London on the quick

Over the last couple of years, deeply discounted last-minute airfares, coupled with frequent-flyer mileage status that allows me to accumulate double miles (so one trip across the pond nets me one free domestic trip), has made it increasingly attractive to take quickie trips to London. And interestingly, these trips have led me to feel less like I'm going "abroad" and more like I'm visiting an old friend.

Quick Tips:

The trick to making these cheap airfares translate into inexpensive trips is in finding the right accommodations.

Hotels in London can be very expensive. But it's easy to find deeply discounted fares at various internet hotel booking sites. Check out my tips on finding the best hotel deals.

Best Way To Get Around:

Most tourists to London will attempt to use the Underground System or the "Tube". Let me go on record as saying, I hate the tube! I know that's a bit of a blasphemy, but I find myself terribly claustrophobic, hurling along underground where I can't see anything. Add to that the confusing direction signs, the plethora of stairs (and my bad knees), some rather questionable looking people, and the periodic whiffs of smells that make you wonder what's going on down there. For the record, I also don't like the NYC Metro or the Paris Metro. It's nothing against the Brits. . . I love the Brits. Just give me a wonderful chatty London Cabby any day. They turn a trip across town into a mini tour with live commentary. For that matter, I am nearly always up for a Bus ride across town (although they take a lot longer than a taxi). The double-decker busses are especially pleasant. When you can't walk another step, but you want to see more of London, hop on a double-decker and take it from end to end. You'll see things you don't see on the Big Bus Tour!

My first introduction to the Millennium Baileys was on the solo trip where I discovered the Knightsbridge neighborhood. I was staying at another hotel, with a rather dumpy, deserted lounge and bar area and looking for some company and civility. Voila, I discovered the beautiful bar at the Baileys.

The hotel lobby, lounge, bar and restaurant are beautiful. (On subsequent trips, I've relaxed in that bar, when I wasn't staying there) The downstairs loo is tres elegante, an invitation to choose this hotel as home base and find out how the bedrooms compare.

The room somehow disappointed me. For the price, the room was pretty much the same as cheaper hotels I've stayed at in the area: small, clean, and basic. With our window looking out on Glouchester Rd. there was a lot of street noise that the windows didn't really block out. The bathroom was very basic and our toilet had a flushing trick that was hard to figure out.

To be fair, I didn't look at other rooms so perhaps there were nicer. Unless one of my web searches nets me a really low rate for this property, I don't think I'll stay again. I absolutely LOVE the common areas. But I can sleep cheap and use the common areas when I'm awake for free!

I must admit to conflicted feelings about this hotel. It was my first try at solo travel – a long weekend in London. Thanksgiving away from family, shopping, cold, the chance to lose myself in a big city. There's something about the anonymity that a huge city provides a solo traveler. You can be alone and not alone at the same time.

The Grange Strathmore is in the perfect neighborhood. It used to be the private residence of the Earl of Strathmore and in the common rooms you can feel the ghosts of the past. From the outside, it looks beautiful, as do all of the other hotels in the neighborhood. It's what these hotels do with their insides that make the difference.

The "bones" of the structure feel a little rickety, but that's not uncommon in old London hotels. The furniture in the lounge was "period" and not awfully comfortable. My room however was very comfy. I had a double bed that was soft and comfortable by European standards. The bathroom was perfect for me as it was newly remodeled with a fantastic shower (a big win for me). The furnishings were elegant and nice. But the room was tiny and I barked my shin on one thing or another repeatedly. And the street noise was also evident all night long.

I've read reviews panning the staff. International young people tried hard and I had no complaints. I had room service twice and was very pleased with my BLT and crisps for Thanksgiving dinner. (It seemed deliciously rebellious from the huge family feast.)

But, all in all, I think that the Strathmore consistently charges more than its value in the neighborhood. I discovered two hotel bars I liked much better in the neighborhood.

