Booked a trip to London for next July to see a few Springsteen concerts. I have never been to London and am trying to decide what part of the city to stay in. The concerts will be a Wembley Stadium which seems to be about 45 minutes west of central London.

I want to stay central to sightseeing and the touristy stuff so I am thinking that the "West End" is where I want to be but just wanted to see if there are any other suggestions or things I am not thinking of.

Stayed at Conrad St James earlier this year. Walkable to many sites and tube station across the street.

We stayed in South Kensington earlier in the year off of Queens gate right near the natural history museum. We were seeing a Chelsea match so wanted to be in that area. The area was nice and underground stations close by. It was walkable to the park, Harrods for the wife. Did the subway to buckingham palace, Piccadilly, the square and Westminster pretty easy. We took an Uber to go over to the Tower of London and the Tower Bridge. There were a few markets in that area that we went to as well.

Maida Vale.

Stayed at the Westminster Hilton before it was renovated and was a Doubletree (pre-Covid). Nice quiet area, easy to get to and walking distance to many attractions. Also had a really good restaurant about three blocks or so away.

Mustang1 said:

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Stayed at Conrad St James earlier this year. Walkable to many sites and tube station across the street.

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I stayed at an apartment a block away from there back in 2007 (the other end of the St. James Park Tube station) and loved that neighborhood, and the convenience for getting around. Don't discount the fact that there is a major bus stop 2 blocks away on Victoria Street with lines that will take you to some key sites overground.

Stay in Covent Garden area. It is central for all the major touristy crap and 30 minutes on the tube to Wembley. If you have never been there use the tube!

Oh and make sure to get your Apple Pay or Android pay (whatever it's called) set up on each persons phone. It is the primary method of payment, especially for the tube.

We're going as a family if 4 next June for the first time. I currently have the Westminster Hilton booked. It was one of the few hotels I could find near the city center that had guaranteed adjoining rooms.

Anyone stay there, or that area? I booked it with free cancellation so may keep looking, but wanted to have something on the books as a default

We'll be there 9 days. Have a few things planned including some nights at the theatre, a concert, a day to Stonehenge (summer solstice) and then see the usual tourist stuff I suppose. Also got a round of golf at Royal cinque port for my son and I. He's been asking to play in Ireland or Scotland with me for 10 years, so I think he'll be happy with that

Happy with any suggestions.

The Grinder (99) said:

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We're going as a family if 4 next June for the first time. I currently have the Westminster Hilton booked. It was one of the few hotels I could find near the city center that had guaranteed adjoining rooms.

Anyone stay there, or that area? I booked it with free cancellation so may keep looking, but wanted to have something on the books as a default

We'll be there 9 days. Have a few things planned including some nights at the theatre, a concert, a day to Stonehenge (summer solstice) and then see the usual tourist stuff I suppose. Also got a round of golf at Royal cinque port for my son and I. He's been asking to play in Ireland or Scotland with me for 10 years, so I think he'll be happy with that

Happy with any suggestions.

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That hotel is like a 10 minute walk from your nearest Tube Station and thats Pimlico where you only have the Victoria line. No hotel is actually going to be able to 'guarantee' you adjoining rooms particularly in a place like central London where they are have to run at like 80% capacity all the time to make ends meet, I'd recommend you keep looking and pay the premium to get closer to a good Tube Station.

That is very useful, thanks

I was assuming all hotels were near a tube station… I'll pay closer attention to that now

What about an Airbnb? That's what I did this past July.

Stayed at Club Quarter's Hotel - Trafalgar Square in 2021 & 2022. Two minute walk to both Charing Cross & Embankment Tube stations. These two stations will get you almost anywhere you want to go.

How much were your flights?

maroon10 said:

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How much were your flights?

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I paid right around $1500/person for Houston to Heathrow nonstop on British Airways.

The Grinder (99) said:

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That is very useful, thanks

I was assuming all hotels were near a tube station… I'll pay closer attention to that now

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This is generally true… that said pull central London up on a map and put the transit overlay on. Then get that Hilton on the map (curio collection one right?) and you realize it is in about the worst spot for Tube pickup in central London that it can possibly be in.

I knew this though because I had a friend who is over somewhat frequently from the States as he's got family around here too… he books wherever the deal is and booked at that hotel once. Constantly complained about how far it was from the Tube and was getting Ubers to avoid the walk. It's not an impossible and unbearable walk either for what it is worth… it's just… annoying.

We stayed in Chelsea near the soccer field.

Then we moved to Wimbledon so we could visit the tennis stuff.

London in July. Make sure your hotel has A/C.

Sorry as I feel like I may have hijacked this thread. Hopefully my quatuins help OP too

As far as lodging, I'd like advice. Going in late June, how critical is AC? I know we won't n ow the weather until we get there, but I feel like I have two basic options: 1) hotel with AC or VRBO most of which don't have AC

With hotel, our family of four will either have much less space (seems more important as our kids get older) or get double room which is very expensive and hard to guarantee adjoining rooms

With VRBO, get the space and privacy but most don't seem to have AC, at least not that I can find available that are actually in zones 1 or 2

Any thoughts here?

