LONDON BY AREA
Although the entire U.K. is slightly smaller than the state of Oregon, London is geographically larger than many cities in the rest of Europe.
London is a series of neighborhoods spread out over 600 square miles. One or more of these neighborhoods make up a "borough" which is governed by a local borough council. The neighborhood of Soho is generally considered the most central area of London and is in the borough of Westminster.
You can tell which borough your hotel is in from the first two or three digits of its postcode. A postcode is like an American zip code. It appears at the end of a U.K. address as six digits (letters and numbers) such as "W1T 1XT." Hotels in Soho have a postcode beginning with "W1." If you have already booked a hotel, you can find out how central it is by checking the first two or three digits of its postcode against the Postcode Map. If you haven't booked a hotel yet, you can refer to Rick's List and choose one from there. By keeping both the Postcode Map and the Rick's List open in separate windows on your computer you can see the postcode of the hotel you are choosing and compare it to the location on the map.
Rooms (and beds) in London hotels tend to be smaller than American hotels - and much more expensive. If you are traveling on your own ("on your todd"), make sure you specify a double room for single occupancy if you don't want to be squeezed into an oversized closet with a dwarf-sized bed. If you are traveling with someone else and require two single beds in a room rather than one double bed, specify clearly that separate beds are required.
If you are staying more than a couple of nights at the same hotel, you may be able to negotiate a discount. The price of a room can vary considerably depending on supply and demand and the time you are traveling. Rooms booked early for over the Christmas period, for instance, can be considerably cheaper than the rest of the year because there are fewer business travelers over Christmas. Room prices quoted on this site are approximate and the lowest prices may be special offers - for instance a weekend rate when there are fewer business travelers. For current prices covering the period of time you wish to travel, refer to the hotel's web site which can be accessed through Rick's List.
SOHO/WEST END (W1 and sections of WC2 and WC1)
The Soho area (W1) is probably the most central area of London. It's the main area for nightlife and is full of shops, art galleries, museums cafes, restaurants, theatres and strip joints and home of the annual black tie charity event, the Soho Ball. Soho is part of the area known as the "West End" or "Theatreland." The West End also includes areas of WC1 and WC2. Do not confuse this with west London. Some tour operators may suggest that the west London hotel they are offering you is in the West End. Don't take their word for it. Get the postcode and check it on our Postcode Map.
Finding your way through the small, winding streets of Soho can be confusing. The three main streets in the West End are Tottenham (pronounced "tot-num") Court Road, Oxford Street and Charing Cross Road. Paying attention to where you are in relation to these streets can help you to navigate the smaller streets. Tottenham Court Road is full of stereo, computer and furniture shops (as well as Habitat and Heals). Oxford Street is home to the John Lewis and Selfridges department stores as well as a plethora of lower priced clothing shops and souvenir stands. Charing Cross Road is primarily known for its bookshops. Oxford Street is particularly popular with pickpockets.
Unfortunately, there are few hotels in the Soho area and they tend to be expensive. If you are traveling with friends or family, you may want to consider staying in an apartment rather than a hotel. If you are a traveling on your own and on a limited budget, you may want to consider one of the hostels in the area.
The advantage of an apartment is that they often include your own kitchen which can further cut down on expenses - particularly given how expensive London restaurants can be. There are several apartment type of facilities in the West End although probably the best known is the Citadines apartments. Citadines runs apartments all over the world and has several locations in London. The most central is the Citadines Trafalgar Square from £110 per night.
Other more expensive apartments in the W1 area that are not part of the Citadines chain include the Charles Street Apartments and the Bond Street Luxury Apartments.
The cheapest option in W1 are hostels. The YHA London Oxford Street Hostel is located in Soho and has beds for £23.50/night for adults. Another hostel in W1 which is not associated with the YHA is the Piccadilly Backpackers Hostel with beds from £12/night. Another option is to stay at the International Students House which has single, twin, triple, quad and multi-bedded rooms, starting at approximately £37 per night. The Wills House and Great Portland Street ISH residences are the most central.
If you prefer a hotel room to a hostel or apartment, the least expensive option in W1 is the St. Giles Hotel, located just off Tottenham Court Road. Clean, basic (small) rooms can be had for as little as £69/night depending on the season. The St. Giles is located in the same building as the YMCA and for a separate fee you can have full use of their facilities. Don't bother with the buffet breakfast at £9.50 - there are plenty of restaurants and cafes within walking distance which are considerably cheaper - as is the case with all hotels located in in this area.
To give you an idea of how inexpensive the St. Giles is, rooms at the nearby MyHotel go for £125-700/night or more - although the amenities include air conditioning, satellite television and a Yo Sushi restaurant on the ground floor.
