Family stay in London

madlyn

Planning a family trip to London next year, 3 adults age 79,48,45 and a 6 year old child.
Never stayed in London before, so I don't really know what location to be looking at.
We will either need 2 twin rooms or 1 family room and ideally breakfast included, possibly 3 night mid week in July or August.

onashoestring

London is a big area - are there are specific attractions or sights that you definitely want to do - make a list of these and plan around them .What is your budget ? Are you willing to stay out of the centre ( where hotels will be less expensive) and travel in each day or do you want to be in the centre to avoid the extra travelling.

How are you travelling to London ?  

July & August are peak prices for hotels- ( 3 day mid week  at Premier Inn close to London eye will cost £1000 + not including breakfast ( 2 rooms ) if your budget won’t stretch that far you can stay at university campus accommodation during those months which works out much cheaper .

strawb_shortcake

We always used to stay at the Hilton Metropole a short walk from Paddington Station. We picked here as it's close to the station and close to drop luggage off. 
The metropole can sleep 6 in the family room but may not suit the family dynamics as its just one room. We used to pay roughly £200pn pre covid. 

I'd definitely take the breakfast option as we've always found finding somewhere reasonably priced to eat is not always easy. 

We usually walk everywhere when in London but depending on the walking abilities of all 4 of you would determine location of hotel and proximity to where we wanted to visit.

The underground comes with lots of walking, with the 5 of you taxis may not to be too far off the collective price of underground but buses possibly cheaper and more convenient. 

If you stay near a train station outside the centre, then the day travel cards with a family rail card can be the cheapest way to visit. From memory we paid around £20 a day for rail, underground and bus travel. 

madlyn

We are looking at July or August as my Nephew will be off school then.
We will be arriving by train into St Pancras and be getting around by walking or using the bus.

p00hsticks

madlyn said:

We are looking at July or August as my Nephew will be off school then.
We will be arriving by train into St Pancras and be getting around by walking or using the bus.

Do you have any particular sights in mind that you particularly want to see ?

As onashoestring says, school holidays are especially busy /expensive, but does give you the option of  university accomodation.

madlyn

My Nephew wants to see Buckingham palace and to go Hamleys, we may visit a museum too, either the natural history or imperial war museum.

Emmia

madlyn said:

My Nephew wants to see Buckingham palace and to go Hamleys, we may visit a museum too, either the natural history or imperial war museum.

Hamleys I'm afraid is overpriced, tatty and not very magical these days (if you go, you will end up very stressed).

A better bet could be the mini Hamleys in St Pancras station itself - this should have the exclusive Lego mini figures (about £6 if I remember correctly), and I think there is an exclusive Playmobil figure too. 

The lego shop on Leicester Square has an exclusive mini figure too - but the queue can be long.

Natural History is frequently rammed in the school holidays, but the Science Museum next door is usually not too busy, has activities for all ages and is free. 

Although not quite bargain basement, the V&A (over the road) has a lovely cafe part of which has Victorian tiled rooms, or the central garden with the fountain is also nice to visit - much of the museum is also free - I recommend the Cast Galleries.

Mail Rail (a mini underground railway) is also great for all ages (but needs to be booked in advance).

You could also look at doing a trip on one of the boats down the Thames (Oyster and Contactless accepted), for some great views of parliament and other places along the river.

There is a premier inn over the road near St Pancras station, and close to Buckingham Palace is St James' Park with the pelicans on the lake.

*May I also recommend Brasserie Zedel on Piccadilly Circus as a fantastically interiored but reasonably priced restaurant for dinner - sit downstairs in the main restaurant.

madlyn

Emmia said:

madlyn said:

My Nephew wants to see Buckingham palace and to go Hamleys, we may visit a museum too, either the natural history or imperial war museum.

Hamleys I'm afraid is overpriced, tatty and not very magical these days (if you go, you will end up very stressed).

A better bet could be the mini Hamleys in St Pancras station itself - this should have the exclusive Lego mini figures (about £6 if I remember correctly), and I think there is an exclusive Playmobil figure too. 