As stated above I have two rooms at the Hilton but may not be a great location. They say adjoining rooms are guaranteed. It's fairly pricey but inside my range. Much more than that is pushing it to get two rooms for 8 nights

VRBO is a lot more space and cheaper

The Grinder (99) said:

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Sorry as I feel like I may have hijacked this thread. Hopefully my quatuins help OP too

As far as lodging, I'd like advice. Going in late June, how critical is AC? I know we won't n ow the weather until we get there, but I feel like I have two basic options: 1) hotel with AC or VRBO most of which don't have AC

With hotel, our family of four will either have much less space (seems more important as our kids get older) or get double room which is very expensive and hard to guarantee adjoining rooms

With VRBO, get the space and privacy but most don't seem to have AC, at least not that I can find available that are actually in zones 1 or 2

Any thoughts here?

As stated above I have two rooms at the Hilton but may not be a great location. They say adjoining rooms are guaranteed. It's fairly pricey but inside my range. Much more than that is pushing it to get two rooms for 8 nights

VRBO is a lot more space and cheaper

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Aircon is really important in June. Most live without it here but it is really uncomfortable. I have portable units for the 3 rooms we sleep in in our house for the summer. The problem you run into in London is the days in June and July are really long here and with the lack of green space in the city even when the temps aren't super hot, it never really cools down fully.

The Hilton you are at isn't horrible as you are still in central London… just a dead area. If it checks the budget for you, you are ok… just know that you are in a bit of an awkward (albeit safe and nice) area. All I was trying to say is be careful with your specs. Don't know how old your kids are but if you have one who has been asking about playing golf in Scotland for a decade now, seems like they are somewhat grown. I was just saying if you saw some hotels nearer to the Tube with aircon for a similar price point but the deal breaker was adjoining rooms… then maybe reconsider.

scd88 said:

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Oh and make sure to get your Apple Pay or Android pay (whatever it's called) set up on each persons phone. It is the primary method of payment, especially for the tube.

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FYI, if your credit card has contactless pay (most do now i think) you can just use that as well.

sts7049 said:

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scd88 said:

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Oh and make sure to get your Apple Pay or Android pay (whatever it's called) set up on each persons phone. It is the primary method of payment, especially for the tube.

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FYI, if your credit card has contactless pay (most do now i think) you can just use that as well.

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Just put your cards in your phone wallets is fine. As said, contactless is pretty much essential here. Pubs, restaurants and shops get pissed if you are using a chip to pay and not just contactless.

Thanks guys, very helpful.

ATM9000, you live in London? I appreciate all your knowledgeable feedback. As this is almost certainly going to be the only trip we take to London as a family of 4 (as you guess, my kids are older… will be 14 and 16 at time of trip), would you mind if I ask you some questions?

I do and happy to answer questions. I don't know everything but know a good bit. There are other Ags in London and the UK a who post around here who know quite a bit too.

To OP, West End (central London) is probably best. Maybe along the Jubilee line too (think Westminster, Green Park, Bond Street or Baker Street) since you have to tail it to Wembley Stadium 3 times. Outside of the West End, Waterloo tends to be a little cheaper and on the Jubilee line too and not too far away from everything. London Bridge/Borough Market area is nice and along the Jubilee line too and near stuff you'll want to see. Any of the stops north of Baker Street on the Jubilee I wouldn't recommend… just getting too far away from stuff you'd probably want to see at that point. Covent Garden is really nice too… but sorry no way in hell are you at Wembley Stadium in less than 45 minutes from there. But you will be well over half an hour away if in central London too.

I like Islington. Lots of things to do and lots of great restaurants. I can check HotelPlanner reviews and see if you like any places in their website. We stayed two weeks in total in Citadines and honestly that was great. We had a family room and that was very nice and specious.

We were in London in July and it was amazing! We lucked out with the weather and it was really nice, I don't think it was above 75 during the day and cool at night. It was a nice reprieve from the Texas summer heat. All of our hotels in London and Scotland had A/C thankfully, but they were all Marriott properties.

We stayed near Tower Bridge area and we really enjoyed it. Walking distance to things on that side of town and a tube station close by. But this is away from the most central areas with all the sites and best restaurants/bars. It was closer to Bermondsey which we LOVED.

We really enjoyed Covent Garden area and would like to stay there next time possibly. Or anywhere on the Jubliee line too I think would be a good choice.

many of the places on VRBO that I am looking at are in Kennsington/Chelsea area; and then a couple that seem good in the SOHO and Covent Garden area.

One in particular that seems nice is on Shaftesbury Ave a couple blocks North of Leicester Sq.

I'm leaning toward the SOHO rental right now as it seems closer to more things and may be a bit more lively. We are not in London to party by any means, but with a couple of teenagers I think they would find it exciting to be nearer the heart of things.

Is this a good area? I've read somewhere that SOHO can get rowdy. just thought I'd get the thoughts from some locals before proceeding with a booking

thanks

The Grinder (99) said:

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many of the places on VRBO that I am looking at are in Kennsington/Chelsea area; and then a couple that seem good in the SOHO and Covent Garden area.

