Seeking London hotel advice

[Guest]

Well, I'm finally making it back to London, where I haven't been since I was around 10 years old. I've been to all of the exotic places from Cyprus to Krakow... from Gibraltar to the North Cape, but I'm finally making it back to London! Anyways, I need some help finding a hotel! :o From the gay guidebooks, it looks like most of the gay places (like Heaven?) are near Picadilly/Soho square? Is it a good idea to try to stay around there? How late does the Tube run these days? When do the clubs usually get going? I'm not going to be too picky when it comes to hotels, since I know London's expensive, even in late April, when I'm going. Does anybody have any experience using Priceline they'd be willing to share? The only good-priced hotel I've found near Picadilly is the Regent Palace, which is going for $59/night on Expedia. If anything, though, that low price make me suspicious something's not right about that hotel. Anybody know about that hotel? Other hotels I've seen which seem to be reasonably priced are the Best Western Paddington at $72/night, but isn't that a ways off? Another is the Holiday Inn Kensington South at $107/night, but I think that's a ways off, too?

Of course, it's crucial that whatever hotel I pick doesn't have a problem with my bringing escorts to my room. I've been dying to meet some of these London escorts! }> I'm very open to suggestions, and would be most appreciative of any help!

[ted]

I stayed at the Hilton Green Park last time I was there-it leaves something to be desired -about 2 grades below the Hilton Park Lane -but I only paid $110 US a night including all the taxes, and its only about 3 blocks from Picadilly Circus, my guess is slightly less than halfway between Picadilly and Hyde Park, maybe a block and a half from Green Park tube and tucked back on a little side street. The room was adequate, medium size, normal for European second tier hotels. What I found aggravating was the front desk couldn't break a 50 pound note(notice not exchanging money-just asking for change)nor handle other assorted requests that I would consider quite ordinary. I booked online over the Hilton website I think. It was also last spring and things(rates) may have changed

[Rod Hagen]

The Lanesborough or The Intercontinental Mayfair (I know I know, but it's FAR from your typical Intercontinental).

[HooBoy]

I like the London Landmark. It's across the street from the Marlybone station which is only a few stops from the action & the West End, a short taxi ride from Victoria Station (for the Gatewick Express) or only one or two stops on the Baker Street line, which is down the street about 4 or 5 blocks. The hotel has outstanding customer service and high speed internet access, my number one priority. Last time I was there, in November, the concierge got me into all the sold out shows I wanted to see -- and I had fantastic seats.

 

In the West End, I recommend St. Martin's Lane for a hip hotel fantastic location, amenities, soap, service, but no high speed access. Uploading this website one time cost me around 160 pounds. I checked out.

 

For great rates, check out http://www.hotels-london.co.uk/ or http://www.lowestfares.com. Another site I use a lot for hotels is http://www.hoteldiscount.com.

 

Have a great time!! I'm planning on moving there in September. :-)

[EXPAT]

If you are going to spend the money then I definitely recommend the St. Martin's Lane Hotel in Soho/Covent Garden. It's only a few blocks from where I live. It's actually cheaper than the Landmark, which is right next door to my office. You can look at the St. Martin's Lane on the web. go to Yahoo and search for the hotel name. You'll find the hotel web site.

[Guest cmp]

I would go for a studio or apartment. No room service, breakfast, etc, but more privacy and some of the studios cost less than half the price of a hotel room. Any search engine will bring you dozens of sites where you can make your reservation. I am looking for one for myself right now. I especially loved one site advertising a studio as a "lovely pied-a-terre on the third floor"!

[Guest]

>If you are going to spend the money then I definitely

>recommend the St. Martin's Lane Hotel in Soho/Covent Garden.

> It's only a few blocks from where I live. It's actually

>cheaper than the Landmark, which is right next door to my

>office. You can look at the St. Martin's Lane on the web.

>go to Yahoo and search for the hotel name. You'll find the

>hotel web site.

