ClubCenturion

Going to tour England for 10 days in August and looking for some hotel recommendations for London.

I looked at Park Plaza near Big Ben and it looks pretty neat since it's close to a lot of the attractions but at $290/night. There is a double tree Westminster about $100 cheaper a little bit further away.

Any suggestions appreciated.


Next is Manchester UK , same thing

Newcastle maybe

Edinburgh Scotland same as London (2 days maybe)

blindman

Have you looked at AirBnb ?

Yoshi212

I've asked a MOD to move this to the UK forum for a better eye.

I'd second looking at AirBNB as the rates can be quite attractive and offer a place in areas not full of hotels.
I think the DoubleTree is too far out of the way from places I like to see in London. The typical tourist stuff is good for 1 day but experiencing real London you'll want to venture out. Much like going to NYC and staying near Times Square and not going above 48th street or below 34th.
4 stops in the UK in 10 days? I think you're cramming too much into 1 trip. Could easily spend 10 days in 1-2 cities. 3 is pushing it and 4 you're going to see very little.

For Manchester I'd look at AirBNB again.

Lennys26v2

For the London visit, although it has been a while since I last stayed (i.e. 5+ years), I can mention the Premier Inn near the Borough Market. Cheap-ish and a good location.

For Manchester, the city itself is quite small, and the hotel prices are reasonable. The Deansgate Marriott, the Novotel on Portland Street. I was living in Manchester around 2007(ish) when a really nice, Asian themed hotel was opening in the center of town, but cant recall the name - perhaps someone will ping in with the name.

Swiss Tony

During the latter part of August, business travel in London really drops off so you can pick up some bargain prices at 5* hotels if you're happy to wait.

ClubCenturion

good feedback, what would you visit in London apart from the usual suspects?

Big ben, Westminster abbey, Buckingham palace, London eye, tower bridge, wembley stadium .

I hear they have some cool markets but don't know which ones to take a peak at.

JBord

Tower of London (the fortress, not the bridge), Hyde Park, St. Paul's Cathedral, and definitely go to a play in the theater district. Perhaps Oxford St. and Harrod's. National Gallery and the Tate. All still usual suspects, but London has a long list of those. It's nice to just walk through some of the neighborhoods as well.

I agree it would be tough to see a lot in just a few days there.

ClubCenturion

Maybe I will do 4 days then in London.

Manchester 1 day since I only want to go to the Soccer Stadium and meet up with some college friends then drive to Edinburgh.

Yoshi212

I've spent more of my time in London centered around Knightsbridge & Clerkenwell. My ex lived in both places over the years but getting around London can be quite easy. I like the bus system over the tube in general unless crossing long distances.

Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace, Go to a play (We saw No Man's Land with Ian Mckellen & Patrick Stewart in October and it was great), I always liked going to Smithfield market but we also had a kitchen to prepare things (if you AirBNB that could work too). I like St John street for the shops and awesome pubs & restaurants that are all along it. Last visit we did Sunday Roast at Jamie Olver's 15 where we basically created our own tasting menu by each ordering 1 thing from each course menu and sharing. Even with drinks it was rather reasonable and the food was quite good though service was lacking at first even by UK standards but picked as the restaurant emptied.

JBord

I think you'll be much happier with 4 days. You could probably live in London and still not have time to see everything, but if properly planned you can fit quite a bit into 4 days as it's pretty easy to get around.

Swiss Tony

Think carefully about using a car versus public transport. You definitely don't want one in London, UK roads are generally very crowded and petrol is expensive.

If you book in advance (12 weeks out), you can typically get first class train tickets at good prices. They will come with a comfortable reserved seat and free catering.

London-Manchester is 2hrs, Manchester-Edinburgh is 3hrs, Edinburgh-London is 4.5hrs via some very stunning scenery and you'll even get a glimpse of Newcastle.

deco105

I used to work in a 5* hotel near Green Park in central London, in August they would release rooms on lastminute.com secret hotels for £99, obviously only if we had plenty of empty rooms and only the day before the check in date.
I also second the previous poster, avoid driving in London, if really necessary, hire a car in Manchester to Edinburgh and take the train there and back, making sure you start looking for train tickets 11-12 weeks before your trip.
Good luck for your trip, and if you like nice views, check the skygarden , it's free if you book ahead or make a dinner reservation, lovely place with views over London.

lhrsfo

I suppose for a first visit, the"usual suspects" are essential - it's embarrassing returning home and admitting not to have seen the Tower or Westminster. But after that, focus on your interests - whether it's art, artefacts, design, history, science, football, tennis, cricket, theatre, beer or whatever. London has it all, in spades.

Finally, what makes London what it is? It's the people, what they do and how they play. It's a working city, so it you don't experience people pouring in or out of their offices, you miss part of it. If you don't experience the South Bank, or wherever, in the evening, you miss part of it. If you don't experience the cafe culture where people live, you miss part of it. It's those things which you need in order to visit London, or any great city, and understand what makes it tick.

TravelingNomads

Will you be traveling alone or with family/kids? We are finding that this makes a big difference. For museums I would highly recommend the Victoria & Albert and the British Museum. We split our days up into sections so that sometimes we took an inexpensive Uber there and back, but walked to the sites in between. If you are traveling alone then other modes of transportation may be more reasonable.

That being said, Edinburgh was by far our favorite city to visit. Tons of history and the entire city is walkable. It was absolutely beautiful, the pubs were fun and the people were friendly. We had a great time there and didn't want to leave!

iluvcruising2

We have visited London several times in the recent years and we always stay at the Premier Inn budget hotel chain because they have comfortable family rooms that has proper bedding for 4.

Some examples.

Premier Inn King's Cross - located a stone's throw from King's Cross Tube and Railway station.

Premier Inn Waterloo - very popular with tourists because it is near attractions like the London Eye. 7-8 minute walk to the Waterloo Tube. Also plenty of buses to take.

In Dec 2016, we tried Premier Inn Archway, which is on the Northern Line. A bit farther out than the Zone 1 Premier Inns but the rooms were new and the room was big and the place was right next to the Tube, which made it easy to get around.