AIBU to think I can get accommodation & parking in London for £500?

Ibis hotel Earl's Court is around £280 for those dates. It has parking and is 5 minutes walk from West Brompton Station on the district line.

Rooms are fine, breakfast is nice. Restaurant is very expensive but there's an Italian and a Turkish restaurant down the road which are both fine

Forgot to say, that’s a family room,

Look at Premier Inn Canary Wharf Westferry. It’s £245 for the dates you’re looking at (no refund, flexible is obviously more). It’s on the DLR, and the station is right next door - you literally walk outside and it’s in front of you. A couple of stops to Tower Gate, which is a 3 minute walk to Tower Hill tube, or you can change and go up to Bank. I always used to stay at the Holborn or King’s Cross Premier Inns until a colleague recommended this one. I’d also recommend taking the train rather than driving,

If might be even cheaper with a Two Together railcard for you and your husband if you don't already have one.

www.premierinn.com/gb/en/hotels/england/greater-london/london/london-stratford.html?ARRdd=23&ARRmm=02&ARRyyyy=2025&NIGHTS=3&ROOMS=1&ADULT1=2&CHILD1=1&COT1=0&INTTYP1=FAM&BRAND=PI

www.westfield.com/united-kingdom/stratfordcity/access

We always get the train when we go to London, travelling from the North of England. It's much more pleasant than worrying about driving and finding somewhere to park , dealing with the traffic etc and with railcards it's not too expensive especially if you book in advance.

We've parked at Westfield Stratford and got a hotel nearby

But again with train prices reading to Paddington - on the Monday and Tuesday that’s £40-£50 extra per day on the train for the 3 of them. Might as well stay centrally.

Agree with this. TBH you could probably get a very suitable airbnb for £100 p/n or less on the outskirts of London (say zone 5/6, with free parking) & take the tube or overground train in. I live in zone 5 & perfectly nice 1 bed/studios are about £70/80 a night and more space than a hotel.

You can also save then by having breakfast in the airbnb & possibly some of your dinners too if its a long day of sightseeing

A travel card will be about £10/day. Parking and driving in C London is a real time sink & source of stress

Going by train you can also get 2 for 1 tickets to London Eye, look into offers for zoo, & then the museums are mostly free

Stay at Reading central premier Inn, £236 for your dates, then it's half an hour into London, either train or Elizabeth line.

Oh also if you do have an option to go by train at all and decide on that looks like London zoo do discounted tickets https://www.londonzoo.org/plan-your-visit/london-zoo-offers?gclsrc=aw.ds&gad_source=1&gbraid=0AAAAAC_q1lktfS5X2zfrCW7JKw0BpI-vk&gclid=CjwKCAiAnpy9BhAkEiwA-P8N4qw7Qp5sm23DkOphznhHjGZqIYLLOeKw_pbrlRPXb-eBWQ8YH8D0ZRoCpYIQAvD_BwE

It says you need one if you look older than 10, which is why I mentioned it. The OP's daughter is 10 so who knows, she might look older than 10

I’ve stayed at the Premier Inn at Hanger Lane too and the parking was pretty good.

I’ve also recently used Just Park to leave the car at Sainsburys in North Sheen (near Richmond) and get the train in. Parking there was £9 for 24 hours. It was really convenient. I’m sure there are plenty of similar options that you could find on the Just Park app.

https://www.hotelsone.com/london-hotels-gb/ibis-london-docklands-canary-wharf.html?dsti=564675&dstt=8&nid=1&as=g&aid=686245017809&cmpid=20703726143&agid=152517369330&gid=CjwKCAiAnpy9BhAkEiwA-P8N4iKkTyCVzoS0MwRdWEBfDkJK8K0be0NpF0KT5CqiaXIBnsDBSvBYJBoCclEQAvDBwE&gwbrd=Cj4KCAiA-5a9BhB9Ei4ApOUKAfPkgRKZsvhFOqAfKUwotJECyh8JgphQ49v--SWKOrQYs09bGUQ6VLEbGgJ2Ww&ggbrd=0AAAAAD4o1Pc91YTd0rI2lEij-K-decO-0&gadsource=1&gbraid=0AAAAAD4o1Pc91YTd0rI2lEij-K-decO-0&gclid=CjwKCAiAnpy9BhAkEiwA-P8N4iKkTyCVzoS0MwRdWEBfDkJK8K0be0NpF0KT5CqiaXIBnsDBSvBYJBoCclEQAvDDBwE

We stayed at the Ibis in Docklands and it was great for our purpose - an event at the Docklands.

London Euston premier inn with the free breakfast offer is £328 for those dates. Parking near Watford Junction station noon on Sunday to evening Wednesday is from £26. Off peak day ticket including travel out to Watford junction is £15.60 per adult and will include any travel in central london on those days. That’s under £400. It’s not the most amazing location but it’s easy to get everywhere you want to go.

If you are on a budget then sky gardens and the other tower blocks with viewing platforms
are a possible (free) alternative to the London Eye. They have tickets at the moment for the 25th & 26th - https://skygarden.london. I would book tickets for the museum in advance too

Stay in Slough. Park for free and get the Elizabeth line.

OP, the train idea is fantastic (I write as a former 10 year old). There are loads of cheap hotels in and around Paddington, and Kensington Gardens are a 5 minute walk away. Have a fabulous time in a wonderful city!

We usually stay in the Ruislip area and get the tube in. Free parking at the hotel.

So we’ve driven down before, booked parking at Watford (outside emissions zone) near the station and travelled in from there. Travelodge or premier inn near King’s Cross will be in that budget for 3 nights even with the tickets in on train and parking. I don’t think £500 is that ambitious 3 nights in London. We have done 3 nights for that price including trains from Newcastle and staying bed and breakfast fairly recently.

If you book Premier Inn by midnight tomorrow they
throw in free breakfast too! Save you £60 odd pounds over the 3 days.

Either Google it or follow this link

https://www.premierinn.com/gb/en/home.html?promoCode=PREBF

Get the train to paddington and stay near there. Staying at something like a travelodge or premier inn near Heathrow or wembley doesn't sound much fun

@piefacedClique if you park at cockfosters tube car park then you can get the tube in and stay at the Premier Inn.

This sounds sensible. Find a Travelodge or Premier Inn, near the M4 and close to a station and travel in to central London each day. Also check if your car is ULEZ compliant if the hotel is within the zone.

There’s also a Premier Inn at Putney Bridge, right next to the tube. District line into South Ken for museums or Westminster for London Eye. Change at West Brompton for Mildmay Line to
Westfield Shepherds Bush.