Less expensive than the MyHotel, but more expensive than the St. Giles is the Shaftesbury Hotel (part of the Best Western group) on Charing Cross Road. A single room (or double for single occupancy) will set you back about £149-195/night, with broadband access available in the rooms. At the end of the same road you will also find the Thistle Charing Cross - adjacent to Charing Cross Station. The least expensive rooms there start at approximately £120/night. Other central Thistle hotels include the The Selfridge (next door to Selfridges department store) and the Thistle Piccadilly which is actually located just off Leicester (pronounced Lester) Square. Leicester Square is a busy pedestrian square surrounded by cinemas, not very good restaurants and rip-off touristy nightclubs. Although the square tends to attract drunks on their home from a late night out in Soho, it is patrolled regularly by police and fairly safe although as in any urban area you should watch out for pickpockets and mobile phone grabbers. (If you do have a mobile you might want to consider getting a U.K. sim card while visiting here which will save you considerably on local phone calls - they are available at The Carphone Warehouse and many other mobile phone outlets.) Another Leicester Square hotel is the Radisson Edwardian Hampshire Hotel where rooms go for £135 - £455.
One of the most central but lesser known hotels (at least to the general public) in Soho is Hazlitts - a "hidden" hotel known mostly to people who have stayed there before.
Getting a room at Hazlitts can be difficult - it is popular with visiting VIPs and celebrities who want to escape from the paparazzi that stalk other higher profile hotels. It is also about as central as you can get. Located on the same street as Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club and Bar Italia (serving the best/strongest coffee in London), Hazlitt's is about as central as you can get. Room prices range from £175-300/night. Highly recommended if you want to stay at a quintessentially English hotel.
A more modern upmarket hotel in Soho is The Soho Hotel - part of the Firmdale chain and located at the end of a very central but fairly quiet street - Richmond Mews. Rooms at The Soho Hotel go for £220 - £2,500/night mostly because of its location. Apart from the tacky ceiling lights in the driveway entrance, this hotel has a good reputation as one of the Firmdale's chain of "boutique" hotels. There are four excellent bars/restaurants at the hotel and two state of the art screening rooms for films, with a Sunday afternoon film club.
Another West End neighborhood you might want to consider is the Covent Garden area (WC2) - next to Soho and home to the Covent Garden market. The market is open 7 days a week, with a special antiques market on Mondays and the rest of the week devoted to general bric a brac, clothing and arts and crafts. There are also cheaper market and food stalls on nearby Earlham Street, including an organic juice bar, a salad buffet takeaway and a military clothing surplus stall. Covent Garden also features some of the best street performers in the world - ranging from opera singers to jugglers - with all acts approved by a selection committee.
The least expensive hotel in the Covent Garden area is the Covent Garden Travelodge (WC2) where rooms start at about £89/night although there are sometimes special offers with rooms as low as £26. Recommended both for the price and the location.
A more expensive option in the Covent Garden area is the Mountbatten Hotel (WC2). The Mountbatten is a four star hotel with rooms at upwards of £190 per night in a particularly good location at 20 Monmouth Street - right in the middle of all the shops and cafes of the Covent Garden area. If you are a vegetarian there is an excellent inexpensive cafe nearby at 31 Neal Street called Food for Thought (WC2) which is popular with residents and people working in the the area. The small seating area in Food for Thought is cramped but comfortable. Most people get takeaways. There is often a line (queue) at lunchtime, but it goes very quickly.
Another area in the West End that is becoming increasingly trendy due to the plethora of media and recording companies based there is Charlotte Street (W1) which is in the Fitzrovia area of the West End. Although this street is bustling during the day, it can be very quiet at night. It's a good place for lunch - full of restaurants with an international flavor including Japanese, Greek, Indian, Mexican and Italian. An excellent place for a coffee and people watching is the cafe at the trendy Charlotte Street Hotel (W1) - part of the Firmdale group which also operates The Soho Hotel (W1). The Charlotte Street Hotel is about a 15-20 minute walk to Soho and minutes away from Tottenham Court Road. Rooms go for £175-950/night.
The Oscar Bar and Resturant at the Charlotte Street Hotel serves excellent lunches which can be eaten on one of the outdoor tables - a good position for people watching. Full of media types and the occasional celebrity.
A good bargain on Charlotte Street are the rooms that University College rent out during the summer months at Astor College at 99 Charlotte Street. The rooms are available from mid-June to mid-September and prices range from £23 for a single to £44 for a twin-bedded room.
Further afield from Charlotte Street is the Russell Square area (WC1) - about a 20 minute walk to Soho.
Russell Square is in the Bloomsbury section of London which is part of the borough of Camden. University College London is located in this area and many of the buildings are used for student housing. The British Museum is also nearby and well worth a visit - both for the building itself and the exhibitions which are surprisingly accessible with minimal security barriers. Unlike most other museums in London, photographs are allowed here of the exhibitions. The Norman Foster designed user-friendly forecourt which opened in 2000 is an excellent example of modern architecture working successfully within an older historic building - a peaceful oasis for a quick lunch or coffee.
