Trip to London 16th November

9531tim

Hello all this is my first post so please be gentle with me.

I am looking to book a trip to london for four days and am not sure where the best place to look for hotels, trips etc would be.

It will be my birthday so am looking to go to a nice restaurant in london for a special meal on one of the evenings. I would also like to see a show whilst there and visit the new westfield shopping centre at Stratford.

Is it best to stay right in the centre of london or are there nice more reasonably priced hotels just out of the city with places to park and leave a car. I may drive to the outskirts of london but will then need somewhere to leave the car for 4 days. I will be coming in from the A12 direction so that side of the city.

As i will be staying for four days was wondering if anyone knows of hotels that would do offers say buy two get one night free etc. Also would welcome any suggestions of good things to do whilst there as would like it to be as special and memorable as possible

Any ideas/advice would be gratefully recieved

susancs

Welcome to MSE. You could try the 2for1 night Holiday Inn link and see what hotels may be available for your dates. You would need to do 2 different bookings for each of the 2 nights to get the offer, as if you block book it will charge you full price. There is also an established Westfields shopping centre at Shepherds Bush just in case your hotel is nearer that. There are lots of places to eat there. There are lots of tips on this site, just put London trip in the search box, right at the top of this page and choose forum in the drop down box. Also check out the restuarant deals in the deals vouchers at the top of this page.
http://www.ichotelsgroup.com/h/d/6c/925/en/c/1/content/dec/teaser/6c/1/en/lp/emea/twofor.html?rateCode=IDEX1

9531tim

Many thanks for the above link and advice, there are some really good prices for the holiday inns and crowne plaza so will probably book one of these

susancs

If you want a hotel outside of London you could look at the Premier Inn at North Watford as currently £19 a night in sale for your nights so £76 in total. They have free parking and it is a 5 minute drive to Watford Junction station, where there is 24hr parking charged £4.50 per day aft 10am and £9 for the weekend (Fri-Monday). There is a fast train that goes from there into London Euston that takes 15 mins ( there is a slow train that stops at numerous stops so avoid that one). A one day off peak (purchased aft 10am) Travelcard from there to cover travel to London Euston and unlimited use on all buses and tubes is £15.20 so it is more expensive on travel (than the £6.60 zones 1-2 travel card you would buy if you stayed centrally) but you save on hotel costs and maybe parking if more expensive .
http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/stations/wfj/details.html

lvm

Hi!

I have my 7th London trip booked for 17th November and the last 4 times I've always booked through Expedia (although I always need flights as well so you could be better off booking elsewhere). Remember to book any rooms through a cashback site if possible (Quidco, Topcashback).

I always stay quite central but anywhere near a tube station is great and you should get some good deals for staying 4 nights.

Shows I would recommend - We Will Rock You (have seen in London and Glasgow and have it booked for Edinburgh this Christmas) or Wicked (absolutely fab!). Saw Lion King too but wasn't keen on it. Going to see Les Miserables this trip so hopefully that'll be good.

Restaurants - I always do a really good restaurant when in London - The Ivy is great - have done that twice. Nobu - didn't feel it was worth the money despite the reputation. The best restaurant I have ever been too - Gordon Ramsay in Chelsea. I went for lunch with a friend. The set lunch with water and glass of champagne each and service charge was £145. Most people will think this is ridiculous but I can honestly say you wouldn't grudge a penny of it - it is easily the best service and food I have ever experienced. Prior to that I'd been to his Maze restaurant. Can't remember costs but definitely great and sometimes features on Groupon so you can get a tour of the kitchen.

Other things to do - you're in time for the opening of Winter Wonderland. The Ice Skating is fab but if you're not keen on that, there's loads of markets which are great.

You should also do Chinatown at some point - good prices but I'd recommend researching beforehand as they all stand outside and try and tout for business.

Brick Lane - never been but I'm going this time - Aladin gets great reviews so I'm booking there.

