[M_Six]

We're thinking about a week in London in July. No shortage of places to stay, but I was hoping someone here would have some experience with decent, but not outrageously expensive hotels. My primary concerns are location and a/c. We've stayed in the UK in warm weather with no a/c in our hotel and it sucked.

We looked at the Tower Hotel which has a killer location, but it doesn't get great reviews and apparently the rooms are hot as hell in the summer.

Has anyone stayed in London in the summer?

[eatsleepboost]

Just stayed at St. Ermine in London last week. Nice place. Older but classy. Mostly an older crowd and quiet. Short walk to big Ben (which is under construction now) London eye, and Buckingham palace. Temperature was nice then. Idk about the summer but I am willing to bet it's nice.

[rad doc]

Originally Posted by M_Six

We're thinking about a week in London in July. No shortage of places to stay, but I was hoping someone here would have some experience with decent, but not outrageously expensive hotels. My primary concerns are location and a/c. We've stayed in the UK in warm weather with no a/c in our hotel and it sucked.

We looked at the Tower Hotel which has a killer location, but it doesn't get great reviews and apparently the rooms are hot as hell in the summer.

Has anyone stayed in London in the summer?

We just booked Claridge's. Came highly recommended but haven't stayed personally. Also, Mandarin Oriental just finished remodel if you are okay with chains.

[2000cs]

Last time I was in London, two years ago in September, we stayed at the Park Grand near Paddington. I recall it was quaint, kind of old London, and had air but I don’t recall if it was really hot for that visit.

I’ve stayed at the Hilton by Hyde Park previously for business. Very much what you would expect from a Hilton these days - a bit long in the tooth but very adequate and with American amenities (catering to American tourists).

My favorite stay in London was very expensive so may not be what you’re after, but it was memorable. The Duke’s in Mayfair, complete with butler! That was many years ago so of course may have changed.

If you’re planning to take tours you might stay near their pick-up points, we’ve done a tour out to Oxford, Stratford-upon-Avon, and the other way down to Leeds. In the city I highly recommend Churchill’s War Rooms.

London is a big city, pretty easy to get around with cabs and other transportation (the Hop On Hop Off tour is good for orientation), so you really can stay near what you think you’ll enjoy most. Walking near Buckingham Palace and the political sites? Over where the new stuff is (Canary Wharf), Piccadilly? Almost endless choices.

[The Libertine]

There’s a Sheraton (Knightsbridge) which is perfectly situated in the heart of London. You’ll pay a premium for location; however, rooms are very nice, upscale hotel in all respects, and no concern over AC! Stayed there twice (May and September), and would happily stay again on my next visit to London.

[ASAP]

I've stayed at the doubletree london westminster... it was great and very centrally located.

[eluded]

IBIS

Hahahahaha


airBNB it

[M_Six]

Thanks, folks. We're no strangers to London, but in the past we've always been at conference hotels, so the cost and location were set. This will be our first true vacation trip to London. I'll check out your recs.

Here's a pic I took back in 2012 of the Tower Bridge from inside the grounds of the Tower of London.

[kscarrol]

What is your definition of outrageously expensive?

Edit: beautiful picture!

[M_Six]

The Omni group hotel I looked at after getting a "Big Sale" email was discounted all the way down to $1000/night for a standard room. That's outrageously expensive.

We're trying to stay below $300/night. On one trip to London we got stuck there with no luggage for 3 extra nights and had to take whatever hotel room we could get. Because every flight out of Heathrow had been cancelled due to high winds, there were barely any rooms available at all. We ended up with a bed in a closet that was just a few feet above some vents for the subway. Tiny, noisy room. Don't want to repeat that nightmare again.

We'll find something, I'm sure. I was just hoping to find an unknown jewel among the recommendations here.

The only other worry we have is the whole Brexit fiasco. Hopefully that doesn't upset the apple cart too much.

[kscarrol]

We stayed at the Draycott for our honeymoon years ago. Beautiful small hotel and a quick look show rooms starting a bit over 300 pounds a night. A bit more than you are looking to spend but we loved it! Have you looked into VRBO? We’ve had great experiences in London, Scotland, Paris, Barcelona etc...

