Our first trip to the U.K. was a little ambitious. We did London, Stratford-Upon-Avon, Warwick, Winchester, then on to Wales to Ruthin, and Portmeiron, then back down to Bath, Stonehenge, clear down to the Isle of Wight, then back up to Windsor, and finally back to London. We thought we'd never go again... Outside of London, we try to stay in unique places, castles or old mansions wherever possible. Statue at the Gate House of Hampton Court Palace London Hotels Things To Do in London when you've done all the stuff in your books Venturing Out/Driving Tips Stratford Upon Avon Bath Windsor Wales   London Hotels We've been to London several times, and we tend to return to the Kensington area for our hotels. More bang for your buck in a nice, convenient neighborhood. Around the Gloucester Road Tube Station are several hotels. Don't overlook the Holiday Inn/Kensington, which can be had for £110 /night. Call the US 800 number and see if any deals are going on. We stayed there three years ago for $90US/night, so it's worth checking. The rooms are dull, bland, smallish and the restaurant is marginal. Some recommendation, huh? Nothing wrong with it, but pretty charmless. Curiously, Holiday Inn has also purchased the former Forum Hotel across the street, a 20+ storey hotel that is undergoing a total remodeling in 2002. Don't be confused - it's called the Holiday Inn Kensington South. Harrington Hall has very nice rooms in the £140 range. The Gloucester Hotel is in the £130 range, very large and more modern, with a lot of renovation going on in 1996. Again, rooms are fair sized with nice bathrooms. Of course, that's fair-sized by London standards. Some Internet pictures can be a little deceiving, showing their largest corner rooms. This is an excellent area to be in, with a Sainsbury supermarket 5 minutes away, two all-night markets by the tube station, a shopping arcade with the all-important Boot's Pharmacy, two pubs, and scads of restaurants including a Texas steak place for that 7th night when you are a little homesick. Hyde Park is a ten minute walk north, and the Victoria & Albert Museum is just down the street. We were there in November and stayed at the Rembrandt, which is near the South Kensington station, and right across from the Victoria & Albert. Bigger rooms, very nice bathrooms, mini bar, and an ok restaurant. We got a rate of £135 by mentioning we saw them on the Internet. If you're flying into Gatwick and going to London via the Gatwick Express, you can't beat the Grosvenor Thistle for convenience (Don't confuse this hotel with the Grosvenor House ). The train arrives at Victoria Station. Disembark, walk straight into the main hall, turn to your left. The Grosvenor makes up the north wall of the station. It is a fine hotel, with older and newer sections (if you're worried, don't be embarrassed to ask to see the room. It is a common request in England, and you'll often be glad you did). Rooms in the older section are very tiny, but bathrooms are well appointed and face it, what you are paying for is convenience. One curiosity though: we were at the Grosvenor in December a couple of years back, and during the day the room was FREEZING. I can't emphasize this enough. When I called the desk to point out that the radiator was the iciest thing in the room, I was cheerfully told that the boiler was being repaired and should be fixed by 5:00pm. The same thing happened the next day as well. By the third day it was finally explained that the only repair going on was that the heat for the entire hotel was simply shut down during the day, then turned back on at 5:00. A space heater was sheepishly offered for our daytime use. There is a small bar in the hotel, along with a Carvery Restaurant. Food is good, not outstanding, and served buffet style (skip the curry soup!). Many handy services in the station, doughnut shop, bookstore, small markets, etc. The best Information Center in town is right downstairs, with books, maps and windows for booking tours, plays, and other hotels. Additionally, we have stayed at the Hilton/Olympia. TOO FAR AWAY! FROM EVERYTHING! Even the connection to the Underground is long, erratic and convoluted. For more research, look at British Hotel Reservation Centre, London - UK -   RETURN TO TOP Things To Do In London When You've Done All Things In The Book Okay, so you did Buckingham Palace, Victoria & Albert Museum, The Tower, Big