additional detail
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Old May 29, 2014, 1:28 pm
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For anyone searching for this kind of topic later on, I ended up going with the HIX Swiss Cottage, and we were very happy with our recent stay.

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/22945634-post711.html
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Old May 3, 2016, 12:04 am
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We'll be visiting London soon and are considering either the HI London Wembley or the HI London West, which appear to provide the best value on our dates.

Has anyone stayed in either recently ?

Thanks in advance.
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Old May 3, 2016, 2:39 am
  #53  
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Originally Posted by yann
We'll be visiting London soon and are considering either the HI London Wembley or the HI London West, which appear to provide the best value on our dates.

Has anyone stayed in either recently ?

Thanks in advance.
Wembley is a decent choice, excellent transport access, hotel refurbished recently, mall literally next door including a cinema. Can't go wrong at 20k points.

I reviewed it here when it was 10k points: http://www.headforpoints.com/2014/05...review-photos/
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Old May 3, 2016, 4:40 am
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Originally Posted by yann
We'll be visiting London soon and are considering either the HI London Wembley or the HI London West, which appear to provide the best value on our dates.

Has anyone stayed in either recently ?

Thanks in advance.
I've stayed in both this year.

As Raffles says Wembley is a decent hotel and at 20k it's a bargain.

London West has practically been rebuilt over the last couple of years (was previously a Ramada Encore). They appear to put the full inventory on for rewards as well make sure you select a deluxe room rather than an exec though - both are essentially the same type of room but the deluxes are in the higher floors and have pretty good views on a clear day. All the execs and deluxe rooms are in the new part of the hotel that was built about two years ago.

There is more going on at Wembley with the stadium, shopping village and plenty of bars etc on the doorstep whereas London west has less going on however the tube station is much nearer than it is at Wembley.

Both decent hotels though but if you're on a budget Wembley might trump it as its 20k v 30k at London west.

Comfort wise IMO west is better than Wembley.
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Old May 3, 2016, 12:03 pm
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Don't forget to add in the transit costs.

HI London West looks to be well located for using the much less expensive Heathrow Connect Train to/from LHR. That could be a real saver vs. Heathrow Express and Tube to Wembley.

If counting pennies, there is a difference in daily tube prices to central London too.

Wembley is in Zone 4 and HI London West is in Zone 2. With Oyster daily capping it works out to Ł2.80 per person per day.

Last edited by AndrewAndDebbie; May 3, 2016 at 12:08 pm
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Old May 4, 2016, 2:42 am
  #56  
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That is offset by the extra 10k points per night.

You wouldn't take Connect to Wembley, you would tube it, although it is a bit of a trot. Only Wembley downside is that you are carrying luggage for 10 minutes from the tube although if you get the mainline train from Marylebone the hotel is only 60 seconds walk.
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Old May 4, 2016, 2:53 am
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We ended up going with Wembley (although not for the points as we'll be paying cash).

I'll report here once we're back.
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Old Feb 19, 2017, 1:34 pm
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I am trying to find somewhere for 3-24 yr old guys to stay. I am having problems with beds.....double bed and pull out couch, or they won't put 3 adults in a room. Right now I have the HIEx Stratford booked x 2 nights, then they go to Manchester and are staying on points at HIEx Salford Quays x 1 night then back to London to HIEx Victoria x 1 night. I absolutely have no idea if I am putting them in an isolated area or what. Any suggestions? They want to be able to see some sites and possibly go to a soccer stadium tour if possible. They fly into Heathrow.
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Old Feb 20, 2017, 1:35 am
  #59  
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Woah. Heathrow to Stratford is a long way - Stratford is basically a separate town that got sucked into London. Excellent connections back into London though.

If you see Heathrow as 9 on a clock face with central London being the middle of the dial, Stratford is at 3.

HI Camden has standard rooms with 2 double beds that come up for redemption.
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Old Feb 20, 2017, 4:03 am
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HIX Earls Court has rooms that will take four and HIX Hammersmith has rooms for three and are far more convenient for LHR.

Not it sure if they will take three adults but it's worth asking. The email address for both can be accessed on the IHG app
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