In my opinion, Knightbridge is the best place for a tourist to stay in London. Just a block away from the Glouchester Tube Station, it's a wonderful neighborhood environment with pretty houses, comfy restaurants, beautiful churches, and museums and the Royal Albert Hall. It's a short walk to Kensington Gardens and just a bit down the road from Harrods. I usually stay at one hotel here and the Edwardian Vanderbilt is my splurge. When the Internet gods are with me, and decent rates come up, I book this one when I can.

Comfortable rooms, very nice bathrooms with all the amenities, a work out facility and indoor pool and a business center with Internet access provide everything you need. There is a restaurant but I haven't eaten here.

My favorite thing about this hotel is the bar and lounge. Ultra comfortable furniture, a great fireplace, friendly staff, and a good bar make this such a comfortable home away from home. The great thing about this is, even if I stay "cheaper" on a trip to London, I can always hang out for awhile in the bar.

Hotel Montana is quite basic but the beds are comfortable, the rooms are clean and the private bathrooms perfectly adequate. This is a relatively inexpensive hotel in a great area. Across the street from the Glouchester Tube Station, you will find everything you need in the general area: restaurants (an Indian restaurant onsite), pubs, gothic churches, shopping, and even a couple of Starbucks.

A very basic breakfast of toast and coffee or tea is provided in the restaurant that is also an Indian restaurant at night. The common areas smell faintly of curry.

Unique Qualities:
Two blocks away is the Natural History Museum. Two blocks in another direction is the Royal Albert Hall. Across the street you can catch the Big Bus Hop on Hop off tour.

The best things about the Thistle Victoria are the opulent lobby; the buffet breakfast; the comfortable, but elegant, coffee lounge; and the luxurious, but expensive, bar.

Now for the REST of the story . . .

We arrived in London about 10am, tired from our long flight from San Francisco. Hoping for an early check-in, we were told, "Check-in is at 2 pm. Come back then." Now, I've arrived in London in the morning many times, and in nearly every case, the hotel has tried its best to accommodate my request for an early check-in. The Thistle Victoria made no apologies. I was just told to come back at 2pm.

At 2pm we were faced with a LONG line. Finally, we managed to complete check-in and went to our room on the fifth floor. The room was stuffy, with no air-conditioning, and the windows wouldn't open at all. The ceiling fan did a very poor job of moving air about the room and made an annoying ticking sound.

Exhausted, we finally settled down for a nap before heading out for the evening. Fifteen minutes after falling asleep, the fire alarm went off! We stumbled into the hall to find everyone fleeing down the beautiful, opulent staircase (and the concierge running up with uniformed firemen). So we followed the crowd to the park across the street, where we waited with assorted homeless people for the word that it was safe to return.

For £39, we could have upgraded to a room with robes and air-conditioning, but we foolishly didn't do it. Jet-lagged at 3am on a stuffy July night proved this to be a big mistake on my part.

Or maybe it was booking a room at the Thistle Victoria that was my mistake.

I absolutely LOVE the Big Bus Tours for getting a great overview of the city without much work. These Hop on Hop off buses have open tops and take three different routes through the city. Most come with a live guide who gives a running commentary and imparts interesting tidbits of information about the area you are in. (For example, did you know that the writer of the screenplay "Notting Hill" was attempting to raise house prices in the area when he couldn't sell his flat? The Hugh Grant / Julia Roberts movie did exactly that, causing the area to skyrocket.)

The 16 GBP tickets are good for 24 hours (although the buses stop running at about 7 pm) and also give you one Thames River cruise and one guided walk.

Be sure to pick a dry day for this trip and ride on top. Wear a coat and hat as it gets cold and windy up there. But the views on the inside are frankly not worth the trip.

Buy your ticket on the bus and you'll find stops throughout London and certainly where the big sights are.

Take a train from Waterloo Station to Hampton Court for an escape from the hustle and bustle of the city and step into the past . . . 500 years past!

Hampton Court was home away from home to the likes of Henry VIII (and a few unlucky wives) as well as William of Orange. This is an all day visit. Take the tours guided by costumed experts to see Henry's quarters and those of William. We found the incredibly knowledgeable guides to be helpful and friendly on their interactive tours. After the tour of the William and Mary quarters, the guide stayed and chatted with us for at least 20 minutes, speculating about life back in the day.

