LONDON PUBS: The Blackbird
by jayhawk2000 about The Blackbird
A slick, stylised pub designed to have the appeal of an old-fashioned boozer. It's a Fuller's house, serving their delicious Extra Special Bitter (ESB) and London Pride. Chiswick Bitter was also on offer.
This was the nearest pub to the Barkston Gardens Hotel, our flophouse of choice that weekend. It was clean, air-conditioned (good for non-smokers) and had no TV on at the time. Not worth a special trip, but probably the best if you happen to be staying in the vicinity.
When leaving Earl's Court tube station, proceed directly across the street at the pedestrian crossing and turn right. It's on the corner of Barkston Gardens, about a 2-minute walk away.
Great location,Quaint and Quiet
by TripAdvisor Member Louise83
Went to London for Wimbledon tennis but did not want to stay too near to it though.Train came in at Euston and it was so easy to use the tube stations. Arrived at Earl's Court tube and Barkston Gardens Hotel was across the road and turn left. Did not have to travel far to find it. A pleasant Hotel, very quaint and quiet. Room was big enough.
Tea and coffee facilities on hand. Choice of complimentary continental breakfast or English for a couple of pounds more. Bed was very comfortable. Room was hot no air-con but they do have a fan in the room which was good. It is probably not usually this hot in England, so it would probably be ok any other time of the year but we did go in between the 5 day heatwave that they had. It was in the 30's. Just got back to the North of England to find that tennis is called off because of rain. Staff where very friendly and at our request they let us put our coolpacks in the freezer overnight. Hotel very close to Restaurants and other eateries. Also foodstores and an open 24hr Tesco.
Would stop at this Hotel again.
What a location
by TripAdvisor Member Mike6382
I would like to start off by stating my girlfriend and i traveled all throughout europe and stayed at many different locations If you follow my user idea you will be able to figure out our trip and you could use this as a guideline for yourself. We did tons of research and used all the sites to make our choices. I hope this review helps.
The Barkston Gardens hotel is a few short minute walk from the Earls Court train station, which is a train station with many different train lines running right through it. The location is wonderful and in a great area where you will find many bars and many places where you will be able to find fresh fruit, bread and basic nessaities.
Now for the hotel, the staff was very friendly and were eager to help out with directions throughout the city. Our room was clean (but we did find an unused condom wrapper under the bed, it would be hard for cleaning staff to reach or see it but it was still found) and the washroom meet all basic needs. Our room was small and only had windows that opened and a small personal size fan. NO AIR in this one, but as long as your not there for a heat wave you should be fine, london is cool (23c) most of the time anyhow. We think the room we had was a 1 person room. Overall i would stay there again but only for a few nights, we found that hotels that were cheaper but more out of the way had more extras, like ac and bigger rooms.
PS. Our flight arrived in london at 9am and reached the hotel at 11, we asked if there was a room to store our things while our room was being preparied. They placed our bags in an easy access room which made us feel alittle uneasy but the staff reinsured us that the bags will be fine. Nothing happened to the bags but just wanted to state this just incase you are in our shoes and plan to arrive before the check in
Good value, but nothing exciting.
by TripAdvisor Member Tricia_StL
This hotel had a great location and was a good value for the money. The room was small and a bit worn, but clean. Breakfast was good and the staff were polite and helpful. If you're budget-conscious and don't plan to spend a LOT of time hanging around your hotel, the Barkston Gardens is a fine place to stay if you get a reasonable price.
A good experience
by TripAdvisor Member MdeV_SA
We stayed at the Barkston Gardens in Kensington, London at the beginning of June 2006. Apart from the rather unfriendly frontdesk staff, it was a good experience. Our room was clean, the size adequate, and the overall impression fine. We can recommend this hotel to anyone looking for a conveniently situated (minutes from Earl's Court station) hotel at affordable rates.
M de Villiers, South Africa
Good value for London
by TripAdvisor Member nenglebret
We stayed at the Barkston Gardens in the Earl's Court section of London, the last week of July 2006.
I had read many reveiws both on TripAdvisor and other places, so did not have any great preconceived notions.
It is a fairly basic hotel. Right around the corner from the Underground, and very convenient to many shops and restaurants.
The hotel itself is nothing really special, but, by London standards was more than adequate. We were there during a heat wave, and there is no air conditioning. I knew this going in, and, had taken the time to email the hotel several months in advance, specifically requesting a fan.
When we first checked in, we were told there was no way to guarantee a fan until the morning when people checked out, so the maids could find one and bring it to us. The first room we were given was a smoking room, without a fan, and quite small. We switched to another 9non-smoking) room, which was somewhat larger and had a fan - although it was basically ineffectual, but, better than none at all.
The bed was full size, and okay. The room was equipped with an electric tea kettle, but the instant coffee was awful. The tea was fine. The bathroom was very roomy, but oddly, had a half glass shower "curtain". I was with my husband, but, if you are modest about showering, it is a bit odd, not to mention water got all over the floor. The shower pressure was great.
The hotel has a breakfast, which was good, and a small bar with one computer with internet access. They also have free wireless in the common areas too.
The TV in the room only got a few stations, but, we didn't really care. Overall, it was very convenient, and served our purposes fine. With everything so expensive in London, we preferred to spend our money on our experiences, and dinners, rather than a lavish hotel. I would reccomend this hotel to other travelers. It's a good value for the money.
Fine hotel & neighbourhood, a little out of the way
by A TripAdvisor Member
This hotel was in a very nice neighbourhood, close to bookstore and drugstores. It was a bit out of the way for me, but I would recommend it if the location is good for you. Very brightly painted walls!
Forum Posts
which location is better?
by mickshe
hi VT members..im back asking questions about london again..which location is better kensington gardens square, bayswater or barkston gardens, earl's court?which station(tube)near each location and how far is it?.....thanks again for your help.
Re: which location is better?
by Weener
Kensington Square is nice.
The nearest tube is High Street Kensington about one minute walk away
Here is a weblink that might help
http://www.londontown.com/LondonInformation/Underground_Stations/High_Street_Kensington/6679/
Re: which location is better?
by bobthequiz
Depends what you're looking for. Bayswater has a lot of good reaturants and some interesting shopping; it's close to Hyde Park and is convenient for the central line into the West End.
Earls Court has some nice restaurants, but not as many nice ones as Bayswater (IMHO) and is convenient for the exhibition centre and heathrow.
Overall I'd plump for Baywater... but I don't know the specific locations you're referring to.
Re: Re: which location is better?
by mickshe
thanks for your help.
Re: which location is better?
by KidsToLondon
Hi,
Let me guess...you are asking because you have found relatively inexpensive hotels in those areas?
Earls Court and Bayswater have a concentration of tourist-class hotels, but neither area is a very central London location. Earls Court is really not near any tourist attraction (assuming you are visiting for this purpose). Bayswater is a bit more central. But both require commuting by Underground, bus or taxi to see most of the major sights in London.
There are alternatives--the Victoria station area is a bit closer in and it has some lower-cost hotels; the popular Travel Inn County Hall qualifies as a budget hotel and it is in a prime location near Parliament; there are others too.
If I have misinterpreted, and you really want to stay in Earls Court of Bayswater...sorry.
Dave White
mail@KidsToLondon.com
Sign in with Facebook
