I have quite an extended family in the UK which means we visited and stayed with different uncles and aunts while there. This didn't eliminate the need for hotels, but did lessen the number of nights we stayed in them.
We generally find our hotels online using services like Expedia or CheaperThanHotels to find places to stay. Great deals can be had at London Hotels, Edinburgh Hotels, and Glasgow Hotels, especially if you are willing to risk waiting until the last minute. We like to find places that are central, close to public transit, and (if possible) have a kitchen or kitchenette. Three of the four places we stayed in the UK for our vacation this month had those amenities. A kitchen reduces the amount of time you spend eating at restaurants, which are--in the UK--very expensive. This doesn't mean we don't end up eating out at all. We had a terrific meal, for example, at Ignite, a fabulous Indian Restaurant in Edinburgh.
These are the following hotels we stayed in.
- Premier Travel Inn in London -- This was pretty good value, had a nice restaurant and bar, and was very close to Heathrow. On the down-side, Internet access was very expensive--$12 for two hours.
- Ramada in Coventry--They were very friendly, but our reservation was messed up. They had us in a smoking room and lost the record of our daughter. Good thing Paula had the paperwork! They did move us into a nonsmoking room and set up the nicest little bed for our kid with her own shampoo and towels set out. See the Cathedral in Coventry, it is well worth the trip.
- Knight Residence in Edinburgh -- They were fabulous. I can not express how impressed I was with this accommodation. The suite was comfortable, the concierge was helpful and friendly, I LOVED this place. We had a great view of the castle.
- Fountain Court in Edinburgh -- I was extremely disappointed in the Fountain Court. They had us booked in the newest facility and we were paying a LOT for that. We were excited by the floor plans and the photos. It turned out that they had booked us on the wrong night. They ended up putting us up in the Grove street facility which was shabby and run down. We got a tiny discount, but not enough to make up for damaged walls, linoleum lifted up off the floor, grubby spots on the walls and ceilings, and dirty marks on the fridge. The TV didn't work right either.
We have a seven year old daughter, so one of the things we found to be difficult was eating in pubs (particularly in the England). Many pubs are not child friendly after a certain point in the afternoon. Pick where you are going to eat and call to make sure children are welcome. The same is true of some hotels. Find out what the restrictions are before you get there.
All in all the trip was fabulous. I have loaded more videos onto REVVER and created a collection. More videos will be loaded into the collection over the coming days.
The flickr set has about 1600 photos from the trip so far although not all are public.
Powered by Qumana
