A week ago my fiancé and I woke up in the middle of the night for no reason whatsoever. She told me about my birthday present. We're going to London on October 5th (Monday) and going back on the following Saturday. She said that she couldn't forget my eyes hen I told her about the only time I was in London (For the last O2 Stones gig). I didn't see much of London on that trip, but now I'll get the chance. The reason she told me is that she has a hard time getting a hotel that suits our wallets somewhat. So I told her that I know this great website (IORR), where some Londoners hang out. So now my question is this: What hotel can you recommend us in London. Must be (Kindda) cheap and close to the sights and great places. We're going to be tourists and see as much as we can (As well as going to eat at the Sticky Fingers Restaurant of course).

Do you have a recommendation?
Thank you very much in advance.


JumpingKentFlash

I would recomend st. giles.hotel which is located very near tottenham court road tube station and oxford street with it´s shopping. St. giles is both rather cheap and also a place where stonesfans have stayed many times.

It´s also very close to famous stones related places such as regent sound studios at Denmark street and a lot of other places, for example in soho.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2009-06-25 18:37 by JumpinJeppeFlash.

There's a good rate at the Tara Copthorne Hotel which is just off Kensington High Street.....walking distance to Sticky Fingers Restaurant......and a good location generally. The room rate is £80.00 + 15% tax which is a total of £92.00 per night. Not bad for a 4 star hotel.
There will be cheaper bed & breakfast places around of course.

[www.millenniumhotels.co.uk]|6313|copthorne%20tara||S|b|3449109073

JJF

Here's an exchange rate calculator:

[www.x-rates.com]

seeing as much as you can (as you say) is a completely wrong attitude in my opinion.
what is that good for? i much more prefer to just take it easy in a big city. maybe just see one quarter. eat in typical restaurants (why the hell do you want to eat at sticky fingers? - man you're in the capitol of fantastic restaurants - forget your stones obsession for some days) ;-)
just walk around the streets, the parks - well feel the city - the people! you get so much more then by just doing all the tourist stuff. try it - it works! and you'll know the city and its spirit much better!

Where are you from jumpingkentflash ?
Because if you don't live in UK,may be could you search for a "package" all included as we did from France (Plane + hotel room ) here (and the prices of the room wasn't of course as hight as indicate on the web link )
[www.mostynhotel.co.uk]

I keep the St Gilles and Tara hotel ,many thanks for these informations ,it will help next time we'll go to London,I'd loved this town !!!!



I am a Frenchie ,as Mick affectionately called them in the Old Grey Whistle Test in 1977 .

St. Giles is a dump! Don't go there. I was there for a few years when I got to London and it got worse everytime. I think actually they're renovating it.
A good afordable one is NH Hotel,near Earls Court. Well, it's a bit outside but you've got one week, so you don't loose to much time riding the tube.

Well, I'm not a Londoner, but I've been there often and friends and my sister lives near, so here is some advice:

The St Giles is nice and central (I've staid there), but not cheap. So "behind" it is the British Museum, where you can find a lot of cheaper hotels up to Russell Square, and you can also walk from there to Oxford St and Soho.

If you want to risk a short term /last minute booking, try one of the internet services likr expedia, opodo, hrs and so on or a special last minute service that sells just those rooms that are still available.

Don' forget that London is big, so to get around it is best to get a so called oyster card, information for that is available online.

Enjoy your stay, London is a fabulous city !

I recently stayed at a very pleasant b&b called Charlotte Guest House in West Hampstead.
Great, safe neighborhood, and very convenient to central London. Basic accomodation, but good value for the money.

i'll be in london in a little over a week - we aren't staying downtown - the underground gets you there in no time from areas with much more affordable lodging....and, yeah, i've heard some horror stories about st. giles, too....

I really like London, a great walking city, great subway, and the taxi drivers are well educated and know their way around. In New York, your cabbie will be named Abdul,doesn't speak english, and hands you a map so you can get him there.
The museums and national gallery are free admission, as least they were, and I would go to Sticky Fingers just to visit for a lunch or drink at the bar, and some nice stuff on the wall.
The hotels are the tricky part.Very tricky. You can spend a lot of money and NOT get great value at all. I would be very weary of the Giles, and take a look at the Tara, Manofwealthandtastes description is curious, but I have seen too many disaster bookings in London to make a suggestion.
The idea for last minute bookings has worked well for me. For the price of a 2 star you can stay at a 4 star, but you are winging it here. Good luck.

"(As well as going to eat at the Sticky Fingers Restaurant of course)."

Has anyone here eaten there? I think the menu would be interesting.

Kent, I recommend Hotel Jolly St Ermins....been staying there for my last 4 London trips - very neat atmosphere there....also the surroundings.
[www.nh-hotels.com]
[Get a cheaper price by ordering through hotels.com or the likes.]

