On Tue, 17 Oct 2006 19:40:41 -0400, "Mark W. Shelby"
wrote:
Hello, the wife and I are coming to London Nov. 2nd...
I am shocked at the price of hotels there!
It seems like every website I look at has "tourist" written all over it. Is
there a local hotel chain that I could contact or is there a better way find
a hotel in London that is not a rip off?
Also, If we stay in a suburb of London is there bus or tube service into
downtown?
Thanks in advance for the info!
This is a cut and paste from a post I made to another group when a
similar request was made.
The blue text below are the questions the original poster in the old
thread asked - included to provide context to the subsequent text.
----
Here is a local East London hotel which offers something a little
different, has a great bar and overlooks the edge of Epping Forest.
http://www.a1tourism.com/uk/a46683.html
http://www.fancyapint.com/main_site/...s/pub2733.html
It is located between Leytonstone (Central Line) and Walthamstow
(Victoria Line and main line trains). Frequent buses (route 257 stop
right outside) and run from Stratford to provide the direct connection
to your Airbus A9. You also a night bus from Central London (N55) to
the front door of the pub.
http://www.busmap.org/tt4/257.pdf
http://www.busmap.org/tt4/N055.pdf
As you have a hankering for Tesco supermarkets there is a huge one down
the road from the pub (Leytonstone - Gainsborough Rd). There are also 3
between the pub and Walthamstow (!)
http://www.multimap.com/clients/plac...o&client=tesco
Details I am not sure of yet:
(*1) We will use the Tube for all transportation, so Travelcards are the
option to go I think. We arrive on a Friday morning, and head back on Monday
evening, thats 4 days. Shall I get Oyster Cards (where? Stratford Station?)
For the City Airport Hotel Zone 3 is good, the Barking Hotel needs a Zone 4
card. What do I need to get the Oyster, and what do I load onto it?
Right this is a little complex so I hope you are paying attention.
The choice of ticket is really dependent upon when you will travel
(before 9.30 or after 9.30; i.e. peak or off peak)
If you are simply going to be doing the tourist stuff and travelling off
peak then off peak one day travelcards will give you access to all modes
- bus, DLR, tube *and* National Rail (overground) services. The nearest
tubes to my suggested hotel are in Zone 3 which will mean you need Z1-4
one day off peak travelcards. These can be bought from stations or from
local newsagents / shops. You can also buy them in advance. These
tickets are NOT on Oyster card format. You have said how many days you
will be in London - if only a few days then this should be OK. If
nearer a week then it may be better to get an Oyster card.
One thing you should not do is pay cash for your tickets. Bus and Tube
Fares are now very, very expensive if you opt to pay cash rather than
buy a pre-purchased ticket.
Oyster cards are a smartcard ticket that are read by placing the card on
a reader on a ticket gate, validator or pad on the bus when you get on.
An Oyster card can have two types of ticket on it - a Travelcard season
ticket for a number of zones for 7 days, 1 month or any period up to one
year. A Travelcard allows unlimited travel on all modes for the period
of time you buy it for and for the zones you buy. Any travelcard is
valid on all TfL bus services throughout Greater London (and on some
that cross the boundary into adjacent counties).
The second ticket product is what is called "Pay as you Go" or "Pre-Pay"
(the old name for this). This means you load money onto the card and as
you travel the money is deducted from the card but at a discounted price
compared to paying cash. For example a bus ticket in cash is £1.50,
using Oyster PAYG it is 80p (off peak) or £1 (peak). PAYG is valid for
bus, DLR, Tube and only a very, very limited number of National Rail
lines. In addition the pre-pay fares deducted from your card will vary
by the zones you travel through and the times of day you travel.
Cleverly the card keeps a running total of all your deductions in a day
and if they exceed a pre-set limit (based on the nearest one day
travelcard card price less 50p) the deductions are therefore "capped"
and no more money is deducted. Providing you log your card in and out on
every tube / dlr journey and on entry to every bus this "capping" will
work automatically without you needed to do anything.
If you opt to have a Travelcard ticket for a week then that will almost
certainly cover your transport needs but they are priced as a commuter
ticket so are not that cheap. If you are going to travel off peak then
it may well be much better not to have a Travelcard but just to use
pre-pay and top up your card as you go. The real things to decide are
a) Will you travel regularly before 09.30 on a weekday
b) Will you use National Rail services a lot.
If you answer yes then get a 7 day travelcard, if not opt for Pre-Pay
where you'll get a discount and get the benefit of the capped price.
http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tfl/fares-tick...tfl-fares-2006...
gives you loads and loads of fare information.
Does one know an alternative to stay the three nights? Any nice B&B or Pub
or something located closer to the city?
See above for an East London selection.
HTH (!)
--
Paul C
Admits to working for London Underground!