Mark W. Shelby wrote:
Hello, the wife and I are coming to London Nov. 2nd...
I am shocked at the price of hotels there!

The prices vary enormously from one week to another. Depends very much
on what's happening here. Wimbledon fortnight is always expensive, for
example. But I can't immediately think of a reason for early November
being dear. That said, a quick check of the hotels I usually use
suggests that early November is indeed very expensive. Perhaps it's all
these tourists coming to see "Spamalot".

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?

Shop around is the usual advice, and with t'Interweb it's easier than it
used to be. I can recommend the Oliver Plaza in Earls Court - cheap and
cheerful, if you're not expecting a luxurious breakfast. Go to
http://www.capricornhotels.co.uk/oliverdefault.asp. Or simply type
"hotels" + "London" into good old Google.

Also, If we stay in a suburb of London is there bus or tube service into
downtown?

Hmm. First define "downtown"! The busy hotel areas are Kings Cross,
Paddington and Earls Court, and they all have lots of buses and lots of
Tube trains to central London. You can walk to many parts of central
London from these places anyway. But you will probably want to buy a day
Travelcard - http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tfl/fares-tickets/2006/one-day/.
--
Joyce Whitchurch, Stalybridge, UK
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