Where to stay in London?

[amberlyrose]

We are going to Italy in May, but we'll be flying to London and taking a flight to Rome two days later. If you were staying in London for 2 days, what neighborhood would you stay in to get the most out of the trip?
We'll be using AirBnB or another vacation rental. 

[Deleted]

I would suggest staying near Paddington. There is a nice Sofitel there. That way you are close to the Heathway express but still in the city proper.

[Deleted]

Most of the touristy stuff is pretty close together. In addition to looking near Paddington (and also, look in to taking the Heathrow Connect instead of the Express. It's literally half the price and only 10 minutes longer) look near Green Park, Hyde Park Corner and Knightsbridge. If you stay in that general area you can take the Picadilly line from Heathrow and it's even cheaper than doing the Connect or Express.

If you want easy and quick access to touristy stuff I would stay in West London.

[amberlyrose]

Thanks!

[lolo]

I would not stay near Paddington.

I'd try for Marylebone.

[amberlyrose]

Mar 22, 2014 9:46:20 GMT -5 lolo said:

I would not stay near Paddington.

I'd try for Marylebone.

Any reason not to? I've never been so I'd like to hear all pros and cons

[hazel]

Mar 22, 2014 11:44:27 GMT -5 amberlyrose said:

Mar 22, 2014 9:46:20 GMT -5 lolo said:

I would not stay near Paddington.

I'd try for Marylebone.

Any reason not to? I've never been so I'd like to hear all pros and cons

I'm glad you asked....that's the area I'm staying in next month.

[mrsukyankee]

Paddington (aka location of Heathrow Express) isn't really a lovely area tbh - I wouldn't want to want to walk around there late at night. I agree with looking for hotels near Marylebone or Baker St (both of which are close to the West End and easily accessible from Paddington). I don't have suggestions for them as I live here, but I have used the London B&B Agency in the past and really had a good experience.

[hazel]

Mar 22, 2014 12:44:24 GMT -5 mrsukyankee said:

Paddington (aka location of Heathrow Express) isn't really a lovely area tbh - I wouldn't want to want to walk around there late at night. I agree with looking for hotels near Marylebone or Baker St (both of which are close to the West End and easily accessible from Paddington). I don't have suggestions for them as I live here, but I have used the London B&B Agency in the past and really had a good experience.

Crap - thanks for this info. I'm traveling alone, so safety, especially later at night, is really important to me.

[Deleted]

I just returned from staying at the intercontinental park lane London and the location was excellent, right between Hyde park and green park, walking distance to bucking ham palace, Oxford st. Etc. also a tube station right out front so easy to get anywhere else. Very safe area.

[lolo]

The area around Paddington Station is kind of grungy. It's not a desired neighborhood, and I agree that I would exercise particular caution when walking there along at night. I would be more likely to take a cab than the tube later at night also.

I usually recommend the Lincoln House Hotel, which is about 10 minutes walking from Marble Arch/the edge of Hyde Park and Baker Street station. Very central. It is not glamorous but it's clean and relatively affordable. Some rooms are nicer than others--so read the description carefully to be sure you're happy with what you end up booking.

[Deleted]

IMHO don't think Paddington is that bad. My cousin used to live near Paddington at Bayswater and I've walked around there late at night plenty of times and never felt unsafe.

The immediate area around the station aren't amazing and are a little grungy, but if you're needing a place to get in and out really quickly then it's not horrible.

And in all honesty, there are parts of the US where I have felt unsafe walking around alone in the middle of the day. I have yet to feel unsafe walking around London at night alone, even late night.

[lolo]

Is it that bad? No. But if I were spending only a short time in London, no way would I chose that area.

I would separate Bayswater and Paddington. I mean, Tony Blair lives in Bayswater. And parts of it are directly adjacent to Hyde Park.

[alleinesein]

I like to stay in Kensington/South Kensington. The Royal Garden Hotel is adjacent to Buckingham Palace and just a few minutes from the tube station. The Park City London is within walking distance to the Gloucester tube stop (Picadilly line to LHR), Royal Albert Hall, The V&A, Natural History Museum and the Science Museum.

I've found that hotels can be cheaper than some of the VRBO/AirBnB depending on the time of year; my last trip to London every 'cheap' apartment rental wanted a huge deposit that exceeded the actual cost of the stay.

I have stayed near Paddington station and I never felt unsafe while we walking around at night. Its a little grungy but the streets were quiet and there were hardly any people out.

[Deleted]

Wow. I felt safe near Paddington. Not the greatest but easy access to the tube.

The last few times we've stayed at Marriott County Hall and that is near everything but not exactly budget.

[clseale]

I'm actually really surprised by the responses for Paddington, although we mainly spent time in the section right across from Hyde park, so perhaps that's the difference. We loved it & thought it would be a good option for a return trip. I don't know much about the surrounding area.

We stayed in Westminster, and it was really convenient. Big Ben, Parliament, Westminster Abbey & some nice areas along the Thames were within 5 min. Buckingham Palace was maybe a 10 min walk. We're walkers, but I think the only thing we really had to take the tube to was the Tower of London. It was a quieter section, but still had some pubs nearby. We had really nice weather in May, and enjoyed a drink on the boat bars at night, directly across from the eye.