Where to stay in or near Wimbledon

[Purplekitchen]

DH and I have been lucky to be offered debenture tickets for this year's men's Wimbledon final. This is a once in a lifetime experience for us so I would really like to get it right and make a long weekend of it and I'm thinking we could visit Richmond, Kew and maybe Hampton court.
We will probably drive down but I'm thinking parking In Wimbledon might be problematic on the day of the final and that it might be best to look for accommodation (probably Air bnb) somewhere where we can get the train direct.
Has anyone got any tips on what to visit, where to eat and is it walkable from Wimbledon station to the tennis grounds? Any advice greatly appreciated.

Easily walkable and well signed from both Wimbledon (mainline, District line, tram) and Wimbledon Park (just District line). I’d use the train, traffics gets very snarled up when the tennis is on.

There may be hotels near Heathrow Airport to consider.

Ham House interesting to visit, the museums at South Kensington not too far away, and plenty of places to eat by South Kensington station, or near to Fulham Broadway station.

We're not too interested in going into the centre of London.
Where can we base ourselves that has a direct train connection with Wimbledon?

Croydon has a tram to Wimbledon, takes about 25 minutes.

Have a look at this map - lots of places! Follow the line out from Waterloo, fifth stop is Wimbledon, so any of the lines that go through and on out to Woking, Guildford, Hampton Court etc will be a direct train.

www.southwesternrailway.com/plan-my-journey/our-network

Epsom would be a good option

Lucky you OP! Those places you’d like to visit are on the different branch of the District Line to Wimbledon but I’d still base yourself near Richmond/Kew if that’s where you want to spend time visiting and it’s easy to drive to hampton court from there too. Or you could stay near hampton court and take the train as suggested but it wouldn’t be my first choice nor the further flung places suggested as parking at Hampton court is plentiful and slightly less so Kew (mobbed these days) and Richmond.

For the men’s final the traffic won’t be nearly so bad as usual (as there aren’t many other matches on at all by the final Sunday). Wimbledon is also expecting to be operating at significantly reduced capacity this year with no ballot, no queue and few international visitors so there will be fewer cars. You are unlikely to have a problem driving and parking that day but if you prefer to use the train then it’s steps from Southfields tube or a 10-15 min walk up the hill from the train station in Wimbledon. If you have debenture tickets I’d probably choose to arrive early and have your meal at the centre court brasserie for debenture holders. Usually you can’t book (who knows this year with covid) so another lovely option is the Ivy Cafe in Wimbledon Village before you walk down to the ground.

I wouldn't get an Airbnb in Wimbledon- the prices are hugely inflated during Wimbledon.

Hampton Court, Kew Gardens both worth visiting and nice places to stay.

Thanks all. I'm now thinking it might just be to easier to drive everywhere.

Various parks etc nearby become car parks run by AELTC and they may be bookable in advance- check the website. In normal times the church nearest the grounds also offers stewarded parking in its field.
Charges are usually £20ish I think? On a Sunday you might be able to find something on street/ not charged, if you don’t mind walking a bit as that won’t be possible really close by.