Harwich Hotel?

[gmadvm]

We booked the Jewel transatlantic for september, booked the flight, now just need to get the hotel and the transfer from heathrow. We will get to london the morning of september 10th and stay 1 night prior to sailing on the 11th. I looked and saw that there are basically only 2 hotels in Harwich, and neither one looks too appetizing. Does anybody have any suggestions on where to stay for one night? Should we stay in London and then get a transfer to the ship the next day? I kind of wanted to get closer to Harwich and stay near there so we can get all the traveling done with and just be prepared to start our vacation. Any good hotels in Harwich or surrounding towns?

Thanks

[Host Caroline]

We found this to be a good site.. even booked a walking tour with a local... http://www.harwich.net/ Hotel Continental and the Pier are IMHO the best there but it's a rather charming town and a nice place to spend the day.. much much less hassle than going into London for that short a time. We had a driver arranged from Gatwick, maybe someone on the Harwich site has pick up at Heathrow as well?

[cinal]

We stayed in a very nice bed and breakfast a

few years ago in Harwich. It was about 5 min to port and a

very nice breakfast in the mornig.

[mcca2]

We just booked the Premier Travel Inn at Harwich for our Jewel Baltics cruise.

 

They are basic accommodations, but clean and usually next to an eatery. I figure for one night its fine. We have stayed with them before, and had no problems. They are half the price of the other hotels in Harwich, which I do not consider to be worth that much extra. That is 49.95GBP a room per night

If you have any questions ask me.

Kate.

[montekat]

gmadvm

 

I see that you are booked on the 9/11/06 Transatlantic sailing of the Jewel of the Seas. Please join us in the Roll Call forum for this cruise: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=246499

 

Also, don't forget to register for the Meet & Mingle. We now have 6 people and need 19 more to get the party started.

[jenrie]

We booked the Jewel transatlantic for september, booked the flight, now just need to get the hotel and the transfer from heathrow. We will get to london the morning of september 10th and stay 1 night prior to sailing on the 11th. I looked and saw that there are basically only 2 hotels in Harwich, and neither one looks too appetizing. Does anybody have any suggestions on where to stay for one night? Should we stay in London and then get a transfer to the ship the next day? I kind of wanted to get closer to Harwich and stay near there so we can get all the traveling done with and just be prepared to start our vacation. Any good hotels in Harwich or surrounding towns?

Thanks

would not recommend Hotel Continental there is some much better Hotels in Harwich THE TOWERS is about the best but there is some good bed & breakfasts there is also a new travel lodge just opened next to the port which would be handy. Harwich is a very small town steeped in History this is also CONSTABLE COUNTRY(the artist) so the scenery is very pretty.

hope this helps

[Petert]

We sailed from Harwich on the Brilliance of the Seas a couple of years ago. Arriving a couple of days before sailing means that RCI ground transport is not an option, so we took a taxi from Heathrow to the Liverpool st. rail station for the train to Harwich. You can check the rail schedule and fares at http://www.nationalrail.co.uk It's a 90 minutes journey and about 20 pound fare.

 

We stayed at a pub in town, and enjoyed the food and comradery of about ten other cruise passengers while we imbibed some excellent British ale. A very interesting town with an excellent web site.

 

Last year we got a group of Cruise Critics from our roll call site to share a mini bus from Heathrow to Dover. If you can get a group together you can work out a good deal for transport to the departure port. On that trip we even chartered limos for a pub crawl.

 

Petert

[negc]

We sailed from Harwich on the Brilliance of the Seas a couple of years ago. Arriving a couple of days before sailing means that RCI ground transport is not an option, Petert

 

Not quite accurate. We arrived in London on the Saturday before ourWednesday departure on this year's Jewel of the Seas transatlantic, and for the day before sailing we booked one of RCI's hotels in London and received transfers to the ship as part of the package. Saturday, Sunday, and Monday nights were spent at another hotel using Marriott Reward Points.

I believe that it is also possible to purchase RCI transfers if you arrive a couple of days before sailing and are willing to return to Heathrow airport to pick up the bus.

[mcca2]

would not recommend Hotel Continental there is some much better Hotels in Harwich THE TOWERS is about the best but there is some good bed & breakfasts there is also a new travel lodge just opened next to the port which would be handy. Harwich is a very small town steeped in History this is also CONSTABLE COUNTRY(the artist) so the scenery is very pretty.

hope this helps

Would that be the Premier Travel lodge that is right next to the Port?

[jenrie]

Would that be the Premier Travel lodge that is right next to the Port?

I am not sure if it is a Premier travel lodge as I understood from friends that live near there I think it is called the Mayflower Hotel it is built on the site of the old Safeways supermarket it opened in October of this year so is very new so if the Premier lodge is newly opened that yes it is the same one.

[mcca2]

Thanks Jenrie, I am thinking it must be the same since when I checked hotels a few months ago it didn't show. So it must have opened recently. Yea I think it will be fine for the night before we sail on JEWEL :D

 

But does that mean Safeway or Morrisons is no longer there. We were going to stock up with some wine before we board.

 

Kate

[jenrie]

Thanks Jenrie, I am thinking it must be the same since when I checked hotels a few months ago it didn't show. So it must have opened recently. Yea I think it will be fine for the night before we sail on JEWEL :D

 

But does that mean Safeway or Morrisons is no longer there. We were going to stock up with some wine before we board.

 

Kate

Safeways sold out to the Morrison Group last year so the store is now a Morrison store and the Travel lodge is on the same site there is also a Lidl store (german company) opening there soon as well so you shouldn't have any problems stocking up

Jenrie

[britchicknyc]

How about staying in Colchester as an alternative? In the morning you can catch a train (30mis) to Harwich.

 

For info about Colchester see http://www.visitcolchester.co.uk/

 

For train schedules see http://www.nationalrail.co.uk

[mcca2]

Safeways sold out to the Morrison Group last year so the store is now a Morrison store and the Travel lodge is on the same site there is also a Lidl store (german company) opening there soon as well so you shouldn't have any problems stocking up

Jenrie

Thats great news. We can buy our bubbly and stash in the cases before we board. :D

[mcca2]

How about staying in Colchester as an alternative? In the morning you can catch a train (30mis) to Harwich.

 

For info about Colchester see www.visitcolchester.co.uk/

 

For train schedules see www.nationalrail.co.uk

Thanks britchicnyc. Our problem is we have family in the UK and we are trying to find the best way for us all to connect with the least hassle. We will probably meet up in London and go to the port the night before. The Travel Lodge sounds like a convenient place.