Quote
Chris Fountain
"(As well as going to eat at the Sticky Fingers Restaurant of course)."

Has anyone here eaten there? I think the menu would be interesting.

yeah, been there...nothing interesting about the menu or the food (think: applebee's)...but then i don't think that's the draw there anyway

Any artifacts or memorabilia of importance?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2009-06-25 21:28 by Chris Fountain.

Quote
Chris Fountain
"(As well as going to eat at the Sticky Fingers Restaurant of course)."

Has anyone here eaten there? I think the menu would be interesting.

I have been there, but as a vegetarian my choice was limited. As I remember it, it's burgers and fries, assorted sandwiches and salads. The food is ok, nothing special,
but not the lowly Burger King either. It's mostly to be there. I couldn't help but think when I was there, "Bill quit the Stones to do this?"

Quote
Chris Fountain
Any artifacts or memorabilia of any importance?

it's basically a hard rock cafe dedicated to stones memorabilia...with stones music and videos playing non-stop, of course....

if you really need some stones moments in london then shurely not the sticky fingers. rather go to primrose hill where the buttons coverpic was shot or walk down edith grove or even go to dartford. but the sticky fingers is just a tourist rip off with no style. and anyway: rather enjoy the city and dont think about the stones too much ;-)

Quote
guitarbastard
if you really need some stones moments in london then shurely not the sticky fingers. rather go to primrose hill where the buttons coverpic was shot or walk down edith grove or even go to dartford. but the sticky fingers is just a tourist rip off with no style. and anyway: rather enjoy the city and dont think about the stones too much ;-)

or have gazza join you and give you a personally-guided tour of stones-oriented highlights....something the bastid still owes me....

here you find everything stones related. but as i said: rather enjoy the city and feel the spirit...

[www.communitywalk.com]`Z

Why not choose a hostel instead and you get to spend more money on drinks, food and shopping.
I've stayed at this place a few times and it's really a bargain. Great location and you get to meet a lot of interesting people. [www.piccadillyhotel.net]

hostels can be great, but
hostels in london......yikes....I see a red door and I want it painted black...

You are going about it the right way... Ask people you know who have stayed there recently. It's been awhile for me and I stayed at this Holiday Inn by Earls Court - but the company picked up the tab. Before that I stayed overnight at various neighborhood (nice) inexpensive inns, but I can't recall their names.
You might want to visit a good book store in your area and peruse certain guides and make notes on what appeals to you. Then if the property is not listed on sites such as Travelocity, email the hotel directly. I did this for another European capital with the type of room/dates and they emailed me back with a very good rate indeed. Above all, check out user reviews online so you don't end up in a run-down, noisy, etc., property...especially if this is a honeymoon-type trip for you two.

I lost a ten pound note in an alley just up from the Savoy on the 2007 tour..
Please JumpingKentFlash if ya in the area can ya ask if anyone found it..

PS: Small reward



ROCKMAN

St Giles does the job. You can´t beat the location,Very close to Oxford Street, Denmark Street, Soho etc.

Vilhelm
Nordic Stones Vikings

You "lost" your money in an alley behind a hotel?

Old habits die hard, eh?
---------------

Just FYI, the one I noted - Holiday Inn by Earls Court - has changed hands and is now called
Crowne Plaza London Kensington
[www.laterooms.com]
It was good - though not inexpensive, and anyway more for tradeshow attendees.

You'll want to visit sites such as Kings Road in Chelsea and the Tate Modern ...or whatever fancies you two. You've got lots of time for research!

Kent- pleased to hear you're coming over here....
we'll have to hook up for a beer or three.

Hotels? - the Travelodge chain should be fairly affordable,
Premier Travel Inns, are another option.

Didn't read everything yet, but according to my experience: you either pay something like 50-70 pounds a night and it will a dirthole or you shell out 100+ and it will be "alright". But hotel standards in London are horrible anyway, compared to other cities. As for sightseeing, I agree with guitarbastard - London is a city that makes you incredibly tired. Don't make the mistake to fill your day too much, sit for a couple of hours in Hyde Park with a Sandwich and some drinks (stuff at Pret-a-manger is great imho) and just take it easy

You "lost" your money in an alley behind a hotel?

Hey the doll could kiss ......... But come ta think of it maybe she was also a good pick-pocketer......



ROCKMAN

I have been to London 100+ times and I am sure I have changed hotels almost every time, simply because I am never happy with any London hotels vs price. The cheapest place for staying, still quite central, is the Paddington and Sussex Gardens area, and if you book through Hotels.com you can go for 3-4 star hotels with 2-3 stars prices. Norfolk Plaza was the one I used last time, when I saw Charlie at 100 Club. I have stayed there one time before, many years ago, and I was surprised to find it still ok. And at 70 pounds it was just a great deal there and then.

Bjornulf