Millennium Gloucester hotel before cruise

[wintertexancruiser]

We are staying at the NCL hotel and was wondering if we are close to resturants, hop on/off bus, and other tours.

 

We will be there 2 days prior to the cruise. First time in London. Thanks much

[wintertexancruiser]

Has anyone else stayed here in London before the cruise? Thoughts? Close to resturants? tours? hop/on/hop off?

 

Any input is appreciated

 

[princeton123211]

1 hour ago, wintertexancruiser said:

We are staying at the NCL hotel and was wondering if we are close to resturants, hop on/off bus, and other tours.

From a tourism standpoint it's not dead smack in the middle of everything like some other hotels are but you aren't far off. I've not stayed there but been by it-- it looks like a Soviet era bunker from the outside but is much nicer on the inside.

 

20-30 minute walk to Harrods and Knightsbridge. Similar walk to Kensington Palace. Right near Natural History Museum and V&A Museum. You're not too far from two of my favorite pubs in town-- The Nags Head on Kinnerton St (which is one of the few independent pubs left-- you'll understand what I mean when you get there) and The Grenadier which are close to each other. 

 

Things like the Buckingham Palace, West End, Tower of London etc are a taxi or tube trip. You are right near Gloucester Road tube stop so easy access there. 

[KeithJenner]

It is in South Kensington, near the Museums there. You are quite a way out of most of the generally recognised tourist areas, but you are right by a tube station which will get you into the central areas fairly easily.

 

London is so big that you can’t be near everywhere and being close to transport is more important, so you tick that box.

 

Kensington Gardens/Hyde Park is quite close, which is nice.

 

There will be plenty of restaurants etc relatively close by.

 

No idea about the hop on hop off, but I’d be surprised if that didn’t go past the museums.

 

Personally I would prefer to stay somewhere a little more central, but this place is in a fairly good location. 

[John Bull]

It's in South Kensington, on the western edge of what I deem to be central London - all the sights are to the east.

But a decent area and has two big pluses.....

 

It's in the museums quarter. A 10 minute walk to the Natural History Museum, behind that is the Science Museum and opposite it is the Victoria & Albert Museum. I'm 99% sure that all are free entry. Beyond (15 min walk from your hotel) is the Royal Albert Hall which faces the Albert Memorial in Kensington Gardens. (Prince Albert was Queen Vic's husband).

Other sights are perhaps beyond walking distance (eg the nearest Hyde Park 25 minutes & Buckingham Palace 45 mins.) although Londoners might jump in with other suggestions in waking distance.

 

But the other big plus is that it's a two-minute walk (one minute if the hotel has a back door) to Gloucester Road Tube station which serves three tube lines. You can get from one corner of central London to the opposite corner in about ten minutes on London's extensive Tube system.

 

A 25 minute walk or local bus to the nearest stop for the "tourist" route of the ho-ho buses, which I'll hazard a guess is at Hyde Park Corner. One or more ho-ho operators may have a suitable "hotel feeder" route.

 

London's ho-ho's give you a great overview and help your orientation. But because they run on a one-way contorted route they're too slow & long-winded for moving between inside visits. For that you need the Tube - the disadvantages of no view and easy dis-orientation, but the massive advantage of being quick.

So don't waste your money on 48-hour ho-ho tickets  - get 24-hour tickets & do a complete tourist circuit (and mebbe an included river cruise) on your first day, then get around the sights by tube.

All tourist maps have a tube map, tourist sights give the names of their nearest tube stations, use the tube map only for your time underground. Daunting the first time, but you'll quickly get the hang of it.

A number of restaurants just round the corner in Gloucester Road

 

Detail about the sights, the Tube, the ho-hos etc at   https://www.londontoolkit.com/

 

Your hotel is here https://maps.app.goo.gl/AgPuUddY7s8qwUum7

 

JB 🙂

[Harters]

The only restaurant I know in the general area and can recommend is Clarke's, about a 30 minute stroll towards Notting Hill. Sally Clarke is everything that is good about Modern British food and has been at the forefront of our cuisine for years. Recommended unreservedly. 

 

https://www.sallyclarke.com/restaurant/

[fruitmachine]

21 hours ago, John Bull said:

But the other big plus is that it's a two-minute walk (one minute if the hotel has a back door) to Gloucester Road Tube station which serves three tube lines.

The hotel does have a back door - on Courtfield Road.

 

21 hours ago, John Bull said:

A 10 minute walk to the Natural History Museum, behind that is the Science Museum and opposite it is the Victoria & Albert Museum. I'm 99% sure that all are free entry

100%!

[Harters]

22 hours ago, John Bull said:

the Victoria & Albert Museum

And even if the V & A isnt your thing, go in just to visit the cafe. I bet this would be the most spectacular cafe location you've been in. 

[WarfRatWA]

We tend to stay a bit more central as well.  We like the neighborhoods of Mayfair, Soho and Covent Garden, with Covent Garden being our slight favorite.  Lots to do and see within walking distance of these neighborhoods.  I note, it is fairly easy to move about London, the hotel you mention is located just fine if your willing to do a little more than walk.  Restaurants are ubiquitous, you'll have no issue there.  I can't speak to Hop on/Hop off as our primary interest these days when visiting London is the theatre.   

 

We use a car service to transport us between LHR/London and Southampton.  Door to door service, it takes the stress from that leg of travel, at least for me.  We've used Blackberry Cars the last few times.  We will continue to use them as there have been no issues and the service has been exactly what we expect.  Given that you are doing London, pre-cruise; I can see why you want that transportation locked down.   

 

If you haven't been before, be prepared for sticker shock...everything is expensive in London.  I live in Europe and I always brace myself when we visit London.  One way to mitigate that sticker shock..do as much pre-planning as possible, so you know what your getting into.  Have a great cruise and enjoy your time in London, its an amazing city.

[pjhgjh]

We stayed at the Millennium Gloucester hotel London Kensington two years ago and will be staying there again this Aug before our cruise, we enjoyed our stay, there are a lot of restaurants around. the tube station is right around the corner very easy to use to get to other places we walked to Kensington Gardens/Hyde Park it was a nice 20-30 minute walk, people that worked there were very nice and helpful.