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Old Sep 16, 2015, 6:24 pm
  #1  
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best hotel in london to use for points

I'm going to London for 1st time in few months , like to use starwoods points for my stay of 9 nights , I'm looking to use as less points per night as possible as we wont be in our room much ,just looking for advice on place to stay ,don't mind staying a bit away if its easy to public transport,any info be great tks.
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Old Sep 16, 2015, 9:15 pm
  #2  
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Who is "we"? Purpose of trip?

Do you want to stay in the same hotel for nine nights or perhaps split the stay between two different neighborhoods?

Try to take advantage of fifth night free. Depending on your flight times, you might want to book for ten nights total (in a single hotel or two hotels for five nights each) so as to guarantee an early check in or late check out.
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Old Sep 17, 2015, 5:16 am
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yes I would use 5th night free if I can , just looking for advice for hotel for less points if there is any ,just me and my wife , trip is for vacation.
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Old Sep 17, 2015, 5:48 am
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best hotel in london to use for points

I think the best value would be the Aloft. Plus, it's still relatively new. It's an OK train ride to the city, but around the hotel it's pretty dead
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Old Sep 17, 2015, 8:28 am
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I've never stayed there, but the Great Northern looks like a great value for points as well. You're right by Kings Cross, which is unbeatable for transit options (and the Harry Potter station, if that's on your tourist list as well). The rooms online look nicer, albeit smaller than the aloft, so if location is truly key and you don't mind a smaller room this looks like the one.

The aloft is one category lower, or 2k points per night, but you're on the DLR instead of the tube. This isn't a big deal for getting to central London, but you need to transit to the tube to go anywhere else, and it runs on a different ticketing system. My info is a couple years old, maybe they've fixed the ticketing by now.
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Old Sep 17, 2015, 8:31 am
  #6  
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ok tks for info what about the 2 London Heathrow hotels , are they to far away ? again were the type that will be gone all day so something a bit longer ride not a deal breaker if public transportation is good , just we have some starwood pts and if it makes sense to use them in london we will , if not we may look at bed n breakfast or another hotels ,were from Canada ,so our dollar not great in uk.
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Old Sep 17, 2015, 8:50 am
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Originally Posted by Allie Abby
ok tks for info what about the 2 London Heathrow hotels , are they to far away ? again were the type that will be gone all day so something a bit longer ride not a deal breaker if public transportation is good , just we have some starwood pts and if it makes sense to use them in london we will , if not we may look at bed n breakfast or another hotels ,were from Canada ,so our dollar not great in uk.
Both Heathrow hotels are quite out of the way. The Skyline is a 10-minute bus ride to Hatton Cross underground station, while the Sheraton is more like 20 minutes away. It's an hour to get into town after that. It's a deeply unglamorous part of town and I wouldn't recommend it. You're better off with Aloft I'd imagine!
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Old Sep 17, 2015, 8:51 am
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best hotel in london to use for points

The LHR hotels have no tube access, you need a bus first.

I am pretty sure DLR uses oyster card just like the tube.

Distances to center are similar for Aloft and LHR, at opposite ends of town. LHR is your typical aurport surroundings, Aloft more in a modern conference/office park setting.

Great Northern has indeed much better location. I haven't stayed there but there are some reports of tiny rooms.
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Old Sep 17, 2015, 9:05 am
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9 days is a lot of time in London. Is this still in the planning stage or do you already have tickets booked?
I'd consider a few days in Paris.

You might want to map out what you're going to do in London.
Full day each for Tower of London, British Museum - that's 2 days right there.
Beyond those two items, I would think you'll want to see more than one attraction in a day.

Make a list of things to do and figure out how many hours to devote to each. I think your 90% solution (see almost everything you want to see) will be around 5 days in London.

I'd also favor a hotel near the tourist attractions rather than spending a lot of time transiting to/from my hotel.
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Old Sep 17, 2015, 9:34 am
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have tickets booked , not going for few months but fig doesn't hurt to check things out on here doesn't have to have 9 nights booked in same hotel but were looking for at least 5 nights they we may go diff places ,so I I can get something booked sooner be great , again don't want to crazy far away , love to be in the thick of it all but those hotels pts are cat 5 or higher ,don't have that many pts , like I said were be gone all day so hotel only to sleep for night ,have few ihg and marriot pts also but haven't looked into them as we have more sw pts,ill check out the alfoft ,just thought where the other hotels had lower pts per stay but u say there far away.
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Old Sep 17, 2015, 10:30 am
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Try the new Kings Cross hotel... it's in a great area. Or check all the C&P rates and maybe you can get lucky at one of the London props.
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Old Sep 17, 2015, 10:46 am
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Originally Posted by Allie Abby
I'm going to London for 1st time in few months , like to use starwoods points for my stay of 9 nights , I'm looking to use as less points per night as possible as we wont be in our room much ,just looking for advice on place to stay ,don't mind staying a bit away if its easy to public transport,any info be great tks.
Welcome to Flyertalk ^

Which month are you coming ? Some properties have high-season points surcharges which may well affect the determination of the best hotel for you.
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Old Sep 17, 2015, 12:37 pm
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I visit London often on business and have also visited several times as a tourist. Many of have already responded with good information to consider before selecting your London hotels. I would strongly recommend a hotel that is mostly centrally located and near the Tube. You don't want to make travel to and from more difficult than it has to be while visiting there. Also, get Oyster cards for you/your family for public transportation use. It will make the travel easier/faster and the card can be used again in the future.

I typically stay at the Le Meridien as I like its central location. For a top tier brand, it is not consistently loved by regular contributors on FlyerTalk. Also, it might be a lot of points for 9 days in London, which leads me to my next point...

Have you considered 5 days in London (and use points for only 4), then take the Chunnel to Paris and do several nights/days there OR head to Scotland or Ireland for a couple of days? I could certainly find things to do for 9 days in London, but it might more interesting/fun to venture away from Londinium a few of your available vacation days. Just a thought. Good luck!
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Old Sep 17, 2015, 12:56 pm
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Another vote here for using a "5TH Night Free" booking in London and then head elsewhere. I absolutely love London but would be hard pressed to be a tourist there for more than 4 full days knowing so many other options were in such easy reach!

FWIW, I too would pull a Dickens and book a Tale of Two Cities - go to Paris on the front end for four nights and then back to London for 5 before flying home. And while it is not a five-star hotel, the Park Lane Sheraton has a great location right on the Piccadilly Line Tube for getting to/from Heathrow while putting you in the heart of the city for everything you'd want to do. It's less SPG points than the others with good location.

enjoy^
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Old Sep 17, 2015, 2:20 pm
  #15  
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I booked the park lane Sheraton over the aloft , for 5th night free , was that the right thing to do for closer to all the things to see ? these oyster cards ,do u buy them anywhere , were flying in to gatewick , can u buy them at airport ,tks for info , fell better having place to stay for few nights ,now can work on what were going to do and see.
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