Globetrotter inns - London

[mareeclo]

I'm currently looking into accomodations for my upcoming visit to London in later September - early October and I wondered if anyone had ever stayed at the Globetrotter inn ? (www.globetrotterinns.com

It seems like a great hostel to stay at, they seem to have everything to make your stay enjoyable, and the fare is pretty good (162$CAD for 4 nights). My only concern is that it seems be a bit outside of Central London in Hammersmith, on the District Tube line ( Stamford Brook station).

I've never been to London so I don't know wether this is really far from Central London and was trying to find a hotel closer to most of the major London attractions, but I can't seem to find one that looks as nice What do you think ? Should I book there or am I better off looking for somewhere else ?

[herrbert]

I didn't stay at Globetrotters, but if it is really close to the district line, I wouldn't be too bad, as the district line takes you directly to station likes Victoria, Westminster, Embankment and Monument, which are stations situated next to most of the major sites.

It can take you up to half an hour to get to the center, but you don't have to change trains, which is a big advantage. Also it would take you pretty close to Heathrow Airport. (only 1 change) The one thing you need to check is, which line of the district line, will get you to Stamford Bridge. (District lines, has 5 destinations (which split at Earls Court, you have to be careful which one you can take.)

[pointofnoreturn]

I'm not too crazy about hostels and dorms so I tend to stay in a private room wherever has the cheapest prices and also good reviews. I may sound kind of boring but I tend to stay in Travelodges for the UKs if I can't find a decent B&B in my range. I stayed at Hyde Park Rooms for 3 nights then moved to Travelodge Farringdon which was great. Huge room, huge beds and good bathroom all for 15-26 pounds a night (one night was 15, the other 26). It was literally a 2 minute bus ride from Kings Cross which was very convenient for us in terms of transportation.

P.S. I have heard of Globetrotters Inn but it sounded like a party house to me. If I had to choose a hostel, I might go with Ashlee House that's near Kings Cross or one of the St. Christopher's that are scattered all over London. But their private rooms are more expensive than a Travelodge private room in some cases and you might not even get a bathroom! Not good enough for me hehehe!

[mareeclo]

I've checked Travelodge hotels, but none seem to have that special rate during the time I'll be in London, which is September 28th to October 1st (checking out on the 2nd - 4 nights)

[MuvverRussia]

From what I've heard both Ashlee house and St Christopher's are more party hostels. St Christopher's especially has a bar chain associated with it.

Personally, that globetrotter hostel is a bit far out for my tastes. That said, as long as you're not planning on staying out much later than say 11pm (or are prepared to take night buses/taxis) then it shouldn't be problematic. Time wise, it should take around 45min to reach Central London on average.

And yeah, travelodges are pretty good if all you want is a room for the night.

[pointofnoreturn]

mareeclo said:

I've checked Travelodge hotels, but none seem to have that special rate during the time I'll be in London, which is September 28th to October 1st (checking out on the 2nd - 4 nights)

That sucks. If you haven't had any luck narrowing down to a good B&B or hostel, you might want to check into Premier Travel Inns? They're like Travelodges.... only more expensive. I realize that may not be what you're looking for but just throwing that out there.

September's a popular month to see London because the weather is good and the children will be going back to school so the tourist season is nearly in full swing. Places may be booked solid so I'd advise you to find something ASAP.

You might also want to look into Priceline. You can get a great room at a good hotel for a very good price. WillTravel has a lot of advice on that but she's in Amsterdam/Germany at the moment. London's a great city to use Priceline and some people have reported getting 4 star hotels for 100 US/night.

[mareeclo]

Thanks I will have a look at those.

[mareeclo]

I just checked the Hyde Park rooms Hotel again and sent an email to see if they have availability. I'll see what their answer is

[Eagle]

mareecio, if you can let me know what area of London you want to stay, I might be able to offer a few web addresses for you to check. However, it's getting a bit "late" for booking a room for Sept. 28. I had problems finding a vacancy in London when I started booking about a month ago!

