London Hotel

[trial run]

will be spending 3 days prior to cruising out of Southampton in London.

Looking at booking Hotel thru Princess. Of the three hotels on their list the only on with rooms is the Pullman Hotel. Can anyone tell me if this is close to the main tourist attractions, do I need to take the tube, hop on hop off bus or can we walk to most of the attractions.

[mrobstad]

i was not smart enough to ask those questions, but i will tell you that i was on a waitlist for another (price was my guide) , and i got off the waitlist.....dunno if that helps.

[lcumpire]

You can read reviews on tripadvisor.com

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

[dsrdsrdsr]

Forget the hop-on hop-off bus as a way of getting from place to place. It's as quick to walk it. If you're trying to get somewhere, as opposed to travelling as a way of seeing the sights, you need the tube or a taxi.

 

Can't help with the location of the hotel, sorry.

[John Bull]

To be honest, not a great location.

It's on the northern fringe of "tourist London", handy to the British Museum, but that's about it.

 

I can think of much more convenient locations, but no hotel is going to be handy to everywhere so everyone needs the tube or other transportation to a lot of sights.

The hotel is no more than five minutes walk in one direction to Kings Cross/St Pancras rail & tube station, and five minutes walk in the opposite direction to Euston rail & tube station. Between them, those two tube stations offer five direct tube routes.

http://content.tfl.gov.uk/standard-tube-map.pdf

 

It's a 20 minute walk to the corner of Regents Park, the nearest stop on a ho-ho sight-seeing route. Passing your hotel there's a ho-ho feeder route (the black one on the ho-ho map) which will take you to that Regents Park stop or to Marble Arch, where several routes meet. But nowhere near as convenient as being on a main ho-ho route.

https://www.theoriginaltour.com/media/1799/the_original_tour_map_2016.jpg

(BTW, as dsrdsrd's post, although the ho-ho is great for orientation & for seeing all the main sights, if you simply want to get from A to B the tube is ten times quicker).

 

The hotel is also pretty inconvenient for transportation to both Heathrow & Southampton. Princess' Southampton buses leave from Victoria, on the south-west fringe of "tourist London" but I don't know if they also pick up from their included hotels.

 

Can I suggest you shop around, you'll probably find better value as well as a more convenient location.

My preference is for the South Bank area near Westminster Bridge - hotels like Marriott County Hall, Premier Inn County Hall or Waterloo, Park Plaza County Hall or Westminster Bridge. By the London Eye & river cruises, walk across Westminster Bridge to Houses of Parliament (Big Ben), Westminster Abbey, & up Whitehall for Churchill's War Rooms, 10 Downing Street, Horse Guards Parade, etc to Trafalgar Square & the National Gallery - all very walkable. And a pleasant evening riverside walk to Shakespeare's Globe & Tate Modern, lots of bars & eateries along the way. And very handy to the yellow ho-ho route (live guide) and only a short walk to Waterloo or Westminster tube stations. And Waterloo station for direct trains to Southampton.

 

Others might suggest other areas like Victoria or Paddington or Tower Bridge. They all have their pros & cons, but IMHO they're all more convenient than Euston Pullman.

 

Just MHO as always

 

JB :)

Edited April 8, 2016 by John Bull

[orchestrapal]

Off to London for the 40th time and I would not stay in that location. The hotel is fine and modern but you are not in easy walking of too much.

Take a look at the Rasisson Blu Hotels. Most are in great locations such as Covnent Garden, Leicester Square, SoHo and Mayfair. Any one of these locations would, in my opinion, be better. We love the Hampshire and walk everywhere. There are three underground stations within two blocks, tons of restaurants plus Chinatown, two major museums and many many theatres.

[lobster129]

We stayed at The Sanctuary House on our last two trips to London pre-cruise. It is 2 blocks from Westminster, Parliament and Big Ben. 1/2 block from underground stations (St James) and HOHO bus. Public bus stops right in front of hotel.

