doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com London - best hotel value??

It looks like I'm going to be in London over Thanksgiving. I'm looking for suggestions on some nice places to stay.

I'm looking for value, rather than just cheap. If it were just me, cheap would be fine. I'd rather spend my money on other stuff - guns, carousing, etc.

But my girlfriend is traveling with me and she's different. She already thinks I'm a skinflint, so I need a decent place where we can stay.

Also, if you have any tips of walking tours, or other historical type tours, I would appreciate them. I love to walk and I'm a big history nut, so I'm looking forward to combining these two passions. Also, I'm planning on visiting the Tate (to see the Turners) and the paying homage at the big 3 gunshops (Purdey, Boss, H&H). I'll probably go see the Tower.

If you have any suggestions for other stuff to see, fun Pubs to check out, etc, please let me know.


Thanks

OWD

Why don't you ask a travel agent ?

I recently stayed at the Grosvenor square Marriot. Very nice and your girlfriend will be impressed. Its not cheap.....if you have points, use them! It is within a couple of blocks of Purdey, William and Son and Boss. There is a tube station close as is shopping for her.

Take the "Big Bus" hop on, hop off tour first to get your bearings. Then go back to what interests you. The British Museum is pretty neat as is the Museum of London. There are several pubs very close to the Marriot and Chef Gordon Ramsey has a restuarant in the hotel. I thought London food sucked in general.

London food sucks at any price. They try hard but can't cook. Bloody shame. We stay at St. Ermin's near Green Park, stroll to The City across Green Park. Tube around the corner.

There's a little hole-in-the-wall called The Stockpot south of Leicester Square which has the best value in town. It won't impress your girlfriend but if she's like my old gal living well and wisely anywhere is half the fun.

There ain't no cheap places to stay in London. For $200.00 bucks a night you get a closet in an old house run by Indians who don't speak English (by the way the English don't speak English either). My advice is stay outside the city. Airport hotels come close to American & take the train in for the day. Purdey, Boss, H&H, etc. are close to Picadilly. The advice on taking the on/off tour is great. I wish I had. It's a big city & everything is spread out. Have a great time!

George L

A few years ago, I stayed in a posh place for just over $200 a night over across the river from the Tower of London. This area is not a shopping district but rather has government and business buildings. Still it was just a short bus or tube ride away from shopping and tourist sites.

History? Well, here are a few ideas...

Take her to the palace for the changing of the guard.
A trip to the Royal Mews is good as well. Go to St. Paul's.

A trip to Greenwich can be good, she will get see to the Royal Observatory and stand on the meridian, etc.

One of the nice things about London are all the plays.
There seem to matinee's every where. http://www.officiallondontheatre.co.uk/tkts/today
I found the audiences at these to be a nice mix of Londoner's and very savvy theater goers.
You could also take her to see a Shakespearian play at the reconstructed Globe theater. Or just do a tour. http://www.shakespeares-globe.org/

I agree the food is not very good. However, it is worth stopping along the way for some fish and chips. Also a stop at a local pub can be a lot of fun.

Stop in at the Church of Saint Bartholomew the Great in the Smithfield area. It is the oldest church in London, having been built by Henry I, son of William the Conqueror.

Pete

If you decide to go to a play spring for the more expensive tickets and try not to go to one of the old theaters that haven't had renovation. We went to see the Monty Python musical......very old theater, got 2d balcony seats and wound up leaving at intermission because the seats were so small and uncomfortable. Couldn't really see the stage either. My foot, a size 11, wouldn't fit between my seat and the back of the seat in front of me and the lady in that seat had the back of her head between my legs.......it wasn't fun for either of us!

You know, now that I really think about it, London was my least favorite of the whole trip. Terrible, plain but $100 meals, $15 glasses of beer, the streets look like Tehran with all the burkas about, $200 cab rides from the airport and stupid George Bush/Tony Blair jokes..........I much preferred Scotland and Ireland. I will be a long while before I spend any more time in that city. On a positive note most Londoners are very friendly.

Unless you get a factory tour of Purdeys or one of the big makers I don't think you are going to see much except buildings....no guns on display from what I hear.

I would take her to Westminster Abby (tell her Diana got married there) for sure and also The Tower of London, which is a fortress. The Tower of London has the Hope diamond on display as well as medievel arms and armor. Also, you have to walk the Tower Bridge, an icon of London's. I avoided going into H&H. I just didn't feel confortable going into a store that I knew I wouldn't buy anything from. Me, I'd be more interested in a tour of the manufacturing facility than the front shop. I did buy the DVD on H&H. Worth the bucks.

I really didn't have much time to see London, just a day. But the red buses are a great way to get around the tourist sites. The area I stayed in didn't have much in the way of restaurants that were obvious so, I got my salt from the McDonalds near the tube station for the three meals I had in London. Shame really, I bet there's some good eats in an international city as big as London. I would have even gone for some bangers and mash if I could've found it.

My wife, I and her sis & husband are doing Ireland and maybe London next year.