London Pre-Night Which Hotel Is The Best?

[SPARKLE10]

Hi:

 

I'm very excited to be going on my first med. cruise this September on the new Independence of the Seas. We can only do one pre-night before we board the ship in Southampton. RCCL has three choices available as a pre-night hotel in that area. We are currently booked at the City Westminster, but I'm thinking of changing that to either the "Grovesnor House" or "The Royal Garden Hotel". They are more expensive than the City Westminister, but I'm not sure when we'll be back cruising in this region, so I want to be in the best area to see what we can while we're there. We're very experienced cruisers, just not to this region. This will be our 43rd cruise.

 

Thanks in advance.

Happy Cruising.....Sparkle 10 (Anita):rolleyes:

 

PS Any other suggestions will be greatly appreciated.:D

[WhenIsOurNextCruise]

Hi,

We are pretty much in the same boat (no pun intended), i.e., never having been to England and wanting to make the most of our day before and day after our cruise. I'm not sure where the City Westheimer is but I've run across the other two hotels in my research trying to determine where we will stay, and they are both in great locations for sight seeing. We booked the Athenaeum on our own (not through the cruise line) because we really like the location and it got great reviews. You might check www.tripadviser.com to see the reviews and check the pricing. With the exchange rate, hotels in London are very expensive. I'm sure you will hear from CCers who have stayed in the hotels. Good luck and have a wonderful cruise.

[handfordr]

It doesn't matter too much which hotel you choose. The main sights are spread accross various hotel districts so no single hotel is going to be better than another for location.

The defacto way of getting around is the London Underground and there will be a station within 5 minutes walk of nearly every hotel.

Having said that the City Inn Westminster although in a stright line is nearest Big Ben say of the hotels mentioned its by far the most awkward for getting around by public transport.

 

Both the Grosvenor and Garden Park are very nice hotels, but unless you're shopping you will need a taxi or Underground to all the main tourist sites.

For tourist sites, if you want a full service hotel and are paying the hefty premium for being able to walk to Big Ben, Trafalagr Square etc you want somwhere like the Marriott County Hall, Renaissance Chancery Court, Sofitel St James all around $US400.

If you can compromise and spend 10 minutes on the Underground you will get equivalent hotels about half that in places like Kensington and The City, Paddington.

 

If you never use all the services like room service and restaurants of a 4 or 5 star hotels then don't pay for it. The Travelodge Covent Garden or the Premier Inn County Hall are in better locations than any of the hotels discussed and will cost no more than $200. Bedrooms won't be that different just don't expect spacious lobbies, a health club or 24 hour room service.

You'll have to probably go direct as both these chains don't pay the commissions to the likes of Expedia, Hotwire etc.

[LeeW]

Don't forget to get either the travel card or an Oyster. Each trip on the Underground is around $8 US in the downtown area but with the Oyster it is about $3 with a daily max that matches a day travel card. Oyster electronic card can be bought either at main stations or over the Internet ($25 for a 10 pound card). With the 2 pound card fee this pretty much the same price as buying it there. Londontoolkit.com has information on the different travel options around town.