Hotel Recommendations - UK including London

For our VISA interview (on17th August 2004) we stayed at the Bryanston Court Hotel at 56 Great Cumberland Place - it's directly opposite Dr Phelans office (at no 53). (Note: This recommendation is purely for LOCATION for VISA applicants).

It was VERY basic, and the shower was TINY - not that I am able to use the shower yet (after my recent operation).

They have TWO rates of rooms - the Bryanston Double was £79 for the night, but they do have "concorde doubles" for £99 - no doubt a little more luxury (or at least a shower cubilcle larger than 2ft square!)

We weren't too bothered - it was purely for somewhere to sleep overnight rather than leave at 5am from Southampton.

We parked in the Marble Arch (underground) carpark overnight - it's £26 for up to 24 hours and is within walking distance of both Dr Phelan's and the US Embassy.

The cab ride from the medical to the embassy was £5.00.

Another VISA interviewee stayed overnight at the Selfridges Hotel - he claimed it was inexpensive, and based on it's name, I would imagine that it was a little more comfortable that the Bryanston Court.

Note that the Bryanston Court Hotel is fairly typical of most London Hotels (at least the inexpensive ones).

If you don't mind being a little further out, a hotel HIGHLY RECOMMENDED by my Husband, Adrian is "The Hogarth" near Earls Court - they have limited parking facilities but I believe that it is outside the congestion zone and is a short drive from Kensington and the carpark we used (which also has an entrance on Park Lane). Adrian's used The Hogarth a couple of times on business and is close to restaurants and the Earls Court Tube station.

I've had excellent luck finding a decent hotel with www.londontown.com

It's best to try FIRST thing in the morning - that's when they release X amount of rooms.

We stayed at the Marriott in Marble Arch last summer and it was quite nice, only a few blocks away from Hyde Park and the Marble Arch tube station.  If I recall, we booked through priceline.com and paid $60 for the room. 

In Oxford, we stayed at the Eastgate Hotel and our room was small but nice.  The hotel staff was very helpful too when I came down with a nasty ear infection and had to see a doctor.  They held our luggage and brought it up to our room when it was ready.  I don't recall the price of our room but it was also booked through priceline.com.

Bristol.. the Marriott in City Centre.  No complaints except there are no places to eat nearby.  We had to wander for ages to find a place to eat.  The few pubs around the corner didn't serve dinner so we were stuck. 

For my husband's visa interview we stayed at the Milennium Hotel Mayfair. We've stayed in many hotels in London and this was by FAR the best. It felt like an America hotel in that the room was very big, the bed was very big, the surroundings were perfectly clean and nice. No smell of mold, no 4,000 year old plumbing, huge shower, gorgeous hotel - and none of this "we'll charge a lot just because we can"  - - - it was worth every penny. And literally a stones throw from the Embassy, on it's doorstep really! It is an easy walk from Bond Street tube.

Rooms are more expensive if you book directly through them. We got our room from Expedia.co.uk and paid just over £100 for the two of us. We've spent more than that on a hotel before and it was half the hotel. This place was fantastic fantastic fantastic!

http://www.millenniumhotels.com/MCIL.nsf/lu_hoteldoc/39$$hoteldescription?opendocument

This place was fantastic fantastic fantastic!

Ditto, ditto, ditto!

I totally agree,, I have recommended this Hotel to many who were headed to the Embassy. I love it there   Did anyone eat at Shogun when you stayed there? If you love Japanese food, it's one of the best I have ever been to. This isn't a Benihana type place,, it's very elegant and romantic

Nope we didn't eat there. :/ If my family ever comes back to London for a visit I'm going to TOTALLY recommend this place. They know a hotel is going to be expensive, and for £10-£20 extra a night it will be worth it to them to stay in a place like this. Piano in the bar too!

Only stayed in London twice - the first was at the Park Lane Hotel - that was nice, the staff were incredible. The room was okay, not very nice on the furnishing side, but we were rarely in the room anyway. I disliked the shower because the curtain kept sticking to me! I hate when that happens. Other than that, it was a really good place to stay.

Second time we stayed at the Sheraton Park Tower in Knightsbridge. It was VERY VERY nice. We got one of the executive rooms on the higher floors and we were looking straight into Harvey Nichols every morning watching them prepare food type stuff. The bed was SO comfortable and no problem with the shower this time as it was huge and had a glass door. There was a separate bath that was big and deep and good for washing clothes that had gotten hugely dirty during the London marathon (not that I was running, I was just getting dirty watching!). Wasn't too keen on the staff (especially the big burly bouncer types later in the evening) but overall it was such a beautiful room that it definitely topped Park Lane (which, my fiance loves to point out, is NOT located on Park Lane - he went about changing all the "Park Lane" labeled things to "PICCADILLY").

Yorkshire - Lion's Inn at Blakey. Hugely recommended, not only for the food, but for the quaint suites they have available for overnight stays. Beautiful scenery, freezing cold, and the perfect place to get away for a romantic weekend.

Depends what you want.
I don't know much about London Hotels - we live close so so hotel stays are not something we consider.

Elsewhere in UK Travel Lodges Travel Inns, andPremier Lodges offer, in my opinion, usually very good value for money. You are charged by the room, rather than the person. Many have restaurants/pubs attached.

If you want to go a bit more up market and very traditional, hotels near main line stations are a bit different, if pricey.

My own experience is that UK hotels are generally very expensive on a like for like basis with those in USA.

I've always hated Travel Inns, I've stayed in a few, and it bothers me to not have a phone in the room. :/ One we stayed at also had bropken pay phones, so there was no way to make a phone call at all. 

I've always hated Travel Inns, I've stayed in a few, and it bothers me to not have a phone in the room. :/ One we stayed at also had bropken pay phones, so there was no way to make a phone call at all. 

In the UK, I've found Travel Inns to be much more modern and better than Travel Lodges although they're aiming at the same market.  If you want a step up (phone in room, modem point  ) try the Ibis chain.  Still a bit "plastic" and have to say that Lisa's not keen ... but these chains do offer good value.  To some extent, you get what you pay for, though.   Following advise refers specifically to airport locations.

Airport Hotel Advise for those on a tight budget:

Heathrow - first choice, Ibis, second choice Travel Inn
Gatwick - first choice, Travel Inn, second choice Ibis.

At Gatwick - do NOT eat in the restaurant at either hotel unless you have plenty of time. Heathrow - restaurants offer resonable speed service in both hotels.

We've actually stayed in the Ibis loads of times - and I've always been really happy. I don't like chemical toilets, but that's my only real complaint with them.

The lack of phones in Travel Inns is not a real problem.
Mobile phones, or cell phones, fix that.
And my laptop goes everywhere.  It has a wireless connection.
McDonalds have BT Openworld, so internet access is available almost anywhere.

The lack of phones in Travel Inns is not a real problem.
Mobile phones, or cell phones, fix that..

The one where we stayed in Grays, Essex is the one that ruined the whole Travel Inn experience for us - our phones couldn't get reception in the hotel. NOr could anyone else's by the look of it, since loads of business men were always to be seen standing outside the front door talking on the phones. I'm sure they aren't all like that - but well, some are!

The one where we stayed in Grays, Essex is the one that ruined the whole Travel Inn experience for us - our phones couldn't get reception in the hotel.

You can't really blame the hotel for lack of mobile phone reception.