Good luck!!!

[mareeclo]

Thanks Eagle, I know it's a bit late but I just basically didn't know if I'd be able to go before last week. I'll just have to settle for a dorm room if I don't find anything else. It's better than nothing at all I guess. There's also the possibility that I can move my stop to London after my stay in Switzerland, but it's not the best option for me right now. Basically, the areas I'd like to stay in are the ones closest to Hyde Park which seem to me to be the closest to most major attractions. I don't want to be spending my time in the Tube

[mareeclo]

I think I might've found something. A single room at Fairway Hotel www.fairwaylondon.com, with Shared bathroom, including English breakfast for 4 nights for 148GBP. My only concern is that the nearest tube station is King Cross-St-Pancras. It's a bit further than I wished it was from Central London, but all other Hotels I've found in Victoria, Kensignton etc .. that still have vacancy are way over my budget. So I might just take this. It is better than a dorm room in a Hostel and it is not that far, is it ?

Haven't heard back from the Hyde Park rooms Hotel.

I have a question though, I have to catch a flight from Stansted Airport to Basel Switzerland on October 2nd at 11h35 am. I found a very good price for a bus on www.easybus.com that will take me from Central London to Standsted Airport for only 2GBP instead of the 26GBP fare with the Stansted Express. The bus leaves London's Marble Arch Station and takes me to Standsted within the next hour and a half. I found a bus that leaves at 8am and arrives at Standsted at 9h20. That leaves me 2hrs to check-in for my flight which I think is enough time. Now my question is, should I do this? or only book Fairway Hotel for 3 nights and get a hotel near Standsted Airport for the last night just to be sure I'm there on time ? I think I'd rather stay in Central London for my last night, though I could always book the hotel at Standsted and let them know I will be checking-in late and catch a later easybus (they run until 22h10) on the 1st to get to Standsted. Or take an earlier one the next morning if 2hrs is not enough to check-in. What would you do ?

[Eagle]

mareecio, sorry for the delay in sending along information on the Hotels. Some days are just TOO busy! I'm glad to hear that you've possibly found a Hotel, but £37 per night sounds "inexpensive" for London. I only found a few listings in the Notting Hill neighborhood (which is somewhat "close" to Hyde Park), but there were more listings for the Victoria Station / Belgravia area.

Regarding the time allowance for your flight, two hours should be adequate time to check-in for your flight, but I would probably take the safe approach and leave earlier than 08:00 (if there's an earlier Bus). Hopefully you'll get some further opinions on this.

Happy travels!!!

[mareeclo]

Eagle, thanks for your advice. Looks like the hotel is no longer a problem for me. I just recieved an email from my mom who just genuinely offered to pay my British Airways flight from Montreal to London and then from Basel to Montreal as a gift. She did that with all of my brothers, sister and I (total of 4) 5 years ago when she moved to Switzerland and she just moved again and said she wanted us to see her new home, so she's offering to pay my airfare. I am now more free moneywise and will be looking into a little more expensive hotels without going overboard

[MuvverRussia]

mareeclo said:

My only concern is that the nearest tube station is King Cross-St-Pancras. It's a bit further than I wished it was from Central London

Kings cross is pretty much one of the most central places in London for transport connections. It really isn't that bad - Covent Garden is only a minute or so away by tube. The area's nowhere near as bad as people make it out to be either.

Otherwise, what's your budget like now?

[mareeclo]

Cool thanx MuvverRussia, Well I don't want to spend too much on an hotel, but I guess something around 100$CAD/a night would be alright I guess. Don't want to go overboard either, so something under 100$CAD would be totally alright lol . I know this is still considered as cheap, but I'd rather spend on tours and things like that. Just want something well situated, clean, comfortable, with ensuite bathroom, nice staff and if possible breakfast included Is that too much to ask ? lol