 

Ah... I was thinking of not spending that much money. I looked up St. Martin's Lane, and it's about $300/night!! I'm glad HooBoy has the money to burn, but I need to save my money for the escorts! I've seen a number of 4*'s advertized for around $110 a night, so I guess it's something like one of those I'm looking for. How about the Hilton Hyde Park off Queensway tube station? Escort-friendly? Or the Best Western Shaftesbury?? Thanks!

:-)

[Guest cmp]

Be careful about inexpensive lodging in London. For example, stay clear of the Comfort Inn Bayswater and the Marble Arch Inn!

[Guest icon513]

>The Lanesborough or The Intercontinental Mayfair (I know I

>know, but it's FAR from your typical Intercontinental).

 

Is "The Intercontinental Mayfair" the same as "The Intercontinental London", which is described as "on Hyde Park Corner overlooking Buckingham Palace, Hyde Park and Green Park. Close to Knightsbridge and the West End"?

[BgMstr4u]

What turns one person's crank doesn't necessarily turn another's. London is huge and has every kind of hotel imaginable -- from Brown's or the Connaught, which are the ne plus ultra of the hotel world, in London or anywhere else, to the Hilton-Marriott-Intercontinental style of business hotel (large, fairly luxurious, priced to empty out your company's expense account) to medium sized hotels of great charm and character -- the Thistle Horseguards is perhaps the best of these -- to the very inexpensive.

 

My preference is to spend as little as possible to receive a good, clean, bathroom-appointed hotel. If that is what you are interested in, this post is for you. After years of looking, I ran across the perfect small inexpensive hotel for singles: The Lancaster Hall Hotel: http://www.lancaster-hall-hotel.co.uk/ It is located halfway between Paddington and Lancaster Gate underground stations.

 

There are thousands of small, inexpensive hotels in London. Most are at best family run and some aspect is almost always a horror. Usually it is the size of the room -- a single means (literally) half a double, so it is the width of the (very narrow) bed plus the door, with a sink, chair and wardrobe, sometimes a table or desk. This can also be true of much more expensive hotels, by the way. The bathrooms are almost always shared. The housekeeping can be, well, third world. There are also "nice" B&Bs, like The Vicarage off of Kensington Church Street -- well appointed, teeny weeeny singles, but you are being observed in the style of B&Bs everywhere. The worst are black-hole-of-Calcutta ripoffs -- townhouses converted to cash machines, with little in the way of furniture and less in the way of maintenance, cleaning and service. Do not be fooled by a nice website -- they all look charming. But the reality can be quite different.

 

The Lancaster Hall is run by the German YMCA -- don't worry, there's no religion foisted off. Singles (£57 -- about US $90) get the same room as doubles (you have no idea how rare this is in London!). The bathroom is real and well appointed, with a tub/shower, cleaned every day. Two single beds. Immaculately clean. Television. Think of a college dorm room. Guests allowed. Ample continental breakfast. The clientele tends to be well educated, underpaid north european types.

 

This is not a luxury hotel. But it is the creme de la creme of the inexpensive hotels. If you want a clean and large enough space to sleep and clean up (and play) in, and would rather spend the rest of your money somewhere else, I highly recommend the Lancaster Hall.

 

A word on telephones and computers. DO NOT make your calls, local or otherwise, simply by picking up the phone and dialling. Buy a prepaid phone card at any pharmacy or news agent. You call the British equivalent of an 800 number, punch in a PIN provided on the card, and make your call at a much lower rate than the hotel will charge -- I believe hotels are not allowed to charge for 800 numbers (the Lancaster Hall does not). For the computer internet conection -- bring a telephone adapter with two US outlets, plug it into the outlet with the telephone in one socket and the computer line in the other, initiate the call to your ISP on the telephone and when it connects, initiate the modem and when the mating call of the wild modem begins, simply hang up the telephone. Your ISP will probably charge you extra for a foreign connection -- AOL certainly does. This method works at the Lancaster Hall, where the telephones are plugged into a wall jack. Other hotels may not use a wall jack, in which case this will not work.

 

Trust me -- this will save megabucks (or megapounds).

[ted]

Yes