London Accomodations

[arthur]

I'll soon be making my first visit to London in many many years. I'd appreciate any suggestions as to the best part of town in which to book a hotel which would also be reasonably close to the gay-friendly parts of the city.

ag

[Guest topxxlbear]

You do not say what sort of price range you are interested in or what sort of activities you would like.

 

The "gayest" areas are Earls Court and Soho, specifically Great Newport Street. There ae however gay pubs and clubs throughout the city tho the central ones tend to be more popular. There re some gay specific guest houses in Earls Court.

 

I'd suggest that you do not go for the cheapest small hotels as the accommodation tends to be fairly bad. There are several European chains of basic service hotels in London where the rooms are modern and "international" but they only have perhaps a coffee shop as in-house facilities. Some are is slightly less obvious but still accessible part of the inner city, especially just south. If you want to do a lot of sight-seeing in the City (a specific part) especially, you might look at a couple around London Bridge (the area around the station on the south side ofthe river) They are close to the Tate Modern art gallery which is well worth a visit (free entry, it is an old power station and has one of the largest exhibition areas) From there a new foot bridge links direct to St Paul's Cathedral.A new tube line goes through London Bridge (the Jubilee line) which gives a fast link to Westminster and the shopping areas. A connection takes you to Earls Court or Soho.

 

A day/week pass for the Underground, trains and buses is well worthwhile. London is divided into travel zones and you will probably only need one for the central Zone 1 and perhaps Zone 2 if you want to go out a little further. They also cover the all-night buses that are now a bit more frequent than you may know from your past visits. If you want a pass for longer than a day you will need a couple of passport pictures for a card to go with the pass. Ask for either a "buss pass" for buses only or a "Travelcard" for all three at any shop displaying the London Transport logo.

 

If you are on a strict budget there is a YMCA at Tottenham Court Road which might be difficult to get a place at or a very good Youth Hostel in Rotherhithe which is fairly close to a Jubilee line station and has a night bus from central London going by it.

 

If you want a taxi late at night either call from the pub/club you are leaving for a "minicab" (they will probably have cards, a telephone link or even an set arrangement outside) If you cannot get one, only use "black" London cabs an alternative. On no account take a ride with someone in an ordinary car who claims to be a cab. Registration for minicab firms and drivers is currently being implemented but you should be OK going through a legitimate company. The unlicenced ones are frequently dangerous and the drivers have little knowledge of London -DO NOT USE!.

 

Anthing more speecifi or if you want suggestions of places to go to go with your interests, let me know.

[Guest topxxlbear]

I should say that I know one of the two hotels at London Bridge as they have a discount deal with the bear club XXL which is almost next door to both (Sats and Weds tho mid week quiet http://www.fatsandsmalls.com

 

This is an extract from their site (sorry about formatting) to give you an idea of cost. Both are only a couple of years old and may offer deals on longer-term stays:

 

Novotel London City South

53-61 Southwark Bridge Road 020 7089 0400 A new hotel directly opposite XXL. Room only £60.00 or with breakfast £75.00 (price per room)

 

Mercure Hotel 71 Southwark Street

London

SE1 0JA 020 7902 0800

 

(please mention XXL deal when booking) The Mercure Hotel are offering XXL customers a room with full English breakfast at £70.00. This price is room based.

[Guest topxxlbear]

Oh and in case you did not notice, those 11 digit numbers are the new style London phone numbers. All London is now 020 so calling on a land line you dial the last eight digits, outside or on a cellphone use the full number but drop the first 0 if phoning from the abroad (so you dial 00 44 20, not 00 44 020.

[Guest topxxlbear]

One point, certain areas of London are very popular with people from the Middle East. Particularly so is the area just north of Marble Arch as it is very accessible for the private clinics which are the reason many are here (Harley Street).

 

Although you will almost certainly be entirely safe in this respect, you may want to consider whether in the current world situation you would feel comfortable, as n American rather than a gay, staying in areas where you are very likely to encounter a fairly large number of people in arabic dress.

 

Be aware nerves are still a bit raw over the Iraq War among many Britons and if you are coming just after Xmas a big judicial report will be current. Sentiment is against the administration rather than individuals but it is best to not wear say a "Bush04" t-shirt or something that might be similarly provocative to avoid comment. You will rember that the English are not usually (outside sports victories) as overtly patriotic as Americans.

