pauleeepaul

The GWR has service from Southampton into London Paddington, under 2 hours if memory serves.

As you seem to have concluded with two days you cant see everything, so enjoy what you can do and make a list for a return trip . For one museum I would suggest the British Museum, which can easily take a day. I'd also suggest trying to see a show. The Waldorf is a fine selection for a quick visit to see the sites. Agreed on saving Windsor for another visit.

serpens

The British Museum is wonderful and you could spend two days there. However, if you're not a Classicist or someone interested in ancient history, I would suggest the Tower.

Like pauleeepaul, in your place, I would take the train to London. A taxi from the dock to the Southampton train station should be under $20 including tip. (I've never done it, but I investigated for an upcoming trip.) And, as pauleeepaul also said, make a list for a return trip. Pre-Covid, I spent eight nights in London; I plan to spend another eight nights in London in the coming year, and I expect not to accomplish everything I would like. As Boswell quoted Johnson, "when a man is tired of London, he is tired of life".

By the way, if I were buying a train ticket, I would use XC Trains Limited (CrossCountry), because it does not require creating an account. (Others might feel less reluctance to create yet another account somewhere on the internet.) For Sep 15, a randomly chosen Friday about as far in the future as tickets are offered, two adults without Railcards could go from Southampton Central to London Victoria for £12 in Standard Class. (There are other fares, all over the map.)

Freetotravel

Hi - agree that the Waldorf Hilton would be a really good choice for location given your short timeframe. Personally I wouldn’t consider any other transportation from Southampton to London other than train. It would be far quicker and much cheaper than road. Currently the fully flexible fare bought on the day is £36.20. Trains run direct to Waterloo station and from there the hotel is less than a mile (easy cab). I agree with the British Museum option. It’s a 20 minute walk or short cab from the hotel. If you stayed at the Waldorf you would be right next to Covent Garden which is an absolute dream for eating out. Just wander round and choose somewhere - there’s something at every price. But I’d breakfast at the hotel and use the diamond privilege there. If you wanted to you could have a wonderful couple of days in London just walking a short distance outside your hotel and then return for a rest for a bit whenever you need to. I agree that the weather may not be great in January but you could easily construct a couple of days to suit whatever the weather is like when you arrive.

Edited to add trains also go to London Victoria station as per above - looks like they take longer but would be cheaper if booked in advance.
Waterloo is closer to the hotel but either is easy cab.

Bartolo

You indicated you like museums. National Portrait Gallery just reopened after a big re-do. Beside the National Gallery and near theatres. Less travel time leaving more available for activity.

Not sure what days of the week you will be in London but most museums have late nights. That can extend your visiting opportunities.

Not too far away (Bond St) is Handel’s House. Small museum that also offers concerts. Quite an experience to hear his music in the very room it was written in hundreds of years ago.

Next to Handel House is Jimmy Hendrix’s flat. Operated now by Handel House. Open to the public.

corporate-wage-slave

One museum very near Waldorf, very quirky, is Sir John Soane's Museum. Free of charge, no need to reserve, except if you do need to use the lift for mobility reason you need to call or email them. The elevator is not in a public area but gets you to all floors. It's fairly compact and it was very lived in by Sir John. The exhibits are just left out, they tend not to rope things off. So you can get right up close to a Canaletto in a way which you can't do anywhere else.

There are hop on/hop off buses, some of which run right by the hotel. If you are able to get to Covent Garden tube station, that's on the direct tube link to Heathrow. Lift access. The hotel is also less than 10 minutes from Waterloo Station by taxi or bus, or walking will take 20 minutes or so, it's under a mile. If you are arriving at Mayflower Terminal in Southampton then if you Uber from there make sure Mayflower is shown as your location, it's right in the middle of the docks and taxi drivers often see another location. But there are taxis on a rank there. If you are on a Cunard service, the purser desk will put you on a London coach to Heathrow, Gatwick or St Pancras, what they are actually checking for is that no-one has less than 3 hours for checking in against their advertised arrival time. If you have a later flight then that's fine. But it's something like USD90 for the coach ride and St Pancras is not as convenient as Waterloo. Plus it allows you take your time disembarking, since there are at least 2 trains an hour, whereas they want the coaches off PDQ.

pauleeepaul

Awright if we are doing museums near the Waldorf I'll add a shout out for the Transport museum. A light hour or two on London's history of mass transit .

MADPhil

Another shout for Sir Joan Soane's Museum if you like quirky. I recall having to squeeze between a statue and a sarcophagus to get around and paintings on hinged panels that you pulled out to see the inner exhibits. The BBC were recording an interview in one room but you could just walk in, it was assumed that you would be quiet.

corporate-wage-slave

It occurs to me that the nearest museums to the Waldorf do have a strange span of culture. Apart from Sir John Soane and the London Transport Museum, the third one is the Museum of Freemasonry, which also gets you to see the main and massive London Hall, considered by some as the mother Lodge. Opposite Sir John is the the Hunterian Museum, an anatomy museum for the Royal College of Surgeons. Then there is Bow Street Police Station museum (that one isn't free), since the Bow Street station was where modern policing started. All within close proximity of the hotel.

FlyfromDenver

I have stayed on points in London as recently as April with no additional charges. When I am looking at new 5 night point stays, there are significant charges. Has anyone else noticed this ? Has something changed or am I doing something wrong ?

thanks

corporate-wage-slave

Could you perhaps be a bit more specific? I've checked 3 properties in August and September at 6 different dates and I'm seeing no charges. Then when you click See price details the final free night is identified. No charges beyond the points.

FlyfromDenver

Your Stay
Edit Stay
Tue, Sep 12 – Sun, Sep 17, 2023 (5 nights)Tuesday, September 12, 2023 through Sunday, September 17, 2023 5 nights
1 room for 1 adult

Step 3 of 3

Payment and Guest DetailsUse Points & MoneyYou have 202,942 available
Points & MoneyMove the slider to customize your price.
This is the Points And Money Slider for Room 1. Move the slider to customize your price.
0202,000
202,000
Total Points for Stay
Total for stay202,000 Points + £471.38
Hide price details
Price in £GBP
Price in British Pound
Double Bed Guest Room
Standard Room Reward
Total room charge£471.38
Total Points202,000 Points
Total taxesIncluded in priceTotal for stay:
202,000 Points + £471.38

FlyfromDenver

This was Doubletree by Hilton West End & I stayed there in April with no charge. I amd diamond.

corporate-wage-slave

I think I know the reason.

The rate I'm looking at for those dates in September is 60k per night for a standard Double Bed. So a 5 nights stay = 4 nights charged x 60,000 = 240,000. You have 202k points, so not enough for a full redemption so the system has pushed you into Points and Money, so for fewer points but a big heap of cash. If you could get another 20k points somehow (Amex? Buy them even?) then you can save the cash amount.

I've got more points then you, so I can cover the whole thing, no cash required, but obviously more points.



and if move the slider to 202k points

FlyfromDenver

Thank you ! I knew it was staring me in the face and just didn't see it !

corporate-wage-slave

I can see that these central London hotels are at 50k

Hilton Olympia
Hilton Kensington
DT Chelsea Harbour
DT Riverside

So if you try those you should get 200k and no cash. But none of them are great for getting around central London. Riverside has a Thames Clipper ferry service connecting via Canary Wharf, which is fairly fast. DT Greenwich is only 40k per night, it is a better hotel but still suffers from being out of the centre