Ben, Parliament, Mme. Tussaud's, Harrod's, pub crawled enough that you're brave enough to order BOTH toad-in-the-hole AND spotted dick... Pick up a copy of Time Out as soon as you hit town. There's no better source of information for shows, movies, music, museums and restaurants than this weekly magazine. Time Out is also available on the web at www.timeout.com Hunting a great pub? Check out www.pubs.com A few of the odder places we've discovered: The London Dungeon is a huge place with dioramas of delightfully hideous scenes of torture, carnage and depravity. Great for the kids! Winston Churchill's Britain at War Experience, which we enjoyed tremendously (oddly phrased, but true) near the London Bridge Tube Station, and just a block from the Dungeon. The Temple Church is of interest to those with a leaning toward things Templar. Figures of nine buried Knights Templar are set into the floor. The surrounding lands were confiscated from the Knights when they were disbanded and excommunicated, given over to the Hospitalers, and was the site of bloody fighting during the Peasant's Revolt. There is some irony that the confiscated lands eventually became the area of London given over to lawyers... Be sure to walk down the Strand and pass the Temple Bar (origin of the legal term "passing the Bar"). For more history of this fascinating church and the history of the Order, read John J. Robinson's books, "Dungeon Fire & Sword" and "Born In Blood." Any Freemason worth his trowel should visit Freemason Hall on Great Queen Street. Take the tour and spend a little time in the museum, checking out regalia and artifacts from the earliest days of the Craft. Have your Grand Lodge write to the United Grand lodge of England and arrange to visit one of the literally hundreds of Lodges that meet here. Have lunch at Check out the Cathedral of St. Clement Danes. This is the official cathedral of the RAF, and is filled with memorials to fallen heroes from WWII to the present. For a different kind of museum, go to the Imperial War Museum, housed in the old Bedlam Hospital. Check out their website for a positively huge array of exhibits available. The House of Detention in Clerkenwell is a 200 year-old prison hiding under the ground in this interesting neighborhood. A terrific guy named Thomas leads the tours, as well as doing a fun ghost walk through the neighborhood. And he knows of a great pub around the corner. And while you're in this kind of mood, do a Jack The Ripper walk. Wandering about Whitechapel late at night by yourself is a little disconcerting, and it is common to find signs on pubs warning "NO TOURISTS!" and "NO RIPPER QUESTIONS!" Check Time Out for several companies that do offer guided walks. RETURN TO TOP Venturing Out: Your First British Car Don't panic about the "driving on the wrong side of the road" syndrome. You'll settle in after about 10 minutes, although while making left turns you'll find yourself drifting to the right lane out of habit. You will find the British seem to hate stop signs and traffic lights. Consequently they have devised a supreme torture device known as the roundabout. Here's the bitch... Say you're headed south on the A134 toward London. As you approach the roundabout there will be a sign with a drawing of the circle, surrounded by spokes headed to at least 4 different places, and often more. But one of them does not say A134 South (London). No, one of them says A134 Stratford, and a different one says A134 Smedley. It apparently costs extra to make a sign that simply says North or South. At 40 miles per hour on the wrong side of the road and unable to read your own map as a 3-trailer lorry bears down on you, you enter this little quagmire. Immediately, you're forced into the center, unable to get left to get out. While doing this, you are madly looking for a sign. Forget it. The road designation is painted on the pavement, in a forced perspective lettering style that you might be able to read if you were stationary. And lying on the ground, and...whoops...did I get on the A134 to Stratford or Smedley? And is Stratford going towards London, or Smedley...What village did we just pass? Just part of the adventure. Cheers! RETURN TO TOP Stratford Upon Avon So, you made it to Stratford. Yes, it's touristy and often crowded, but it is Shakespeare's town and the home of the Royal Shakespeare Company. Lots of shopping here, including a fantastic seller of medieval