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

[piefacedClique]

We’re planning a family trip to London from 23rd-26th Feb – me, my husband, and our 10-year-old daughter. We want to visit:

• Natural History Museum
• London Zoo
• London Eye
• Sephora at Westfield

Ideally, we’d like to find accommodation with parking for £500 max, but am I being completely unrealistic? Would we be better off parking somewhere like Heathrow and getting the Elizabeth Line in to make it more affordable? Any recommendations for places to stay or general tips would be really appreciated! Thanks!

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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.

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

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

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,

Forgot to say, that’s a family room,

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

If you really want to drive, Premier Inn Hanger Lane, tube 2 mins away and on the central line, straight into Oxford.Circus.

Heathrow is on the piccadily line, piece of cake to South Ken.

www.airbnb.com/l/MTLzbXaM

www.airbnb.com/l/xmZNaq4A

www.airbnb.com/l/4wPgVsNI

3 places on Airbnb with parking for less than £500 for your dates....

www.airbnb.com/l/BrWcNuki another one - Islington, less than £400....

Something like the Marriott at Waltham abbey would work - easy on M25 for you driving in - then 10 mins to Loughton/buckhurst hill for the central line swooping to district for the museums/embankment for the eye. Stratford Westfield is 15 mins on the central or a 20 min drive - the zoo is more difficult as you'll have to go in and then out on the ones but use Waltham cross to go to Tottenham Hale and then not that bad.

Can I suggest the Savera hotel in South Ruislip? You are right on the Central line. We live near there and all those places are easily accessible by Tube. There is a pub, McDonald's and a Nandos very close as well as an ASDA.

You really need to be on the West side of London if you are coming from Wales.

Try Arlington House apartments, right by Green Park. We stayed there just after Covid and it was a great location, think they have underground parking. It's more like a posh apartment block with a concierge than a hotel, but useful to have a kitchen sometimes especially if you're coming by car - thinking breakfasts etc

Haven't read the whole thread. Some years ago I stayed in an Easy hotel. Very basic rooms - bed and wet room and a peg on the door to hang stuff. But it was clean and cheap.

Some brilliant suggestions. Thank you. We are so used to driving everywhere that I hadn’t really considered the train! I’ve just used my Tesco points to get a family railcard and will book the train up. Far more relaxing than driving! By the time we factored parking and at least two electric charges plus any charges for congestion zone etc it was working out a similar price! Plus hopefully we can take advantage of the 2-4-1 offers with a rail ticket!

I’ve booked a travelodge now in Southwark…. My daughter is desperate to go on the eye and that stretch has all the iconic views she’s after! Plus it’s very close to Borough Market where my husband is keen to go back to. Got some cash back on that purchase too so had that for under £300 for three nights.

Thanks again for the brilliant suggestions. I lived there after uni for a year in 2002 but that was so long ago I was a bit overwhelmed with all the options! So hoping the cakes and coffee at Konditor and Cook are still just as good as I remember! Thanks again x

Thanks again x

Also... Use the bus to travel around. Cheaper than the tube. And you get a view.

Download citymapper on your phone. Use this to plan your journeys.