London accommodation for me and two DCs....help

[lackaDAISYcal]

i want to take DS to London to see the sights and visit the Natural History Museum during the summer holidays. We wanted to visit Buck House, the Tower and Kew as well as a trip on the London Eye

I've looked for reasonalby priced hotels centrally, but they all seem to be utter fleapits reading the reviews.

Would I be better staying a bit further out and travelling into London every day or should I just go for a fleapit?

Does anyone have any recommendations for reasonably priced hotels that are child friendly? DCs will be 6 and 1, so a double/twin room with a travel cot will be ample.

Budget is around £80 a night for all 3 of us......is that even possible in London?

Am I even mad to consider traipsing around London with a 6 year old, a baby and me at 6 months pregnant in August????

i think you may be hard pushed for something reasonable on that budget. august is dreadful in london, packed with tourists, i know you are one, but i avoid it like the plague and i live here.
{{www.hoxtonhotels.com]] try this one,have you tried the cheaper hotels, travel lodge, holiday inn etc?

saz, www.hoxtonhotels.com

How long do you want to stay in London for? I may be looking for a cat sitter but it would be for at least two weeks.

just had a quick look and cheapest they do is £109.

There is a Premier Inn at County Hall next to the London Eye. I think you'd be looking at about £117/night there for a family room. The advantage with a chain is that you know what you're getting and, having stayed in loads of Premier Inns, I can certainly vouch for their general cleanliness etc.

Oooooh thanks for your responses.

Lol redadmiral, we were only thinking 3 nights maximum .

Am wondering whether it's madness. DH trying to convince me to wait until he could get time off work to do it with us. Partly because of the time of year and me being pregnant, but really I think it's cos he desperately wants to visit the NHM as well

Will check out your link hifi, thanks

did you see my thread of earlier? It's a great place, in a great location for museums and there's parks on your doorstep... But you have to work in the right organisation (public sector, university, charity, related professions - not sure what that last bit means) and it may be way beyond your price range (I think a family room is about 140-160 quid a night). I do think you'll really struggle to get anywhere, let alone anywhere nice for that price in central London.

I'll bump the thread in a minute or link to it...

Otherwise, often universities do let out student rooms in the summer - though they won't be particularly family friendly, they will be cheaper than hotels. Might be worth contacting their accommodation offices (try UCL, Kings College for fairly central location).

have bumped it but here's the link any way

this thread

Try Holland House Youth Hostel. It's right in the centre of London, v. reasonable prices and a good standard too.

here you go, link to UCL summer accommodation

Quite cheap but will be v basic!

Nice and cheap here...you would get your own room so don't worry about having to share. ~Don't be put off by the fact its a hostel..they are very friendly, a lot cleaner than most hotels and also cheap!
There are others in central London too on that site.

Sorry, forgot link here

thanks willself and turkey lurkey. I hadn't thought about university accommodation or hostels. It's only somewhere to rest our weary heads so we aren't bothered about how basic it is...as long as it;s clean and we can get some breakfast.

I've found a premier inn in Docklands (Beckton at the end of the line) for £180 for three nights. Is that too far out for the main sights and will it be a bit bleak on a night?

will look at your thread willself

ummm, I have a friend who has a B&B down the road from here. She's got 3 wee boys herself. I think its about £50 a night.

the hostel places won't take kids, which is fair enough.

might check out the YHA though as i know they have family rooms.

the hostel places won't take kids, which is fair enough.

might check out the YHA though as i know they have family rooms.

This youth hostel is in a beautiful building, right opposite St Pauls cathedral but in a quiet street. Is about 20 quid a night and they have family rooms.

Docklands light railway is pretty reliable but Beckton is quite a long way out...

beckton is not a good place to be based laca, you will have problems getting in and out of London. part of the problem of staying outside central London is the time taken to get in and out. basically you want to be going in after 9.30 am earliest and get out about 4.30 or you will be trapped in rush hour, if its hot its intolerable.

you could also risk it and book late with www.laterooms.com

I've done this lots of times (though admittedly not in London in the summer) and got fantastic deals at the lastminute.

foxy, cross posted with you; didn't mean to ignore you.

I'll e-mail you

YHA hostels look good. £80 for a family room including breakfast. I'll even have two spare beds so can sublet them

It might be worth a look at Premier Inn somewhere a bit further out, eg Twickenham - approx 30 mins by train into Waterloo - £68 per room weekdays or £80 at weekends - otherwise, come and stay with me