Borrow the free CD player to take the "guided" tour of the Tudor Kitchens. You can imagine what life was like when Henry was there. You'll see the kitchens, the pantries and it's easy to lose yourself in the times.

Wander around acres and acres of gardens. Stroll along the Thames. Get lost in the Maze. The visitor might consider taking a boat to Hampton Court (approx. 3 hours) and returning by train (1 hour).

The Complete Works of Shakespeare has got to be one of the funniest things we have ever seen. Many people go to London expressly for the theatre. I have seen "real" performances, but this evening performance entertained me beyond anything I have seen in London.

Three guys play all of Shakespeare's characters, male and female, as they hurtle through the "complete" works. It's fun, it's wild, and it's immensely entertaining. I didn't see a straight face in the house.

The Reduced Shakespeare Company also does The Complete Bible, and the Complete History of America, but these are performed with much less regularity than Shakespeare.

Once, when I was flying into Heathrow, my flight got in very early and we were forced into a holding pattern for about 20 minutes, circling around and around the city of London. From my seat, I had the most remarkable view of London and felt incredibly lucky to be caught in that moment of time. Barring such an experience, London lacks places where you can get above it all and see for miles and miles. Rome has the top of Domes, Florence has its Bell Towers. And now London has the London Eye. Visible from anywhere near the River Thames, the London Eye, at first glance, seems like a pretty tacky touristy thing to do. But it's NOT!

I don't think there is any single place in London from which you get such a wonderful birds' eye view of the City. I found that it gives one a perspective of direction and scope and distance and size that it is very hard to achieve from anywhere on the ground.

For the first year of its existence, the lines were very long and the smart way to get tickets was online in advance. Today the lines are mostly gone and I really think it's smarter to wait until you are ready to "ride". The view is so dependent on weather, light, and time of setting sun.

Although the Eye looks something like a ferris wheel, it's not one. It moves about 1 mile per hour and you will not really notice the movement at all. Inside your capsule, you also do not suffer from any fear of heights or claustrophobia. All in all, it's a very pleasant experience.

As I mentioned before, London hotels can be very expensive. So when a trip is in the offing I start surfing all the different sites and pick a hotel that fits my budget for that particular trip.

The first thing one has to do when planning a trip to London is determine what neighborhood they want to be in. Obviously, that's going to be tough on a first trip. I started out right next to Buckingham Palace, at the recommendation of a family member. While that was nice, I soon discovered Knighsbridge, where I am very happy. I suppose I should branch out and try another area or two and when the Savoy fits my travel budget I shall do that!

To find the best websites for hotels at any particular time, simply google the hotel name and most of the references will actually be booking websites. Compare and contrast. Different sites seem to get different fares. And of course, try the hotel website itself to see if there might be a better offer. My colleagues tell me Priceline is the way to go, but thus far I haven't been willing to continue past the "enter credit card" page.

Helpful websites for booking hotels are:

www.londontown.com
www.smoothhound.com
www.laterooms.com
www.hotel-booker.com

To learn more about booking through Priceline, check out www.biddingfortravel.com

My daughters and I had just read "The Da Vinci Code" and decided, on our December trip to London, that we'd like to see some of the locations.

The Temple Church was the first stop on the trail of the Code's secrets. We made our way on the dreaded tube on a Saturday morning. Exiting at the Temple station, we tried to follow our map. It was a lot harder to find that we thought it would be. On Saturday morning, the streets of legal London were eerily quiet and really beautiful in their majestic splendor. Finally, we found a sign directing us through a huge doorway to an alley. The door was locked. We went way around and through and more around and through, making our way through office buildings, corridors, and secret gardens before we found it.

We waited another (cold) half hour for the Church to open. There was another tourist doing the same thing! The inside of the Church is much like described. The knight effigies are spread out on the floor in the circular chapel. There is a lovely stained glass window at the large end of the Church. And we were lucky to find an organist practicing.