arms (armor, swords, cannon, and the state of the art in 14th century military equipment). If you've come for the Theatre, the greatest deal in town is operated by the R.S.T. Restaurants. Called the Shakespeare Stop-over, it is available Monday thru Saturday. Priced at between £75 and £90 per person, it includes your ticket to either the RS Theatre or the Swan Theatre, a three course dinner before or after the show at their Box Tree Restaurant (important, since there's no food available in town after 10:00pm except the Pizza Hut), and your overnight accommodations at Lysander Court. This is a complex of condominiums two blocks from the theatres, and are available with two or three bedrooms, a roomy living/dining room, and a full kitchen (the fridge is stocked with the makings of your breakfast for the next morning). The complex is security gated with plenty of room to park. There is a slightly cheaper version featuring dinner at their cafeteria-style restaurant, before the show only. Contact the RST Restaurants directly at: 1789 295623. There are times of the year when there are no shows going on, so be sure to call or check Time Out. RETURN TO TOP Bath Bath is a terrific place to go for concentrated shopping in a smaller area than tromping about in London. The Roman ruins of the Baths are among the finest Roman sites in England About 8 miles southeast of Bath is a wonderful little hotel, the Bath Lodge Hotel. Built in the Castle Lodge of Farleigh House, there are only four magnificent en suite rooms, three with 4 poster double beds, one with a single. The restaurant is fabulous, with very personal service. Their phone number is: 0225-723737. When we were there, the owners were John and Pam Morris. Stonehenge is nearby. Suffice it to say, it's interesting and impressive. But...you can't get close to it (fear of crazed druids paying their five quid and running out and sacrificing a tot before anyone could stop them, I guess). Worth a stop. There is a visitor's center, museum and gift shop on the premises. RETURN TO TOP Windsor Windsor is another tourist-filled place, choked with buses and cars. If you're willing to drive 15 minutes outside of town to Berkshire, stay at Oakley Court. A rambling Gothic mansion, this fascinating hotel has been seen in over 200 Hammer horror films and of course, the Rocky Horror Picture Show. Rooms are massive and well-appointed, and the grounds are beautiful. The hotel is situated along a quiet stretch of the Thames. Call 0628-74141. RETURN TO TOP Wales The first and foremost thing to remember about driving Wales is that you will look at a map, think very responsibly "Well, that's only 50 miles. How long can it take, say two hours?", and set off... Only to find that you will average about 15 miles in an hour since the roads go straight up, then down, then sort of meander about in a serpentine manner, until coming to an abrupt halt amidst a herd of sheep. Don't get over-ambitious. We stayed in Ruthin Castle, which is affiliated with Best Western. The castle dates back to the 1200's, and has been beautifully restored. It sits up on a promontory with a sweeping view in all directions, surrounded by lovingly tended gardens. Our room was positively enormous by London standards, and at least in 1990 was £75 a night. Highly recommended is the medieval banquet, which is remarkably intimate as these things go, with excellent food, and a fun atmosphere replete with singers and storytellers. For those fans of the 60's Patrick McGoohan series The Prisoner, no trip to Wales would be complete without driving out to Portmeiron. Built as a giant collecting project by an eccentric architect, The Village is an Italianate town that winds its way up a hill and overlooks the strange coastline (ocean at high tide, a vast plain of sand at low tide). I was going to post my Portmeiron photos, but a fellow by the name of Kipp Teague has beaten me to it. Check out his Portmeiron Hotel site. RETURN TO TOP Send us your feedback RETURN TO CHRIS & ALICE HODAPP'S SWANKY LOVE PAGODA BACK TO CHRIS AND ALICE'S WORLDWIDE TRAVEL TIPS Copyright ©1997 by Chris Hodapp. All rights reserved. Unauthorized reproduction strictly prohibited. Violators will be hunted down and forced to suffer through windy legalistic diatribes by a fierce looking lawyer named Fingers, who's a little hazy on where exactly he got his law degree-and he seems to have a lot of self-inflicted tattoos.