What you should know about English Hotels

First some basics about London hotels in comparison to what we have here in the U.S. Having accurate expectations will help avoid disappointments or unpleasant surprises when you arrive. Where as here in the U.S. large chains account for most of the hotels, in the UK, they are the minority. There are literally hundreds of independently owned, often family operated, hotels of various sizes in London. Many of these are "tourist" or budget hotels but there are small 4 or 5 star hotels as well. The primary differences involve bed/maximum person count, toilet and/or bath in the room (ensuite) or not, & complimentary breaksfast.

It’s almost de rigueur for hotels in the U.S. to come with two Queen-sized beds no matter the class of hotel and whether it’s a chain or not. Unquestionably, they all come with a full bath in the room as well. The same is not true in England and no assumptions should be made, even if dealing with a hotel chain that you are familiar with here in the U.S. In the U.S. it’s generally true that what you pay for is a “per room” rate, with a maximum number of people per room. Whether there is one of you or four, the room is probably the same. In the U.K. you are generally paying per person. Not that the room rate is calculated that way, but the room rate increases as the bed/person count increases. The more people in the room, if each is paying, helps to ammortize the cost, but the less people, the cheaper the room will be in general.

Not all hotels have rooms that can accommodate four people in the same room and even fewer that could do a family of five or more. Rooms are typically listed as Singles (One twin bed), Doubles (One full/queen bed), Twin (Two Twin beds), Triples (One double/1 Twin or Three twins), Quad or Family. The “Family” will usually list a number of people maximum. The Family may in fact be limited to 4 people. Each of these room selections, and the ensuite/shared bath option (see below,) will increase the room rate as more people are added. This is generally true of 2-4 Star Hotels. Families may want to consider getting short term apartment rentals. My co-worker stayed at The Goring Hotel when her family went this spring . Their site is (http://www.goringhotel.co.uk/). It was “expensive” but had a special so the room for the kids was free and they did offer complimentary breakfast so that helped to save a lot for a family of four (more on that below as well.)

For full bathrooms in the room, you want a room that is “ensuite” or “en suite”. These will cost more than the shared bath rooms. Many hotels only have shared baths or have a limited number of rooms with the bathroom/toilet "ensuite". The rooms will typically have a sink and mirror in the room, even in the small rooms, but the toilet and shower or bath tub will be on a central hallway and shared by multiple rooms. (These typically are not large communal rooms. It’s still one user at a time so privacy is assured while you are using them, but that could mean waiting to use it next, or searching for one that is available if someone got in there ahead of you.) Others may have a shower in the room, but the toilet will be shared. If you are adamant about having all services in the room, I would advise you check out the hotel’s webpage and even contact them via email to confirm that nothing is being shared. I did have a room that was “en suite” but it was only the shower and not the toilet that was in the room.


I think one place where Americans can get surprised, especially considering the amount of money rooms cost in these days of the weak dollar, is when they see what their money has gotten them and first see their room. You better understand right off the London hotel market is comparable to that of New York City. There is a rating system of no stars-5 stars that is often but not always used. Some class hotels as Budget, Tourist and Luxury. One issue is that one site may list a hotel as 3 stars, whereas another may classify it as 4 stars. Additionally, a U.S. travel service like Expedia may not have any stars but a London based hotel service may describe it as a 4 star hotel. It's a little complicated to know what you are getting so look around and comparison shop. Additionally, even some of the "mid-range" hotels of about the 3 star status still may have an "economy" look when compared to U.S. standards. In the U.K., hotels of the 3 Star Range are likely not one of the known chains. Many of these independent hotels are in century old Georgian mansions that were cut down to size. Most are retro-fitted with their facilities, heat, etc. They do not get a makeover every few years with all new color schemes, etc. If color coordinated curtains and linens, general esthetics, and luxury conveniences are important for you to enjoy your stay, then I recommend you look only at 4 or 5 star hotels. Considering the exchange rate, you should plan on paying several hundred dollars per night.

One nice thing about most of the hotels is that the room rate comes with a complimentary breakfast. Many will offer the "Full English Breakfast" as an option which is Eggs, Toast, Beans (like American baked beans), grilled or stewed tomatoes, and bacon (not the crispy American style but thick chewy slices kind of like "Canadian Bacon"). There is usually a buffet of cereals, sometimes rolls, slices of ham and cheese. Some hotels do charge more for the Full English Breakfast, and some actually charge for any of it, so pay attention when you are booking as to whether this is included or extra. This is really a valuable extra as all dining in London is fairly pricey. Getting a big hearty breakfast thrown in could save your $7-$15 per person each morning, depending on what constitutes breakfast to you. At this posting, the exchange rate is 2 to 1 (American Dollar to English Pound) so a coffee and bagel would be almost $10.

All of this is by way of saying that there are a lot of options, some of which will save you money or cost you extra, depending on your choice and perspective. On one of my trips I bought a package from Virgin Airlines that was a flight and hotel package. I had a very nice ensuite room in a wonderful hotel on the Strand. It was perfectly located and the price was definitely less than I would have paid if I’d booked the flight and room separate, even if I’d chosen a hotel that was not as nice, convenient, or expensive. Monitor package deals like this and take advantage if you can, especially from Virgin, British Airways and United. Also watch for packages from the online travel brokers like Expedia, Travelocity and Orbitz. There are of course, many others. These tend to be a very good deal!