Russell Square is full of Bed and Breakfast accommodation which can sometimes (but not always) be cheaper than a hotel. But be forewarned - B & Bs in London are often run-down. Unlike the rest of Europe where you can find some great B & B bargains in old well-maintained historical buildings, B & Bs in London tend to be over-priced and understaffed with minimal services and room space. Don't expect a quaint English ambiance or home cooked breakfasts - regardless of the descriptions on their web sites which are often misleading. I have visited numerous B & Bs in this area and have yet to find one that I could actually recommend. The Travelodge in Covent Garden - often cheaper, cleaner and more convenient.
Probably the best bargains in Russell Square are the rooms that University College rents during the summer months - from June 12 - September 15 which go for £22-44/night. There are seven different residential halls to choose from. Campbell House is in the Russell Square area. Two other buildings are centrally located in W1. Ramsey Hall and Astor College are both in W1, with the later located on Charlotte Street (see above). The Ivor Evans site is further afield in Camden which is a short cab, bus or tube train ride into Soho. John Dodgson House and Langton House are both in the Kings Cross area (see below). Booking forms are available at http://www.ucl.ac.uk/residences.
If you are looking for a budget hotel in the Russell Square area, the Bonnington Hotel is a good choice. Although now part of the Regency Hotel Group, Bonningtons was first opened in 1911 and is still family run with a friendly staff. Rooms go for £77-175/night.
Slightly north of Russell Square is the Kings Cross area which is chock-a-block with cheap hotels including a smattering of the cheaper chain hotels - Travel Lodges, Premier Inns and Comfort Inns.
KINGS CROSS/ST. PANCRAS/EUSTON (Sections of WC1, N1 and NW1)
Entry to the forecourt of the British Library
featuring Eduardo Paolozzi's statue of Newton
(Photo Gary C./September 2006)The Kings Cross area used to be a haven for junkies and petty criminals who were often resident in one of the many welfare-type hotels in the area. The police have cleaned up the area extensively and major redevelopment is going on there with luxury ("limited edition") flats being built in the old St. Pancras station building. The prestigious Gagosian Gallery recently moved to the area (at 6-24 Britannia Street), attracting other galleries such as Kenny Schachter's Rove gallery at 17 Britannia Street. if you are into books, Housman's on Caledonian road is highly recommended - this ramshackle radical bookstore is an excellent place to find bargains on art, poetry and political books. The area is also home to the British Library featuring Eduardo Paolozzi's famous sculpture of Newton. The Novotel London Euston, where rooms go for £89 to £170 is located next to the forecourt.
There are two quality hostels located in Kings Cross - Journey's Hostel and the the YHA. Journey's Hostel is located next to an inexpensive Thai restaurant and has dormitory style rooms with either 6, 8 or 10 beds per room. Internet access is £1 for 70 minutes and residents have full access to the kitchen facilities on the premises. There is no curfew and the staff is very friendly and helpful. Beds go for £17-19/night.
The YHA Hostel is located on the busy Euston Road and is slightly more expensive than Journey's with beds going for £24.50 but it does have 10 rooms with only two beds in addition to the larger dormitory style rooms. Kitchen facilities are available.
If you are cooking your own food there is a Tesco Metro supermarket located at 21 Caledonian Road which is open 7:00 am until 10:00 pm on all nights except Sundays when it closes at 6 pm. (Sunday trading laws in England make it illegal for most shops to open before noon or stay open after 6 pm on a Sunday, although smaller convenience stores generally stay open later.) Friends House at 173 Euston Road, run by the Quakers, has a cafe serving meals and snacks.
There are quite a few cheap hotels and B & Bs in the area but they are generally of poor quality. If you are looking for a cheap hotel, it is best to stick to one of the cheaper hotel chains to insure that your room, if small, is at least clean. The Travelodge London Kings Cross on Gray's Inn Road (WC1) is in an impressive listed Edwardian building in a good location - near to all transport - and better located than the Travelodge London Kings Cross Royal Scot (WC1). There is also a smattering of Comfort Inns in the area. The Comfort Inn Kings Cross on Chad's Street is near the Travelodge. There is also the Comfort Inn & Suites on Argyl Street. Argyl Street used to be a street of welfare hotels for junkies - and still retains the rundown atmosphere. The Premier Travel Inn London Kings Cross St. Pancras (N1) and the Premier Travel Inn Euston (WC1) have rooms starting at £75/night.
