New Hotel question

[Giantfan13]

I got some great reponses to the last Hotel question I had asked and it definately made us rethink our plans.

WE have 'points' to use for a free hotel night at the Hilton Tower Bridge and we thought we would redeem them for this one night. By looking at a map, it does seem that this locale is sort of out of the way. We would be right by the Tower of London, and the Tower Bridge. Are there other things to do in that particular area, or do we have to take the Tube to get to other areas?.

 

MY biggest question is, the next AM, we need to get to Victoria to catch the National Express bus to Dover. How much time should we allow to get to Victoria from the Hilton Tower Bridge by taxi. We cannot possibly do the Tuibe to Victoria, so taxi is the only way. Is this a 'far' venture?, and about what should a taxi cost us?? We would try to get to Victoria, probably about 8:00 AM, so how much time should that trip take??

 

Once again, thanks for all the help everyone has given to make our trip go smoothly.

[handfordr]

The Hilton Tower Bridge is a relatively new hotel in London with a good reputation in a very atmospheric part of London.

There is no Hilton near Victoria Coach Station so if you're using points this is as good as any. Don't know the Hilton points system but I suspect equivalent points in Hiltons in London would be Olympia, Kensington and Metropole similar distance from the centre than the Tower Bridge but used extensively by Priceline to dump rooms and not of the calibre of the Tower Bridge hotel.

The nearest Hilton to Victoria is probably Mayfair or Park Lane which I suspect require a step change in points for a room.

 

London is a spread out city, so wherever you stay you will need to use the public transport system extensively - there is not a compact 'downtown' district in the US sense.

[Globaliser]

We would be right by the Tower of London, and the Tower Bridge. Are there other things to do in that particular area, or do we have to take the Tube to get to other areas?

There are plenty of interesting places within easy walking distance. If you walk the other way along the river, away from Tower Bridge, you'll get to Borough Market, Southwark Cathedral, a replica of the Golden Hind (Sir Francis Drake's ship), Vinopolis, the Globe Theatre and Tate Modern. You can then cross the river over the Millennium Footbridge and walk up the steps to St Paul's.

 

In fact, if you wanted to walk all the way to the Houses of Parliament, it shouldn't be more than an hour's walk, seeing all of the riverside aspects of the centre of town on the way.

[Giantfan13]

Once again, thanks for the great help.

 

AAbout how much time should we allow for the Taxi ride from this locale to Victoria to arrive at about 8:00 AM??

[Globaliser]

Which day of the week?

[Morgans]

Hilton Tower Bridge is a fine location - as Globaliser says, lots to see & do. St Katharine's Dock (opposite side of Tower Bridge ) is excellent for a little stroll and is immediately next to the Bridge - well worth a look. There's a small selection of very good shops and pleasant places to eat. You should be fine here.

[Giantfan13]

We will be traveling on Aug 14, a Friday morning.

[Globaliser]

I would allow 45 minutes, although it should only take about 30 minutes. Traffic is lighter in August, and lighter on Friday mornings than on Monday-Thursday mornings. Your main wild card is how long you have to wait before an empty cab turns up. It shouldn't be a problem at that location, but it is inevitably a bit random.

[Giantfan13]

Would a hotel such as the Hilton be able to secure a cab at anytime, or might I be wise to 'order' one for that AM?? Is that possible??

[handfordr]

Would a hotel such as the Hilton be able to secure a cab at anytime, or might I be wise to 'order' one for that AM?? Is that possible??

 

Yes, the concierge will provide that service for you with their favourite cab company paying them a large commission but it will almost certainly be a lot lot more than if you walked out the front door and hailed a black London taxi

[Globaliser]

There's a cab rank on the south western corner of Tooley Street and Bermondsey Street, which is on the other side of Tooley Street from the hotel and about 30 yards or so to the west.

[Giantfan13]

Excellent gentlemen. I think I am all set for that part of our holiday.

[Globaliser]

I happened to come past that cab rank this morning, and it was empty. It's usually very full in the evenings, so I don't know what the usage patterns are there. But there is generally a flow of cabs coming empty into central London from south-east London, and I imagine that at least some of them will come north up Bermondsey Street. (They can't easily come west along Tooley Street because there is a one-way bus lane westbound on Tooley Street to the east of the hotel, which makes it relatively difficult for cabs to get onto Tooley Street to go west, unless they come north up Bermondsey Street.) Anyway, cabs know where the hotel is, and hotels are usually a fruitful source of work at that time of the morning.