For the tourist type things - I did the London Eye but wasn't too exciting. Would recommend Madame Tussauds and the London Dungeons though.

If you intend to travel a lot, check out tube ticket costs - it can cost around £8 a day for Zone 1&2 but it's only £27.60 for a 7 day pass which I've going for this time.

Hope you have a brilliant time!

9531tim

Thank you so much for the ideas and advice you have given.

Managed to get a very good deal on a crowne plaza with the link on this thread (thanks susan) for the friday and saturday. Just now need a reasonable priced hotel for the wed and thursday.

The winter wnderland sounds good and will definately give that a try i think for the day.

The trip is all coming together :-)

Rosie1978

Just a few tips if it helps!

Look at getting an Oyster card (you can buy online in advance or at tube stations) as the cost of a journey is less than if you bought a ticket and it'll never charge you more than the cost of a full day 1-6 ticket. Full details and fares on the TFL Oyster site.

Take a look at the TimeOut London site as there are often good offers there and a great list of whats going on on your chosen days - including free events (I took a look the other month and found a naked bike ride in Hyde Park - didn't go but, hey, each to their own!) :rotfl:

Don't forget that with a train ticket into London, you get loads of 2for1 deals on major tourist attractions and also some shows - look at the 2for1 website and it's all there - some are big shows too! Also look out for people handing out discount vouchers at the nearest Tube station to attractions, at London Bridge they are often handing out vouchers for the London Dungeons.

Another good idea is a picnic somewhere like Hyde Park if the weather is good and some of the major shops do sell picnic hampers (small ones but enough for a nice lunch) the Fortnum and Mason one is about £40 but it's definitely a nice touch! You have to pick it up from the shop.

Consider doing something different - theres a canal boat ride from near Warren Street to Camden Lock for about £8 which is nice if you're interested in that kind of thing.

Don't forget most of the major museums such as the Natural History Museum are free to go in. Just check online beforehand your chosen one is a free one!

Get online now and pick up any 2for1's or anything like that for various chain restaurants so you have them in your bag ready for lunch etc! And if you are on 02 with an iPhone, get the 02 Moments app whcih will tell you of any offers nearby. Many are for restaurants.

And sometimes walking is just as nice, there are loads of walks you can plan if you have a special interest with just a bit of research - like a Jack the Ripper Walk or just along the river past the Globe - search 'secret london' or 'weird london' to find loads of interesting things to see!

If you want a nice meal... why not go to somewhere like Proud Cabaret? It's a gorgeous 1930's style speakeasy burlesque club in the City (Marks Lane I think) , all candle lit with the staff all dressed up. And they do meals and then you can enjoy the whole night. It's about £50 a head I think, and drinks are a bit expensive but it's such a wonderful experience - not sleazy at all - the staff are friendly and welcoming. It was just fantastic. Take a look at the site.

Or how about a nice afternoon tea instead? Langhams is very nice and about £40 per person. Or the Dorchester?


Above all, just plan. Make sure you have a tube map (you can get a great free app if you have an iPhone) and work out where you want to go and when - then hit the net for discount vouchers and info!

Hope that helps! :T

Alioth

Some more tips:

- Swap the London Eye for the Monument, if you have health for it (you need to climb 300 steps). There is no waiting time outside, it's not crowded, you get a great view, and it costs only £3.
- Take the commuter ferry (Thames Clipper) from the Embankment to Greenwich (or there's another one going to Richmond). It's between £3.70 and £5, and a great fun.

9531tim

Thanks so much for all the replies so far it has given me a lot of good ideas and many that i had not even thought of, please keep the ideas coming slowly booking little things as i go along but want to cram in as much as i can

The help so far has been very valuable

Threebabes

Any hotel near a tube like someone mentioned is fine. The last time we went we stayed in Southwark. Have seen quite a few shows, we will rock you is good, though it is touring, so I would be tempted to go and see a show that you may not be able to see otherwise. Lion king is fabulous. My sister has just been to see Ghost and recommends that.