Cheap hotels and where for city of London.

Taffyscot

Hi all, My son is coming over just after Christmas from Canada and I have booked 1 penny flights from Glasgow to London with Ryanair. Thanks to all of you lovely people on this site. Anyway we are in London from 9 January until the 12 Jan. We travel with Ryanair to Stanstead. I understand that Ryanair sells cheaper train tickets from Stanstead to London than buying them when you get there. If anyone can give me any info on this it would be greatly appreciated. I know very little about London and travel there. I need to book a family room in London and was wondering where in London should we stay? Somewhere that is central but that won't cost an arm and a leg as budget is tight. Also does anyone have any promotion codes etc? Also anyone have any idea what is the best way to see the sights of London for a Canadian wife that has never been out of Canada and wants to see it all. Parliament, Big Ben, Madame Tussauds etc. Also anyone know if there are any codes or vouchers to any of these things in London. Any help would be appreciated as my son has been working 3 jobs to save and come out here and money is particularly tight for him. Thanks in advance to all of you. If anyone wants to PM me about anything at all please feel free to do so. Taffy

paulinespens

I stayed in a Holiday Inn Express in Colliers Wood opposite the tube station last week.

I paid £59.50 for the night with a continental breakfast.

I booked on Easyjets website.

Taffyscot

Thanks for that pauline. How many of you were there just 1 or more than 1? Taffy

paulinespens

Just myself. I had to go to USA embassy for my fiance visa interview which was good. :beer:

paulinespens

booked on this site

http://www.easyhotel.com/

Hotel room had a double bed and a sofa bed too.

flossy_splodge

Whatever you do, DON'T stay at Travellodge Docklands. Booked there for last weekend and it was horrendous. Drunken louts and the local 'ladies of the night' using it as a knocking shop.
There were 50 complaints the night we were there (by admission of the management) and the police had to be called to evict the 'culprits'. Was persuaded it was a one off and foolishly stayed for our booked second night. Yep, it was just the same. I won't bore you all with the details but NEVER EVER be tempted by that establishment even if it were free. Two nights without sleep on what was supposed to be a celebratory weekend is beyond awful.

On a more positive note, at the tube stations there are leaflets by Central trains and another by Chiltern Rail that give 2 for 1 on a large number of key attractions. Cetrtainly had them freely available at Marylebone.
Enjoy your visit.:o

Taffyscot

thanks for the tip. sounds dreadful. I stayed in a knocking shop hotel in canada. I felt dirty all night and could not sleep. yikes taffy

redvanman

Im staying at the Innkeepers lodge in Borehamwood for 3 nights tommorrow,
its costing 110 pounds for 3 nights in a family room, with breakfast.

Freetime30

i'm staying at travelodge in covent garden in december, regular rate was £100 for a night for 4 people, but they have special offers on at the moment. worth a try. usually travelodge are fine for a kip.

also, try superbreaks.com, my aunty stayed at holiday inn at bloomsbury through them and she said it was lovely.

ali1972

I use Stansted Airport regularly. From what I remember if you buy your Stansted Express Train ticket from the newsagents at Glasgow Prestwick Airport there is a small discount which is the same as the Ryanair discount. I think it's only a couple of pounds though. If you are on a budget I would advise checking the cost of transfers between the airport and london with National Express Coaches as well as via The Stanstead Express. I know National Express run shuttles between the airport and Victoria (Central London) and also between the airport and Stratford (East London) and generally it is much cheaper than the train. If you are staying in a hotel in West or Central London then go to Victoria. If you end up in a hotel in either East or South East London then the coach to Stratford is the best route and costs only £8 single. You then pick up the tube or Docklands Light Railway.

If you can't find a hotel centrally, I have a feeling there are some hotels in Greenwich and Blackheath that might be quite affordable. Maybe have a look on www.laterooms.com if you get a chance. These are South East London areas, are generally nice, and are very well connected with both overground trains and Dockland Light Railway trains, which you can use travelcards on.

Definitely buy travelcards for getting around. Any tube or train station will sell them to you and the staff will advise you on what zones you need depending on where you are staying and where you want to go to. It's the cheapest way to get around and you only need photocards for stays of over a week. Don't waste money on the special sightseeing buses - regular buses such as the number 15 will take you to all the way from the Tower of London to Oxford St and you can use a travelcard. The Transport for London website www.tfl.org (I think, but google it to be sure) is very useful for planning routes.

Don't forget that a lot of museums in London are now free, as long as you're not going into specialist exhibitions, and of course so are the churches such as St Pauls, Westminster Abbey and Westminster Cathedral. Madame Tussauds will cost you, however, and the queues can be horrendous. There are various museums in Greenwich, which is steeped in history, such as the Observatory and The Maritime Museum which I think don't cost anything and of course the park offers stunning views over London and is also free. Nice market too. Maybe keep an eye on www.thisislondon.co.uk to see if any deals on tourist attractions come up between now and then. They've been running deals for lots of things recently because they've just launched something called an Eros Card for people who buy the Evening Standard regularly (local paper).

Last but not least, check out www.lastminute.com as they may run good deals nearer the time.

Taffyscot

thanks so much all of you for your great replies. Thanks so much Ali for taking the time to give me such a detailed account of everything. That must have taken you quite a time to write and I really do appreciate it. Will try and check all those sites out. taffy