Which London neighborhood for lodging?

[Anonymous]

We're going to be in London for 5 nights (as part of a longer trip) in early August. Family of 4, two teens, so we're probably looking at 2 rooms. I think that sounds kind of nice anyway, to have 2 bathrooms. We do want to stay somewhere in central London.

We have not nailed down plans, so our priorities are

1)Close to a tube entrance on main tourist attraction lines

2)Would love to be close to a park/green space

3)Plenty of food options - quick breakfasts, pop in to dinner pubs, etc.

4)Hoping to keep the cost to about $300 per room or less ($250 would be great!!), but if that has to go up to $400 we could swing it.

The neighborhoods I'm looking at are Kensington, Westminster, or Bloomsbury (by the British Museum). Do those neighborhoods fit my criteria generally? Or please recommend any other neighborhoods to look in that would.

[Anonymous]

We stay in an area just north of Green Park. It's by tube stations. There are high end hotels and smaller middle of road ones. We stayed on Half Moon Street.

[Anonymous]

We stayed in South Kensington -- walk to Hyde Park and multiple convenient tube stations. Definitely use the City Mapper app -- so helpful for planning tube or bus transport.

If you're open to flat rental vs hotel (I love having the extra space and laundry), we had a good experience with Ivy Lettings. The exact apartment we rented is no longer available (it was spectacular -- on Brechin Place, and one of my favorite places we've ever stayed), but the rental experience was very smooth and they have a lot of options that look nice.

Have a great trip!

[Anonymous]

Kensington and Bloomsbury are frequently recommended. I can personally recommend Kensington although not a specific place.

If you have problems finding an affordable hotel, I saw some in Southwark near Borough Market that seemed to fit my criteria. Based on price, having a mini fridge, being close to food, and near transport. That is not a parklike area. But maybe being near the Thames would make up for it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Kensington and Bloomsbury are frequently recommended. I can personally recommend Kensington although not a specific place.

If you have problems finding an affordable hotel, I saw some in Southwark near Borough Market that seemed to fit my criteria. Based on price, having a mini fridge, being close to food, and near transport. That is not a parklike area. But maybe being near the Thames would make up for it.

PP. We stayed in a 2 BR/2BA AirBnB near Hampstead Heath and walked to the subway. It was a neighborhood like Woodley or Cleveland Park. I could find the reco? Cons were...not central...sheets washed in too much fragranced detergent...big bedroom bright at night due to facing the street at ground level. All else good and we liked living like locals. Kid's bedroom was bunks.

Lmk if you want a reco for it.

[Anonymous]

Bloomsbury is great. But it is not the most convenient. If you want to walk places. However there is a tube stop right behind the Kimpton Fitzroy. You can walk to the West End, Chinatown and Covent Gardens from there but some feel it is a hike. There is a very prettty park across from the Kimpton since you asked about green spaces. There are restaurants of all price points but not as many as the West end area. This bakery is fabulous if you need a cheaper place to eat breakfast.
https://mi1fej-ez.myshopify.com/

The Kimpton Fitzroy is one of my all time favorite hotels. However the Kimpton is pricey.

I would stay in the West End and use Covent Garden Tube. It's about 6 minute or less walk from any hotel in the West End. It is located in a great spot and that line goes everywhere you would want to go easily. There are many more hotels to chose from in this area with different price points. It's very east to walk from the West End to many places for sightseeing.

You can always take a Tube line to Hyde Park for greenary open spaces.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Kensington and Bloomsbury are frequently recommended. I can personally recommend Kensington although not a specific place.

If you have problems finding an affordable hotel, I saw some in Southwark near Borough Market that seemed to fit my criteria. Based on price, having a mini fridge, being close to food, and near transport. That is not a parklike area. But maybe being near the Thames would make up for it.

PP. We stayed in a 2 BR/2BA AirBnB near Hampstead Heath and walked to the subway. It was a neighborhood like Woodley or Cleveland Park. I could find the reco? Cons were...not central...sheets washed in too much fragranced detergent...big bedroom bright at night due to facing the street at ground level. All else good and we liked living like locals. Kid's bedroom was bunks.

Lmk if you want a reco for it.

Yes this would be a good location especially if within maybe 5 minute walk of the Hampstead Tube station, preferably basically between the Tube station and the park itself. Quaint, ritzy area with nice hilly walks, nice little mini-town center around the tube station. But I don't think any hotels there, so would have to be rentals, something like this: https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/1354398746051455210

[Anonymous]

Get of at St. James tube and stay at Dukes Hotel

[Anonymous]

Hampstead or Belsize Park. Both close to the Heath.

[Anonymous]

I'd try Clerkenwell, Barbican or inside the Square Mile if at all possible if you're looking for cute cafes, pubs, restaurants, small shops, etc.

I lived in Islington and thought it was great because the Victoria line took me pretty much anywhere I wanted to go.

I think Kensington is far from many things but I guess it's a vibe in and of itself... In West End, I'd only consider the area around Notting Hill (which is not as posh as you'd think).

I second the recommendation for the City Mapper app.

[Anonymous]

We stayed in Kensington, across the road from a tube station. Neighborhood was great!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'd try Clerkenwell, Barbican or inside the Square Mile if at all possible if you're looking for cute cafes, pubs, restaurants, small shops, etc.

I lived in Islington and thought it was great because the Victoria line took me pretty much anywhere I wanted to go.

I think Kensington is far from many things but I guess it's a vibe in and of itself... In West End, I'd only[b] consider the area around Notting Hill [url](which is not as posh as you'd think).

I second the recommendation for the City Mapper app.

We stayed about 5 minutes walk from Notting Hill Gate tube station, that was a great location, agreed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'd try Clerkenwell, Barbican or inside the Square Mile if at all possible if you're looking for cute cafes, pubs, restaurants, small shops, etc.

I lived in Islington and thought it was great because the Victoria line took me pretty much anywhere I wanted to go.

I think Kensington is far from many things but I guess it's a vibe in and of itself... In West End, I'd only[b] consider the area around Notting Hill [url](which is not as posh as you'd think).

I second the recommendation for the City Mapper app.

We stayed about 5 minutes walk from Notting Hill Gate tube station, that was a great location, agreed.

Yes! Same here, but we used https://www.ivylettings.com/ for lodging. You are going to walk a lot and that's part of the fun.

[Anonymous]

We've always stayed near the Russell Square/Bloomsbury area. The park is nearby, as is the British Museum. We were able to take the bus to/from the Tower of London. Our B&B was halfway between the Russell Square and King's Cross stops, so you can access pretty much any line from there. Plenty of local places to eat plus small stores, pubs, coffee shops, pharmacies, etc. Our hotel is called the Harlingford, and it's a lovely little place, I would totally recommend it to you except for the fact you're visiting in August and the rooms do not have a/c and there is no elevator. There are other hotels on the same crescent, I don't have any experience with them but maybe one of them has a/c.

https://www.harlingfordhotel.com/

[Anonymous]

I would consider looking near Gloucester road tube station. It’s on 3 lines so you can get most places in central London in just a few stops. It’s a few minutes down the road from the park and natural history museum. 2 hotels across the street an ibis and doubletree that are usually pretty affordable. I think doubletree has some bigger rooms that can fit 4 if you want to go that way.