 

It is a smaller boutique type hotel but includes 5 floors with an elevator, air conditioning, King sized bed (or two twins), free Wifi etc. First floor is a Fuller's Pub, so a spot for breakfast or Pub food dinner when you are too tired from sightseeing to "go out again". Booking early permitted some good price breaks in compared to venues with similar amenities.

 

Nice reviews on Trip Advisor & similar sites too.

[Post Captain]

With deference to John Bull, orchestrapal, and other knowledgeable regulars here, I have to take a contrary position and say that the location of the Pullman Hotel is fine. But then, I'm a Bloomsbury & Euston sort of chap.;) The hotel is just across the street from the British Library (not to be confused with the British Museum), and a five minutes' walk from Underground stations at Euston and at King's Cross/St Pancras, as well as near bus stops for several useful routes, from whence you can travel to just about any part of the capital you care to visit.

 

That said, the question of which part of London to stay in is very much a matter of personal taste. Orchestrapal likes Covent Garden and Mayfair (the latter with good reason; on the other hand, I personally avoid Leicester Square); JB likes the South Bank (and I don't have any complaints about that area either). Others like South Kensington (handy for the V&A, the Royal Albert Hall, & suchlike) and even Earl's Court; some prefer the City; and I'm told that hipsters head for Shoreditch.

 

At any rate: as others have pointed out, forget about using the ho-ho buses for transport. And forget about trying to find one place that is "close to all the attractions." There is no such place; London is very spread out, and there is no single "tourist area." Personally, I rely very much on shoe leather to get around in London, and on a small number of specific bus and underground routes.

For what it's worth, my brother stayed at what is now the Pullman once about ten years ago when it was a Sofitel, and had no negative remarks about the place as far as I can recall. I've walked past the hotel many times but have never gone inside.

 

I do agree with JB & many others that you can usually find better value in selecting a hotel on your own rather than choosing among a very short & generally pricy list provided by a cruise line.

Edited April 9, 2016 by Post Captain

[insanemagnet]

I walk past that hotel twice a day to and from work, and although it is not an unpleasant hotel, as others have said, it's not in a great location for tourists.

[Pet Nit Noy]

will be spending 3 days prior to cruising out of Southampton in London.

Looking at booking Hotel thru Princess. Of the three hotels on their list the only on with rooms is the Pullman Hotel. Can anyone tell me if this is close to the main tourist attractions, do I need to take the tube, hop on hop off bus or can we walk to most of the attractions.

 

Assuming your 3-day stay includes you arrival day and your transit day to the port, you really don't have three days of sightseeing. That means you'll need to narrow down the list of wonderful places to visit in your actual touring time. Look at the location of the places that rank at the top of your list and, then, try to figure out the best hotel to enhance your touring.

 

Last year, we made our third trip in a row to London and, on each of the trips, we stayed in a different hotel precisely because we were visiting different places. The first year, we stayed near Russell Square with great access to the British Museum, the Contemporary Ceramics Centre, and frequent West End shows. (We also toured St. Paul's Cathedral and took a day trip to Oxford. The conveniently located Russell Square tube station made those things easy to access.)

 

The next year, we stayed just a few days in London. Since the two London places on our list were the V & A and Kensington Palace, we stayed on Cromwell Road within one block of the Gloucester Road tube station.

 

Last summer, we stayed in Mayfair a very short walk from the Green Park Station. Our only London activities that trip were the Tower of London and Tower Bridge, the Sky Garden (20 Fenchurch Rd) and Borough Market. With easy access to a tube/rail system we made trips to Canterbury and to Hampton Court. We even made better use of the bus routes this trip, particularly the easy trip back to the hotel after seeing Gypsy at the Savoy theater.

 

My point in sharing this much detail is to give specific examples of the way you can tailor your hotel to the places you'll be visiting in the time you have.

Edited April 9, 2016 by Pet Nit Noy

[Host Bonjour]

will be spending 3 days prior to cruising out of Southampton in London.

