Comments | yavannie77: Distracting thoughts

yavannie77

Distracting thoughts

Feb 24, 2007 12:34

No, this post is not about Hornblower or Ioan. :P

It's about my upcoming trip to London. After getting a good tip about accommodation in London, I began surfing around a bit. The hotel I was recommended looked very nice and I'll certainly consider it (thanks, mitzi007), but I managed to find a b&b that was a bit cheaper (only £40 per night in a single ( Read more... )

london, travel, personal, wales 2007

Comments 20

arye_sarin February 24 2007, 11:19:49 UTC

So now I have to make up my mind as to where I'll be staying for 3-4 nights.

Accommodation in London is just a matter of pure luck. You may end up paying loads of money for a shitty small room filled with rats. Well, almost. Or you may make a bargain and live comfortably and even have a spacious room and clean toilet.

You'll never know. So don't worry too much about making a choice about where you'll stay. You'll either be lucky (even in the same hotel or B&B the quality of the rooms may vary VERY much. I've both lived and worked in a hotel in London and seen loads of rooms so I know what I'm talking about) or then you are not. Just take it as an experience. : )

Don't know much about booking systems though. I've either used a travel agent's or walked to the hotel desk and asked if they have rooms.

I'm not sure when the first (last?) bus of the day from London to Cardiff will leaveDon't trust too much the bus timetables. Even if it says that there will be a night bus, it may not go on the day you want to travel. The reasons can ( ... )

yavannie77 February 24 2007, 11:39:56 UTC

I've heard the same about the rooms in London from other people, too. I may opt for the £40 room, because I think I want to use that "extra" £20 I'd be saving compared to the other hotel for food or something while in town.

And luckily the bus schedule isn't a critical matter when considering our flights. We're not going to take the train to Wales (costs so much more than a bus) and either way, we'll end up in Cardiff sometime on Tuesday. Which makes it easier to book accommodation there, because that's a given day, even if the exact time is to be decided later.

And after our "grand tour", we'll be close enough to Liverpool anyway, so getting to the airport there shouldn't be a problem.

Oh, you go ahead and lecture about London as much as you please. I'll take any advice given. :)

(Hmm, I need a travel icon...)

arye_sarin February 24 2007, 17:11:23 UTC

In summer 98 I stayed in a room in B&B in Bayswater, that was about minus one star, but was clean and big. And it cost 120 pounds a week! For two. I mean both of us paid only 60 for a whole week! Less than 10 quid per night! And that included breakfast. And clean toilet. Although the toilet and the shower was on the corridor, but everyone who stayed there was a long time visitors, so we got to know each other a bit. So that we didn't care when people were running the corridors in their bathrobes.

Then my a friend of a friend came to visit and booked a room from the similar looking zero star B&B next door and she had to live in a shitty room in a basement the size of a shoebox. No breakfast and it cost much more.

Oh, you go ahead and lecture about London as much as you please. I'll take any advice given. :)You'll regret that you said that ( ... )

yavannie77 February 24 2007, 19:28:03 UTC

Well, dearie, keep the info coming, I reserve the right to ignore the parts I think I won't need...

But gosh, now that I just saw a movie about people living around King's Cross, I don't know if I dare to book a room from a hotel from that neighbourhood... It doesn't have a very good reputation, does it? Or was it just the movie?

My problem with the two hotels / b&b's right now is that the other is cheaper, but has shittier customer feedback. On the other hand, I could take the more expensive one I was recommended and just settle for sharing a bathroom with others. Which would bring the price down to the level of the other place, minus the shower & toilet. Problems, problems.

And I already got a few travelguides from Merisiili and I plan to buy a few of my own, but I'll come and check your stores before. ;)

Thread 13

and another thing... anonymous February 26 2007, 08:49:23 UTC

Hello ( ... )

Re: and another thing... yavannie77 February 26 2007, 12:30:40 UTC

Hi there! Thank you very much for your tips, J. (You can reach me at jokaah(at)utu(dot)fi, btw.)

I will be travelling on a late RyanAir flight, and I've been pondering about the stupid late time the flight arrives. Someone else also said that the last trains will have left the airport by the time I'd be ready to leave, so I'm somewhat prepared to even stay at the airport for the first night. But although £100 is a bit much, I'll certainly consider the Radisson - it'd be more safe & convenient for sure.

Oh, and I'll be in London for midsummer (will arrive on 22nd of June, will continue to Cardiff on the 25th) and this trip will be just for fun. I've never been to London and I figured now would be a good time. :)

Any other tips on places I should visit etc.? ;)

Re: and another thing... arye_sarin February 26 2007, 12:46:40 UTC

Although it's a bit expensive, J's (the Kondooritar's J, not you : ) idea number 4 sounds really good. It has all the benefits except for the price. It's pain in the ass if you arrive anywhere late at night and have to start thinking about trains or busses or very expensive taxes etc. And it always takes twice the time you have planned to move from place A to place B.

Re: and another thing... yavannie77 February 26 2007, 13:20:28 UTC

Just checked it, there's a special price of £89 for a night at the Radisson. Sounds a lot more inviting than a night at the terminal... I suppose I could pay that much for a single night. I'll just find something in the pricegroup of £40 a night in London, then. And try to control any and all shopping to a minimum. :)

Thread 7