[Guest topxxlbear]

I presume you are flying in to either Heathrow or Gatwick. Since you have been here last new higher-speed train links to central London have been introduced.

 

The Gatwick Express takes you into Victoria in 30 mins. (Be aware that one-day strikes are threatened so you may have a bus replacement if you are unlucky)

 

Heathrow is now on the Picadilly tube line but also has a non-stop special line into Paddington which is much quicker (15 mins) but more expensive.

 

You will be able to pick up a black cab very easily at both stations so you may want to look at hotels near to them. You will already know both have good connections with the rest of the system.

 

Handy hint - many airlines have book-ins at the station so you can drop off your bags without the hassle of getting them to the airport itself. Check with your airline they do it and remember you need to check in at the station well beforehand to allow travel to the airport and for your bagsto be processed . Again check with the airline for the requirement. BA and their affiliates also have a peak-time checkiin on one Heathrow Picadilly line platform to save you lugging it through crowds.

[+ Lucky]

The Marble Arch area can give one the feeling of being in Lebanon without the travel hassles. I stayed at the Churchill Intercontinental a couple of months ago. The hotel featured a Lebanese buffet in the dining room. I was probably the only American male in the hotel. All of the women wore headress at the hotel and pretty much in the entire neighborhood. It added a cultural twist to my trip that I hadn't expected. (And the Muslims smoke just as much as the British!)

[Guest topxxlbear]

As you have not been to London for several years you and for any new visitors with time might like to try the following half day/day trip that takes you a bit off the central tourist route. As it is circular more or less, you can start in either direction.

 

Take the Jubilee line to Canary Wharf station. If you like modern architecture the interior will excite you - it's a bit like being inside a whale. Take the main escalators up to ground level and you will be in the middle of the new "Manhatten" style redevelopment. Turn right and take the short walk to the Docklands Light Railway station of the same name.

 

Take the DLR to Cutty Sark. The trains are computer controlled and elevated for most of the journey so you see more of the Docklands developement (some rather boring modernist but you also see some of the older docker's cottages on the way. Each train has a "captain" to operate the doors and take over driving if the computers fail.

 

At the station exit, turn left, then left out of the alley and you are in the middle of historic Greenwich. If you have time you can see the painted Great Hall of the former Royal Naval College and look at a couple of historic ships. If you want to make a day of it you can also go to the Martime Museum and "The Queen's House" which is an old royal residence. Up a rather steep hill is the Royal Greenwich Observatory where you can stand on the O degree longitude line - the observatory is dedicated to a display on timekeeping as this is also the origin of "Greenwich Mean Time". You also have views of the Millenium Dome which is currently disused.

 

To get back to central London you can either retrace your steps or get a boat (extra cost) from Greenwich to the Tower of London or Westminster. The journey gives you an overview of the city and the commentary is very informative. You will pass the real place the Pilgrim Fathers started their journey. Nest to Tower Bridge is the new City Hall (looks a bit like a fencing mask). The old County Hall opposite Westminster is now aparments, hotels and an aquarium.

 

If you want to sightsee around any particular intersts, let me know in case I can suggest something else.

[Guest topxxlbear]

In all that mamaged to forget that you will not have seen the most popular tourist attraction in London and one of the new emblems of the city, the London Eye. This is a large (and I mean LARGE) ferris wheel next to the Thames by County Hall in Waterloo. It is visible from most of London if there is not a building in the way - you can certainly see it from the riverside at Greenwich.

 

It is owned and operated by BA so the 30 odd minute trips are "flights". The capsules are very open so check if you have vertigo issues. You can get tickets on site but it is easier to pre-bok a time slot. If you are really going up market you can hire a capsule for weddings tho I am not sure if you would qualify for a "registration of civil partnership" ceremony through City Hall (contact the Greater London Authority if you want to check this!)

 

Hope this is all not too much information for you!

[arthur]

I want to thank all of you very nice people for taking the time and trouble to pass along your recommendations to me. I may want to get in touch with you individually with a follow-up question or two. Meanwhile if you should ever find yourself coming to New York City where I live, it would be my pleasure to return the favor.

ag