For me, my hotel room is where I store my luggage and crash for a few hours each night. I want a clean, convenient and reasonably priced but matching linens, and fine furnishings are irrelevant. Another advantage I've found in the smaller hotels is the more personalize and flexible services they can provide sometimes. At one hotel, the owner/manager offered me a free breakfast when I arrived off a red-eye. Technically, the breakfast being served was for the previous night's guests, but he thought he could get me checked in with the hour (which he did) by getting my room cleaned quickly, and gave me a breakfast "on the house" while I waited. Several other independent hotels were willing to check my large suitcase when I wanted to travel out of London for a night and travel light. The last small chain I stayed at would not overnight check any bags, and tried at first to tell me that they would not check them on the morning I arrived off the red-eye so I could go out for a few hours prior to the 2:00 p.m. check-in. Ultimately, they did but only after a bit of a stand-off.

I'm sure there is the possibility that you could have a poor customer service experience at an independent hotel and if so, there probably is very little recourse. However, my experiences with them so far have all been great. The staff have been very polite and personable. They've been happy to provide suggestions about local restaurants, give directions, and give you their opinion of various sites you might ask about. As I mentioned above, they can be pretty lenient or flexible about special requests like the luggage issue. I wouldn't hesitate to try one but I would email in advance any questions or "needs" you have before you book so you are clear about what they are willing to do.

Early Decisions- Organized Tour or Independent Travel?

Your two largest expenses related to going to London, or anywhere for that matter, are your transportation to get there and your lodging. Big surprise. The major decisions to be made about these are centered around some basic questions.

Do you want to arrange everything independently, looking for the right deal for each component yourself? Note I didn’t say cheapest, though that could be your driving force. Do you want to have the freedom to decide what you do and do not see, when you do it, how much time you spend, etc? Alternatively, do you want to forego most of the decisions & arrangements to be made, allowing them to be arranged by a professional, ensuring that you’ll see the major sites and have someone else handle some of the more mundane and/or stressful aspects of the trip?

There is no right or wrong answer to this. It’s about your priorities, your needs, your preferences.

Arranging the trip all yourself and traveling independently gives you the maximum flexibility. It will in most cases also be the cheapest as you can hunt down the most frugal opportunities, and you are not paying someone else to do any of it for you. You will make your travel arrangements, and will decide where to have every meal, and on what budget. If you like to be spontaneous or in some cases perhaps need to be, then being the independent traveler is the only way to go.

Alternatively, you can go with a tour package that will probably provide flight, hotel, local transportation, tour services, and perhaps some admission fees. Some meals may be included. I’ve been on one of these tours in Italy and they certainly have their advantages. They are not the cheapest way to go, but you get a lot for your money, you get a lot of ASSISTANCE, and they take a lot of the pressures and decisions on location out of your hands. With various levels of Tours from somewhat frugal to quite luxurious, they can still be cost effective. If you are traveling with someone who needs special assistance, for example an adult traveling with children, seniors who can’t do a lot of walking or be responsible for their own luggage, or you want to see a lot of towns in a relatively short time, then the tour might be the BEST idea since you will have someone assisting with transportation, luggage, etc. I will say that as far as traveling with children goes, London is one of the easiest and friendliest cities so unless the children are very young, and/or the adult is “out-numbered”, you definitely do NOT have to take a tour just because you want to take kids. I’ve never taken a group tour to London so I can’t speak to a large extent about them and this blog is not focused on that option. I still might have some tips to assist you in what free time you are given and I think the “Highlights vs. Personal Interest” subject may help you decide if a tour is right for you or not. Clearly, tours focus on the Highlights and offer only a small amount of time for Personal Interests. Stay tuned!

Why not blog about my favorite place, London?

"When a man is tired of London, he is tired of life; for there is in London all that life can afford." So said Samuel Johnson, and it doesn't just apply to men. It certainly applies to me as well. This spring as I was planning my almost-annual visit to London, I was asked by a couple of co-workers who were planning their own family vacations to London for tips and suggestions. Always happy to talk about London and offer advice, I sent off a multi-page email to them. In reply, one asked why I didn't blog about it. It hadn't previously occurred to me but it was an idea to which I kept returning. There aren’t many subjects that could inspire me to dedicate myself to a regular posting of my personal thoughts on a subject. But…this one has promise.

A quick word then about me. I'm a single woman who likes to travel and does so, on a moderate budget. I’m not jetting around for a weekend, throwing my cash around, unconcerned about what anything costs and expecting to be treated like a trust fund princess. I don’t stay in Five-Star hotels, take cabs everywhere I go, and only eat in restaurants with Chefs who have TV shows. Nor do I get to expense my trip and let my company pay for all the better amenities. I’m just me, visiting my favorite place, like average Joe American. Perhaps just like you.

So here goes. Some tips and suggestions especially for people who have never been and want to have a rewarding, interesting experience on what may be the one and only trip they plan to take to London and the environs. The exchange rate of British pounds to US dollars is deplorable so everything is at a premium and you want your money to go as far as you can get it to and still feel like you had a REALLY Great vacation! I’ll share names of specific places and where I’m able, websites that will help you plan your trip. No one is paying me anything. My advice is based on my personal experience, good or bad. In some cases I may step back from making recommendations and merely state what I do, so as to leave some important personal decision to you to make. My visits usually last about a week. I haven’t had to time to check back and confirm that things I experienced on my first trip are still the same 9 years later. So, some info could be outdated. If you know something is no longer accurate or available, please let me know! Additionally a lot of things about travel are based on personal preferences. I think that is what makes each trip unique and special. Making an International trip uniquely your own should be one of your goals. If you have a personal interest that in any way relates to the trip you are planning to take, try to tie something you do into that interest. Enrich your experience rather than just checking things off your list.