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Independent Travel - Planning Tips - Day Trips - Trains - Bus Tours - Hotels - Victoria.St

In major cities such as London, York and Edinburgh, we prefer to be centrally located even though the hotel rooms cost more for the convenience.  As one travel writer put it, 'Inexpensive, central and comfortable - pick two.'  Unless one is retired, there are a limited number of days for any given holiday.  We like to pack-in as much as our time allows.  And, that means maximising our sightseeing time by limiting the time spent travelling to and from an outlying area.

We have friends who stay at B & B's (bed & breakfast) and love it.  Our preference is for places that are easy to find, conveniently located, affordable, and free from surprises  ...such as, 'The loo ('lavatory') is one flight down and at the end of the hall.'

London

• St Ermins (another link)  ...located on Caxton St (London, SW1), St Ermins is now part of Italy's 'Jolly Hotel' chain.  

• St James's Court Hotel  St James's Court - located on Buckingham Gate (London, SW1) - is a four star hotel and now a member of the 'Crown Plaza' group.

St Ermins hotel has been our home in London on six holidays.  We have friends who very much enjoyed their stay at St James's.  Both hotels are certainly not inexpensive.  However, they are located near Victoria Street in London SW1 ['postcode'] which we believe is the best area of London from a tourist's point of view.  Click the thumbnail image for more on Victoria Street.

For those on a budget, there may very well be B & Bs nr ['near'] Victoria Street in SW1.  Suggest contacting the British Tourist Authority.

• Travel Inn  The Travel Inn group recently opened a hotel in County Hall, across the Thames from the Palace of Westminster (Parliament).  We stayed there on our last holiday.  The room was pleasant and remarkably affordable for central London.  They have an all-you-can-eat full English breakfast buffet.  Outside the door and to your left are Jubilee Gardens, a walk along the Thames and the London Eye, a forty storey Ferris wheel.  A short walk takes you past one of the great American tragedies [British euphemism for a fast-food, hamburger restaurant] and across Westminster Bridge to Parliament Square, Westminster Abbey, the Westminster Underground ['subway'] station, Victoria Embankment Gardens, St James's Park, Whitehall and 10 Downing Street, the home of the PM ['Prime Minster'].  A two block walk takes you to Waterloo Station with trains to the southeast, Eurostar trains to mainland Europe via the Channel Tunnel and a tube ['subway'] station for the Bakerloo, Northern and Jubilee Underground lines.  The only thing lacking is a 'view' from your room's window.  There is another hotel in County Hall that does have views of the River Thames, Big Ben and the Palace of Westminster  ...and, for that, you have to pay a lot more.

Birmingham

• The Novotel Birmingham International Airport Hotel (another link) (and another) is located directly across the street from Birmingham International Airport.  The rooms have double, double-glazed ['thermopane'] windows which do a remarkable job of soundproofing.  Courtesy transportation is provided to the Birmingham International Railway Station and the National Exhibition Centre.

Bowness-on-Windermere

• The Burn How Garden House Hotel is pleasantly isolated but only a five-minute walk to the shore of Lake Windermere where you will find the local 'TIC' (Tourist Information Centre).  The TICs staff can help you arrange for a tour by coach or van.  Nearby, take a boat to Lakeside and ride the Lakeside & Haverwaite Railway, cruise the length of Lake Windermere to Ambleside, or explore the National Park Visitors Centre.  It is a three minute stroll to Bowness' town centre ['downtown'] with shops, restaurants, pubs and the 'World of Beatrix Potter' exhibition.

Chester

• The Queen Hotel  ...is quite literally across the street from the Chester railway station.  A short taxi ride (a taxi rank is in front of the station) will take you to Chester City Centre ['downtown'], a medieval walled city.

Edinburgh

• Travel Inn  This affordable and pleasant hotel is located in Edinburgh City Centre on a street called 'Morrison Link'.  A ten minute walk takes you to Princes Street (the main shopping area), Princes Street Gardens and the Georgian House.  You are within walking distance of Edinburgh Castle and The Royal Mile.  A short taxi ride will get you to Waverly Railway Station.

• The Caledonian Hotel (another link) If price is no object (!), the 'Caley' is a five star hotel (with prices to match) located on Princes Street within walking distance of Edinburgh Castle and The Royal Mile.

Stratford-upon-Avon

• Grosvenor House is located on Warwick Road and a one block walk from the River Avon, Stratford-upon-Avon's town centre and the high street ['shopping district'].  This hotel was created by joining together adjacent homes.  Inside, the experience of finding your room at the end of a long day is both amusing and challenging ('Honey, I think we turn left here and then right!') as you negotiate the veritable rabbit warren of corridors.  The convenience of the location and comfort of the rooms far outweigh the 'rabbit warren' design. 

York

• The Royal York Hotel  This grand old railway hotel is now a member of the 'Le Meridien' group.  Located adjacent to York Railway Station, those 'in the know' do not walk out of the front entrance of the station to get to the hotel via the long route.  Rather, they walk along the platform with their luggage on a trolley ['cart'] to a side exit where - ten feet away - is a little-known back entrance to the hotel.  Many rooms have a dramatic night-time view of the illuminated spires of York Minster.  The National Railway Museum is a five minute walk from the front door.  York City Centre is a ten minute walk or a short taxi ride away.  (There is a taxi rank in front of the railway station.)

Everywhere Else in Britain

• Travel Inn

Our last two vacations in Britain have made extensive use of the Travel Inn chain of hotels.  (North Americans would likely call them 'motels'.)  The rooms are uniformly  pleasant and all are ensuite ['have a private lavatory'].  Located next to a pub or restaurant, there are well over two hundred of them throughout Great Britain.  Their website tells you more about the rooms, pub & restaurant menus, in addition to their locations and maps to find them easily.  Most are located near motorways ['expressways'] or adjacent to town centres ['downtown areas'].  A welcome recent addition has been the Travel Inn 'Capitol' (three hotels in central London) and Travel Inn 'Metro' (hotels in the city centres of Edinburgh, Glasgow, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, and Leeds.)

Having sorted out ['planned'] our itinerary, one trunk call ['trans-Atlantic telephone call'] to their central reservations number takes care of all the hotels at one time.  TIP  Be sure to write down the confirmation numbers should there be any changes later.  And, make your reservations as early as possible.  This chain is extremely popular with British families on holiday and travelling business men and women.

And...  No.  We are not compensated for any of our recommendations.

 

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Last modified: Thursday, 27 October 2005.