Going to London for two nights

Emmia

textbook said:

Emmia said:

textbook said:

Emmia said:

textbook said:

Going with primary school aged kid to do football stadium tour and London Dungeons etc.

What's the best way to book a hotel e.g. Premier Inn in ok location and should I book stadium tour?

Which stadium tour are you planning to do? To avoid disappointment I would book that element. 

There's 2 Premier Inn's just over the road from Euston/St Pancras/Kings Cross Stations

Arsenal stadium tour

Ok, so Victoria and Piccadilly lines are your good routes to the Emirates Stadium, if you want to be central-ish  I'd probably still go with one of the Premier Inns near Euston / Kings Cross / St Pancras - Putney is the other end of London, so that's a long tube journey. Victoria line will also get you down to Oxford St etc (although that's very walkable) and the Piccadilly Line will take you to Covent Garden.

Alternatively I'd suggest the Premier Inn Hub near St James' Park - that's near Victoria Station for the Victoria line and Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey, Downing St, Horseguards Parade and the London Eye (as well as St James' Park itself)

I guess just being centralish for the sites is best it's two nights.  Arsenal will be just one trip.  The prices are high for premier inn but how do you know other places will be ok with breakfast etc?

Does the Hub have breakfast?  What's the difference to normal premier inns

I think you ought to look at the Premier Inn website, look at the rooms available and features and work out how much you want to spend vs travelling times to the places you want to go to.

Personally I wouldn't want to spend half an hour or more on the tube each way to have a cheaper hotel, as that cuts into the sightseeing time, and if you go somewhere with only one tube line you're tied to it, going more centrally gives more travel options.

But depending on what you're willing to pay that might be a choice made for you.

Savvy_Sue

I also default to PI, never had a bad experience and prefer them to Travelodge.

One thing I like is the flexibility: even the cheapest rate allows you to amend date of stay at that hotel up to 1 pm - so sometimes we'll book early knowing we will go there at some point, even if we change the dates.

Cable car across the Thames is fun, but not cheap!

Definitely book the stadium tour, and anything else you / the child REALLY wants to do.

textbook

Emmia said:

textbook said:

Emmia said:

textbook said:

Emmia said:

textbook said:

Going with primary school aged kid to do football stadium tour and London Dungeons etc.

What's the best way to book a hotel e.g. Premier Inn in ok location and should I book stadium tour?

Which stadium tour are you planning to do? To avoid disappointment I would book that element. 

There's 2 Premier Inn's just over the road from Euston/St Pancras/Kings Cross Stations

Arsenal stadium tour

Ok, so Victoria and Piccadilly lines are your good routes to the Emirates Stadium, if you want to be central-ish  I'd probably still go with one of the Premier Inns near Euston / Kings Cross / St Pancras - Putney is the other end of London, so that's a long tube journey. Victoria line will also get you down to Oxford St etc (although that's very walkable) and the Piccadilly Line will take you to Covent Garden.

Alternatively I'd suggest the Premier Inn Hub near St James' Park - that's near Victoria Station for the Victoria line and Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey, Downing St, Horseguards Parade and the London Eye (as well as St James' Park itself)

I guess just being centralish for the sites is best it's two nights.  Arsenal will be just one trip.  The prices are high for premier inn but how do you know other places will be ok with breakfast etc?

Does the Hub have breakfast?  What's the difference to normal premier inns

I think you ought to look at the Premier Inn website, look at the rooms available and features and work out how much you want to spend vs travelling times to the places you want to go to.

Personally I wouldn't want to spend half an hour or more on the tube each way to have a cheaper hotel, as that cuts into the sightseeing time, and if you go somewhere with only one tube line you're tied to it, going more centrally gives more travel options.

But depending on what you're willing to pay that might be a choice made for you.

Gone for Holiday Inn nesrVictoria Station.  

Cherryfudge

Have fun! Good central location.  

saajan_12

textbook said:

saajan_12 said:

Which stadiums? Given many are further away from central London, it might make sense to situate yourself near, or on a direct tube line to cut down on travel time. 

I'd then just look at one of the many hotel comparison sites for your dates and book based on the area. Any particular reason why you're looking for Premier Inn specifically? 

Last cheap hotel was smelly 

I personally avoid Travelodges for that reason, but most other chains in Central London (zone 1) as well as zone 2/3 in the north / west / canary wharf areas would be fine I'd expect. 

Beyond that, if you're on the right tube line and/or on the right side of the city that can make a big difference. Eg going across london to/from the outskirts could take 1.5 hours + especially if there's no direct route. 

textbook

Other things for a ten year old, my ideas-   London Dungeons, London Tombs (London Bridge), Science museum, London Eye, other ideas?

Sarahspangles

textbook said:

Other things for a ten year old, my ideas-   London Dungeons, London Tombs (London Bridge), Science museum, London Eye, other ideas?

London Zoo? In the UK it’s always weather dependent, but when they were little my two enjoyed sightseeing as much as the museums, though we did all those over various trips. I remember going with them to look at the Palace, the Thames and Big Ben.

The Parks are useful if children are flagging/overwhelmed. You can walk from the Museums up to Kensington Gardens/Hyde Park and from there to the Palace. Or from the Palace through St James’ Park towards Big Ben. 

Emmia

textbook said:

Other things for a ten year old, my ideas-   London Dungeons, London Tombs (London Bridge), Science museum, London Eye, other ideas?

Tombs and Dungeons is quite death / incarceration heavy... Not sure I'd do both. I'd avoid Madame Tussauds.

I'd recommend doing the boat down the river, perhaps after the Eye to Tate Modern.

We did a Harry Potter walking tour with one nephew who was 10, and visited the V&A with another 10 year old nephew (but they have quite different interests)

DullGreyGuy

textbook said:

Other things for a ten year old, my ideas-   London Dungeons, London Tombs (London Bridge), Science museum, London Eye, other ideas?

What are they into?

Natural History museum, Transport museum, Postal Museum (you can ride the disused tunnels that used to move post around London), British Museum (I was into Egyptian stuff at their age) 

A fair few of the big museums and galleries have stuff setup for younger kids who may not be fully entertained by the main exhibits

There are lots of guides from the likes of Time Out with suggestions for kids, its generally a paid article so expect those with marketing budgets to feature heavily but if you say your kid has a particular interest then someone can probably recommend some niche place which caters for it. 

Sarahspangles

Twenty years on, my two still talk about the moment when they decided their legs were tired and I stuck my hand out and got a cab within seconds (we don’t have this arrangement at home!). Albeit briefly, I was a god!