KNIGHTSBRIDGE (SW1)/CHELSEA (SW3)/SOUTH KENSINGTON (SW7)
If a shopping spree is part of your holiday, you will inevitably end up in Knightsbridge - home to both Harrods and Harvey Nichols and near to numerous designer shops on Brompton Road (SW3) and Sloane Street (SW1) in South Kensington, including Issey Miyake, Chanel and Joseph. But be forewarned - you can get designer gear in American cities for about half the price because of the exchange rate. The real clothing bargains in London are at designer warehouse sales, "High Street" retailers such as Top Shop, or the bargain basement outlets that proliferate on Oxford Street in the West End. But if you've been invited to a classy social function in London and forgot your basic black dress or suit and don't want to spend your entire holiday looking for another one, head for Joseph.
A cab to Soho from Knightsbridge will cost about £10 - £12. There are few hotels in Knightsbridge as, apart from the posh shops and restaurants, the area is mostly residential. It is one of the most expensive areas to live in in London. If you want to stay there you will have to pay highly for the privilege. Rooms at the the Mandarin Oriental hotel (SW1), located directly across from Harvey Nichols at 66 Knightsbridge go for £300 - £2,500 per night. If you walk up Queen's Gate (SW7) there are two other hotels - Jurys Kensington and the Regency Hotel. Both are within walking distance to Harrods and Harvey Nichols. A good place for lunch while shopping in Knightsbridge is the atmospheric Brasserie St. Quentin (usually just referred to as the Brasserie), which, unlike many restaurants in London, also has a brunch menu - the Eggs Benedict is recommended.
Most hotels that advertise that they close to the Knightsbridge area are actually in South Kensington or near Hyde Park. Staying near Hyde Park is fine if you are on the Knightsbridge side of the park but most of the less expensive hotels are located around the Lancaster Gate tube station - not a bad area but full of tourists and little atmosphere. Night life there is based around hotel bars. If you want to stay near Knightsbridge, South Kensington is a better area to stay in - more urban and vibrant. The trendy Cafe Primo, across the street from South Kensington Station is a good place for people watching in this area. If you are into films you might want to check out the current program at the Institute Francais, located near the tube station which shows over 600 films per year and also has a bistro restaurant serving regional French dishes. The nearest hotel to the South Kensington tube station is the Grosvenor Kensington with rooms going for £119 to £179 - considerably cheaper than the Mandarin Oriental.
NOTTING HILL (W11)/PADDINGTON (W2)
Notting Hill - often referred to as Notting Hill Gate - is part of the Kensington and Chelsea borough. Although Notting Hill is miles away from Soho, it is a nice place to stay if you want a relaxing holiday in an atmospheric residential section of London. It is primarily known for its outdoor market and yearly carnival. A cab to Soho will cost about £15 and take about 15-20 minutes, depending on traffic. A bus will take about 30-45 minutes and a tube train will take about the same time as a cab.
Although the official day for the market is Saturday, there are generally stalls open in the Ladbroke Grove section of the area (the upper end of Portobello Road) throughout the week - in addition to the many cafes, trendy pubs and shops specializing in antiques, clothing and arts and crafts. It's a good place for people watching - a multi-cultural neighborhood where Rastafarians meet Trustafarians (white rich kids living off trust accounts who are driving property prices in the area sky-high.) Although the focus of the Saturday market is on antiques there are also plenty of stalls selling everything from second hand clothes to retro furniture - with real bargains to be found in the Ladbroke Grove area.
There are few hotels in this area. Most of the cheaper hotels and B & Bs are in the nearby Paddington area - a run down area near the Paddington rail station. The least expensive option for staying in Notting Hill is the Bowden Court hostel (W11) with beds/rooms going for £21-27/night.
If you do want to be right at the foot of the market the Portobello Hotel (W11) is a good option with single rooms starting at £135/night and a hotel apartment going for £350-511/night. Previous guests include Gwyneth Paltrow, Naomi Campbell, Kate Moss, Helena Bonham Carter, Kylie Minogue and Van Morrisson.
Also on Portobello Road is the less expensive Gate Hotel (W11), located near the Portobello Hotel and the Notting Hill Gate tube station. The rooms are slightly rundown but you can't beat the location or the price - £55-110/night. Further up Portobello Road (at #95-97) the atmospheric Portobello Gold (W11) has guest rooms available from £70/night or a two floor apartment for £170/night with a kitchen and roof terrace featuring a putting green.
Other budget hotels near the Notting Hill tube are the Comfort Hotel Notting Hill (W2), the Bluebells Hotel (W2) with rooms costing £55-105/night and the Notting Hill Hotel (W2) at £45-70/night.
There is nothing central about any area south of the river - however the area around the South Bank is home to many London attractions including the Tate Modern, the Hayward Gallery, the London Eye and the National Film Theatre. The concrete banks of the South Bank Centre are also very popular with skateboarders. At night, however, this area can seem a bit desolate. Most of the hotels cater to the business crowd. Probably the best bargains are at the Holiday Inn Express Southwark - normal room prices are about £130 per night but they often offer special deals which can be as low as £49 per night.