One in particular that seems nice is on Shaftesbury Ave a couple blocks North of Leicester Sq.

I'm leaning toward the SOHO rental right now as it seems closer to more things and may be a bit more lively. We are not in London to party by any means, but with a couple of teenagers I think they would find it exciting to be nearer the heart of things.

Is this a good area? I've read somewhere that SOHO can get rowdy. just thought I'd get the thoughts from some locals before proceeding with a booking

thanks

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Just a general observation, but, you can tolerate some noise at night if you are comfortable sleeping with earplugs. Not everyone is.

I once rented an apartment in Madrid that was on the top floor of a five story building. There was an ice cream shop on the ground floor that was one of those marble slab places where they are chopping the ice cream. Place was open until 1 a.m. I would not have gotten any sleep before then had I not been able to sleep with earplugs.

The Grinder (99) said:

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many of the places on VRBO that I am looking at are in Kennsington/Chelsea area; and then a couple that seem good in the SOHO and Covent Garden area.

One in particular that seems nice is on Shaftesbury Ave a couple blocks North of Leicester Sq.

I'm leaning toward the SOHO rental right now as it seems closer to more things and may be a bit more lively. We are not in London to party by any means, but with a couple of teenagers I think they would find it exciting to be nearer the heart of things.

Is this a good area? I've read somewhere that SOHO can get rowdy. just thought I'd get the thoughts from some locals before proceeding with a booking

thanks

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Yeah Soho is in the heart of everything and is just fine. Loads of pubs and restaurants and things to get into there. If shopping is your bag lots there too. Of true central London… it's probably the wildest area at night where you'll see some interesting people but it's not Shoreditch or Camden… and in case this was a concern central London is all incredibly safe.

I like the feel of Chelsea and Kensington… the neighborhoods feel really British with clear high streets and stuff. Downside is transport is a little touch and go… particularly in Chelsea but it is nice and feels more like London where Soho probably is a bit more of just a generic big city feel to it just in older buildings and stuff. Covent Garden is really nice too as I said in an post above… I'm there a bit less than the other 2 areas just because of where I live in London.

All 3 are definitely a lot more fun and vibrant than the area by Tate Britain. Soho is wildest and most active but not too wild. Covent Garden is probably the most uppity and Chelsea probably the most London-feeling of the 3.

thanks, very good feedback. I think we'll stick with SOHO then.

this trip is automatically very appealing to my wife and daughter. my son may not be as excited but will love the hussle and bustle of SOHO so that sounds like a good fit for us to keep everyone pleased

as always, appreciate your help

The Grinder (99) said:

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thanks, very good feedback. I think we'll stick with SOHO then.

this trip is automatically very appealing to my wife and daughter. my son may not be as excited but will love the hussle and bustle of SOHO so that sounds like a good fit for us to keep everyone pleased

as always, appreciate your help

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Of course,

Funny story. When I was 16 or 17 and my brother was a couple years younger, my folks had the opportunity for us to go to London for Christmas and we had such a bad reaction to it that they passed it up and we did Christmas at home. I'd never say it but it was because in my head I just envisioned a bunch of stuffy Englishmen in suits walking around yammering on in overly ornate English drinking tea and eating meat pies and fish and chips with bad teeth. Sounded boring. Your son probably won't say that but I can nearly assure you that's what's rolling around in his head.

I can tell you living here now that I would have loved to visit at that age and your son will too. There's such a wide array of things to do and see. So many different things you can get into here. Even after being here for 3.5 years, we still are finding brand new interesting things to do and see here.

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I like the feel of Chelsea and Kensington… the neighborhoods feel really British with clear high streets and stuff. Downside is transport is a little touch and go… particularly in Chelsea but it is nice and feels more like London where Soho probably is a bit more of just a generic big city feel to it just in older buildings and stuff. Covent Garden is really nice too as I said in an post above… I'm there a bit less than the other 2 areas just because of where I live in London.

All 3 are definitely a lot more fun and vibrant than the area by Tate Britain. Soho is wildest and most active but not too wild. Covent Garden is probably the most uppity and Chelsea probably the most London-feeling of the 3.

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I do think most tourists that have never been to the city underestimate

a) the cost of taxis

b) the traffic and commute time from Chelsea

and

c) the spotty nature of tube service at times.

I tend to push anyone that is a newb and visiting for the first time towards the zone between Hyde Park and Westminster to the West and maybe the City/Tower Hill to the East.

I find that most first timers prioritize Westminster Abbey, the Eye, and of course the National Galley, 10 Downing Street, Buckingham, etc and that is all walkable in the Hyde Park/Westminster area.

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I'm leaning toward the SOHO rental right now as it seems closer to more things and may be a bit more lively. We are not in London to party by any means, but with a couple of teenagers I think they would find it exciting to be nearer the heart of things.

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I took my sons back a few years ago, and they really really loved the Borough Market. If you want a very fun and unusual and incredibly diverse eating experience, this is the place and is a great diversion from the typical touristy stuff.