My mom and my sister are planning on making stay over at London for about 2 days. Looking at the hotels, services, etc at Heathrow, I have to say I am very disappointed. Not designed properly. Terrible logistics. Overpriced and slow shuttles to airport hotels. My sister wishes to do some sightseeing and some shopping. Problem is they have luggage which will slow them down. I was thinking they could stay at an airport hotel, keep their luggage there and then head over to London for sightseeing. But then I came across this luggage storage service at Heathrow airport. They charge for hourly or daily storage. Anyone have any experience with a service like this at the airport? How reliable/secure are they? This will free my mom/sis up considerably and will allow them to stay in a hotel in downtown London. Someone from London or someone who has been to London, what do you recommend? Also, if they were to stay in a hotel in downtown London, what areas/hotels do you recommend they stay at? What places do you recommend they visit during this short stay?
You can jump on a train from heathrow to anywhere in London. I'd stay somewhere around Waterloo if possible, gives you options for getting the tube to anywhere, along with being right near the London Eye, Aquarium, Houses of Parliament, Big Ben etc. To be honest though, you could stay right outside the city and commute in, i live 20 miles from the Centre of London, a train takes about 30 minutes to get to Covent Garden/Leicester Square etc.
Burko just destroyed your thread with that map. When are you going? Do you like to go to Michelin star restaurants?
Stay in South or West Kensington. That's where I stay when my dad took me to London on his business trips. Somewhat high end area but there are so many little shops and places to look around, it's a good location. Harrods is nearby, and the tube is fairly easy to find and you're between Buckingham palace and the Big Ben (if I remember correctly).
Hrm that's too little time to see and do anything the right way, especially for a great city like London. We used that baggage service back in the day to store luggage with many valuables. They were dependable. For hotels, we usually stay right next to Hyde Park. The areas are called Mayfair and Belgravia. Very safe, clean, and respectable. You can't go wrong with the Four Seasons, Dorchester, or Lanesborough. Shopping is minutes away in Oxford and Regent street. They'll love Selfridges, but there's so many shops and department stores. Another good one is Fortnum and Mason's. For sightseeing, I like the Tate Modern and Natural History Museums (museums are my favorite). Other essentials are London Eye, Big Ben, Parliament, Tower Bridge (boat tour), St Paul's Cathedral, Buckingham Palace, Tower of London, and Westminster Abbey. For food, there are too many amazing restaurants. We love the Wolseley, and always make it a goal to eat there while in town. Tell them to get 5-6 hours of sleep, lots of caffeine, and to wear fashionable, but comfortable clothing. No running shoes as many stores and restaurants frown on that.
1. National Gallery 2. Hyde Park Winter Wonderland 3. 221B Baker Street (Sherlock Holmes' residence) 4. Abbey Road (Beatles) 5. London Eye/Parliament/Big Ben (these are proximate in distance) 6. Buckingham Palace (try to come early to witness the changing of the guard) 7. Westminster Abbey (near London Eye/Parliament/Big Ben if I remember correctly) 8. Westminster Cathedral 9. Stratford-on-Avon (birthplace of William Shakespeare) If your family lacks time as there is much shopping to be done, I emphasized certain places as they are proximate in distance although some are more proximate than others. For shopping, women like Harrods so it's probably a nice store. Almost every place can be reached using the tube (train) as you can see in the map provided by Burko. Your mom and sister will have a great time there