Looking at booking Hotel thru Princess. Of the three hotels on their list the only on with rooms is the Pullman Hotel. Can anyone tell me if this is close to the main tourist attractions, do I need to take the tube, hop on hop off bus or can we walk to most of the attractions.

 

Hi Trial run...

 

Lots of great advice here, many from Londoners themselves (who knows best?) and repeat visitors, who have been on the tube and walked around a lot and stayed in different parts of the city, visiting different attractions - you've been given helpful tips.

 

Is this your first ever trip to London? Have you decided yet what you'd most like to see in the city (without trying to over do it) and looked at a tube map or even just a London map to get the layout of *where* things are so to see exactly where everything is? Granted, looking on a map can make it a bit difficult to get some perspective - London is not as compact a city as it looks on the map - also, the different attractions require time to appreciate and enjoy. Your three days will give you time enough to embrace some of what makes London great, don't worry. Just try not to do too much.

 

Also, please do not try to limit yourself just to the Pullman though if you feel inclined to only use the cruise line suggestion you already know it is ok. London has not got a shortage of hotels. If you can settle upon a price point and an approximate location on/near a rail station-tube stop (major national London stations all have a tube stop too, you do NOT have to be near a rail station...a tube stop IS vital) and then begin your search within those parameters - neighborhood/tube station. Bus stops are scattered throughout the city everywhere. As has been mentioned, walking is generally the best way to get around (it's a gorgeous city to see) however there are times when someplace you wish to get to just isn't practical to walk - if you want to get from the London Eye to the Natural History Museum (only picking two random places) you'd probably want to take the tube. Look into getting an Oyster Card. https://tfl.gov.uk/travel-information/visiting-london/visitor-oyster-card The Hop On, Hop Off isn't an ideal way to transport oneself around London - it's a lot slower and on a fixed route - well generally two fixed routes depending upon which company you use.

 

It might help to read through some threads here to discover some hotels other people have used on the London portion of their trips...I stayed near Paddington once and quite liked it but another time I stayed with friends outside London and just commuted into Waterloo like a local (then explored) which I rather liked - felt like I was doing my NYC thing, but in London - a lovely and ever more so historical, fascinating commuter-type holiday twist. You can come back here and verify your hotel finds on here if you like, everyone is happy to help out as I'm sure you can see by now - this is what our boards are all about :) We want to help make your London visit the best that it can be - it's one of the most exciting, important and fascinating cities in the world

 

Hope to hear from you again.

[moniquet]

Depends on your price range. South bank as some said is ideal. I also like the other side of the Thames and if we are in London always stay at the Royal Horse guards hotel. Not cheap though but tucked away behind Whitehall it is minutes away from National Gallery, Trafalgar Square etc. Some good pubs to eat in too.

[trial run]

Hi Colleen

 

Thanks for your reply. We stayed at the Grosverner House Hotel on Parklane last year and loved the hotel and location. We are going on a Princess cruise July 2nd and want to use their transferes . Of the three hotels they offer the only one with rooms is the Pullman. We are on their waitlist for the other hotels so we will have to wait and see.

[LoriPhil]

Where do you find information on the pre-cruise Princess hotels?

[mrobstad]

info on hotels from princess agent....

[Host Bonjour]

Hi Colleen

 

Thanks for your reply. We stayed at the Grosverner House Hotel on Parklane last year and loved the hotel and location. We are going on a Princess cruise July 2nd and want to use their transferes . Of the three hotels they offer the only one with rooms is the Pullman. We are on their waitlist for the other hotels so we will have to wait and see.

 

The Grosvenor House Hotel is indeed a wonderful London location on Park Lane there at Hyde Park - happy you had an opportunity to enjoy such a lovely place last year.

 

Thanks for giving us the information about the Princess/hotel transfer connection - hadn't thought of that! It does make things a bit easier and I hope you do get a cancellation at one of those hotels although getting from Heathrow to another hotel is quite manageable, we can help you out with the "how-to" (and then from London to the port) not sure when the "cut-off" (your comfort level) time for making a solid reservation might be...but of course we are always here to help. :)