Some general remarks
Update February 2010:
I just realized that the title of this tip has been changed to Bayswater Inn by VT staff. I have NEVER stayed in the Bayswater Inn and I suppose VT has looked at my title of this tip and decided to change it to Bayswater Inn because I said I would make some general remarks about the area, Bayswater.
Bayswater is still my favourite area to stay in London. I know VT has been changing lots of hotel tips, giving them new titles, but I do not want anybody to think I stayed in the Bayswater Inn.
My favourite area to stay in is Bayswater. Good transportation - two tube stations-, a good bus service, close to Paddington Station, many hotels, restaurants, shopping oportunities and close enough to Kensington Gardens and Hyde Park.It is not, however,a quiet neighbourhood. Because there are so many small hotels, it's a favourite area for school groups from all over Europe.Expect lots of teenagers in the streets, noise and partying going on.
I've never paid the rack rate, in fact I wonder if anybody ever does.Maybe the hotel just posts the rack rate so that people can say, "we're staying in a room that would be £200!"
Before booking I compare the rates of the travel agencies, in Germany ADAC, DER, TUI and NUR.I suppose a similar system exists in other countries as well. Very often these companies offer specials," stay 7 days, pay just 5" or "4 days for 3".As with all special deals, they are gone fast, so I book ahead.I've saved a lot of money this way.
Because of this I won't give any prices. If I tell you I got a great deal and paid about 60 Euro for my room, because I got a special deal, this is not going to help you if this deal is not offered next year.
Generally hotel rooms in London are small and expensive. Space is expensive in any big city and you have to pay for it. The rates I get through the agencies include breakfast, usually a continental one. Occasionally British breakfast is included, but I would never pay extra for it in a London hotel. I've had excellent cooked breakfasts in small B&Bs in the rest of the UK, but in a London hotel they were without exception too greasy for my taste.
One hotel we had stayed in was the Thistle Lancaster Gate hotel. I just read it is no longer a hotel and I can't say I'm surprised. It was by far the most expensive hotel I had booked in London, as a special treat for my mother. While the rooms were really nice and large, the staff's attitude was so bad that we vowed never to return.
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