Edit: if you’ve not used VRBO you’ll want to lean heavily on reviews and also use Google Street views to check out the property and neighborhood.

[M_Six]

VRBO? Do tell. Is that the URL?

Edit: NM, I found it. I used The Google. I'll check it out.

[kscarrol]

VRBO.com. Vacation Rental by Owner. Flats, apartments, condos etc ...

Same as hotels, central London will be more expensive given the location but move a bit further out, South Kensington, Earls Court etc and you can find better deals.

Edit: Totally guessed on dates but here is a quick search in London...

https://www.vrbo.com/search/keywords...&adultsCount=2

[M_Six]

Originally Posted by kscarrol

VRBO.com. Vacation Rental by Owner. Flats, apartments, condos etc ...

Same as hotels, central London will be more expensive given the location but move a bit further out, South Kensington, Earls Court etc and you can find better deals.

Edit: Totally guessed on dates but here is a quick search in London...

https://www.vrbo.com/search/keywords...&adultsCount=2

LOL. You pulled up the same listings I did. What hit me were the extra charges over the listed nightly costs. I looked at one place that had $1000 in taxes, fees, and security deposit. Still, there are possibilities there. Wifey has some colleagues that are leaving for two weeks in London tomorrow and they used AirB&B. We've done B&B's in the past outside London and have been mostly please with our rooms.

[M_Six]

Originally Posted by Chelsea_Tractor

isleaiw1

PM this user.

A Londoner or someone who has the inside scoop?

[kscarrol]

Originally Posted by M_Six

LOL. You pulled up the same listings I did. What hit me were the extra charges over the listed nightly costs. I looked at one place that had $1000 in taxes, fees, and security deposit. Still, there are possibilities there. Wifey has some colleagues that are leaving for two weeks in London tomorrow and they used AirB&B. We've done B&B's in the past outside London and have been mostly please with our rooms.

Agreed but no different than looking at a nightly rate at a hotel which does not include taxes etc. I would assume you're nice folks and would get the security deposit back!

[kscarrol]

Being peak season in London, central locations will charge a premium rate. Transportation in London is easy between the Tube, cabs etc so moving a little further out is not a real issue. To far and you waste too much time traveling but then you know that!

[M_Six]

Originally Posted by kscarrol

Agreed but no different than looking at a nightly rate at a hotel which does not include taxes etc. I would assume you're nice folks and would get the security deposit back!

We rented a house when we first moved out here to IL and had to fight to get the security deposit back because the landlord always had the carpets cleaned after every renter regardless of damage. We were there 2 months and caused zero damage, yet he expected us to pay for carpet steaming. He eventually relented and gave us back our deposit, but I've always been leery of them since.

That said, I understand the owners wanting some security and we're exceptionally careful, so I doubt that would be an issue.

[kscarrol]

There are assholes everywhere! Having said that we have never had an issue with a VRBO rental here in the states or in Europe. Prompt return of deposit and very pleasant owners to deal with...

At one point we debated buying a vacation/second home and decided with VRBO we could save that money as rent where ever we wanted to go...

PS Be sure and get you picture with the Tardis near the Earls Court tube stop!

[kscarrol]

Full disclosure, using VRBO is not like booking at the Hilton where you know what you get without worrying! It does take some time to research. But places that are highly rated with lots of reviews are generally pretty safe bets. Reviewers will even comment on the location etc so we’ll worth reading all the comments and not just looking at the number of stars!

[M_Six]

What do you consider an adequate number of reviews? The list I saw had less than 20 reviews for most places. That small number can be faked easily.

We've thought about renting an apt in places like Germany before. Having an apartment certainly makes things like breakfast easier and cheaper. Plus you have a place to stock up on beer and munchies and just hang out without having to sit on the bed.

[kscarrol]

Yes, need to research. I would think 40+ reviews starts to weed things out but I must admit my better half did most of the heavy lifting on the VRBO side.