The lego shop on Leicester Square has an exclusive mini figure too - but the queue can be long.

Natural History is frequently rammed in the school holidays, but the Science Museum next door is usually not too busy, has activities for all ages and is free. 

Although not quite bargain basement, the V&A (over the road) has a lovely cafe part of which has Victorian tiled rooms, or the central garden with the fountain is also nice to visit - much of the museum is also free - I recommend the Cast Galleries.

Mail Rail (a mini underground railway) is also great for all ages (but needs to be booked in advance).

You could also look at doing a trip on one of the boats down the Thames (Oyster and Contactless accepted), for some great views of parliament and other places along the river.

There is a premier inn over the road near St Pancras station, and close to Buckingham Palace is St James' Park with the pelicans on the lake.

*May I also recommend Brasserie Zedel on Piccadilly Circus as a fantastically interiored but reasonably priced restaurant for dinner - sit downstairs in the main restaurant.

Thanks for all the advice.
We are well aware that hamleys is overpriced, but he still wants to go.
Didn't realise there is also a lego shop, which he loves.

daveyjp

You are looking at attractions which are very spread out so as you will be travelling around location may not be priority over price, but buses can take a long time if you need to cover long distance.

NHM/Science Museum are in Kensington, west London, IWM is in Lambeth, south London, Buckingham Palace is Westminster and requires a walk from public transport whether tube or bus.

Hamleys is on Regent Street and you may feel overwhelmed very quickly!

Plenty of chains such as Travelodge, Premierinn if you want basic, but for a better experience there's Hilton, Holiday Inn, etc.  

Google maps is a good resource for finding hotels in an area.

Emmia

madlyn said:

Emmia said:

madlyn said:

My Nephew wants to see Buckingham palace and to go Hamleys, we may visit a museum too, either the natural history or imperial war museum.

Hamleys I'm afraid is overpriced, tatty and not very magical these days (if you go, you will end up very stressed).

A better bet could be the mini Hamleys in St Pancras station itself - this should have the exclusive Lego mini figures (about £6 if I remember correctly), and I think there is an exclusive Playmobil figure too. 

The lego shop on Leicester Square has an exclusive mini figure too - but the queue can be long.

Natural History is frequently rammed in the school holidays, but the Science Museum next door is usually not too busy, has activities for all ages and is free. 

Although not quite bargain basement, the V&A (over the road) has a lovely cafe part of which has Victorian tiled rooms, or the central garden with the fountain is also nice to visit - much of the museum is also free - I recommend the Cast Galleries.

Mail Rail (a mini underground railway) is also great for all ages (but needs to be booked in advance).

You could also look at doing a trip on one of the boats down the Thames (Oyster and Contactless accepted), for some great views of parliament and other places along the river.

There is a premier inn over the road near St Pancras station, and close to Buckingham Palace is St James' Park with the pelicans on the lake.

*May I also recommend Brasserie Zedel on Piccadilly Circus as a fantastically interiored but reasonably priced restaurant for dinner - sit downstairs in the main restaurant.

Thanks for all the advice.
We are well aware that hamleys is overpriced, but he still wants to go.
Didn't realise there is also a lego shop, which he loves.

Well, you'll probably spend half a day in there then feeling stressed!

The performers outside (who I always feel a bit sorry for) can be fun, and no doubt there will be people demo-ing things...  The Lego shop (and the M&Ms shop, just to warn you) is fairly close by on Leicester Square / Swiss Court.

madlyn

daveyjp said:

You are looking at attractions which are very spread out so as you will be travelling around location may not be priority over price, but buses can take a long time if you need to cover long distance.

NHM/Science Museum are in Kensington, west London, IWM is in Lambeth, south London, Buckingham Palace is Westminster and requires a walk from public transport whether tube or bus.

Hamleys is on Regent Street and you may feel overwhelmed very quickly!

Plenty of chains such as Travelodge, Premierinn if you want basic, but for a better experience there's Hilton, Holiday Inn, etc.  

Google maps is a good resource for finding hotels in an area.

We are planning on spending 2 maybe 3 full days there, so the distance between things is not a problem.