Sloane Gardens Mar 08

[Spence Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close Spence]

Here's pics of the 'flat' I have for my son's Spring Break.




So it's the smallest 1BR they have and they rent it for £170 per night!
That's big money.

Anyone got any travel hints for this locale, other than wear warm clothes?

[wackymother Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close wackymother]

Spence, we were there last February. We had a 1br and a 2br. The 1br was even more fantastic than the 2br--I can't tell from these pix if it's the one we had, but that one had a living room with a soaring ceiling--must have been about 12 feet--and a beautiful huge crystal chandelier.

The location is FABULOUS, maybe 100 feet from the subway station and there are good bus lines right nearby. I worked for a UK company for many years, traveled to London frequently, and Sloane Gardens is by far, far, far the nicest hotel I ever saw there. Also the nicest apartments, nicer than the ones most people live in!

Are you going, or just your lucky son? Any questions I can answer?

[wackymother Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close wackymother]

Oh, by the way--last year, for President's Week, it was over 50 degrees every day. That was unusual, but London is generally warmer than New York in the winter, and the cold is "softer."

[Spence Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close Spence]

Thanks, any hints, keep them coming. They sent me this public transit info when I asked:

Take the Gatwick Express train to London Victoria British Rail Station. Trains leave the airport every 15 minutes on the hour. Fast train takes 30 minutes. From Victoria Station join the Underground. District or Circle line is one stop west to Sloane Square Underground Station. These trains run every 2-3 minutes. From exiting Sloane Square station turn left and cross over at the cross walk and keep to the right. 3 Sloane Gardens is the second house on the left.

When purchasing tickets for the Gatwick express train, ask for a return ticket to Victoria Station. Tickets can be purchased on board the train from a conductor.

The Underground is another separate ticket. Buy an Oyster Card for one week, Zone 1 & 2. This costs £24.20 and gives unlimited travel on the underground within the zone and on London buses. A single under ground journey is £4.00 and bus £2.00. Buy these at the Underground station.

Any sort of concierge for tours or day trips? It's me and my college aged son (who thinks he's meeting internet friends).

[bigfrank Administrator Find all posts View Profile Close bigfrank]

Is this a timeshare or a house, that first pic looked like someones home.

[wackymother Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close wackymother]

It's a timeshare. Buildings like that in London are rarely one person's home--they're like the townhouses in Manhattan, almost always cut up into apartments. I think they have about 10 apartments in Sloane Gardens.

Spence, there is an on-site manager who was on vacation when we went, and an on-site manager whose name is Joseph (I think?). Joseph gives you an introduction to the apartment when you come in--tells you how to use the TV set, the stove, the dishwasher, lots of rules, too. (For example, there's a heavy fine for leaving dishes in the sink when you leave. And since there were cleaning ladies every weekday, I didn't feel comfortable leaving dishes in the sink when we left in the morning, either.) If you violate the rules (we did, by folding up the sleeper with the sheets inside), you get a typed memo politely asking you to STOP DOING THAT! Very British. We stopped doing that.

Let's see...if you walk out the front door, cross the street, and walk toward Harvey Nichols, then make the first left (I think the first left) and walk about halfway down the street, there's a bus stop there. I can't remember the number, sorry. That bus takes you to many of the big touristy locations, and it's a wonderful ride. It goes to Trafalgar Square, the National Gallery, the West End theaters, the Strand. It goes past Buckingham Palace and Big Ben, too. Try to get the "tourist seats," the front ones on the upper deck. Spectacular tour of the city!

[wackymother Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close wackymother]

Yes, get the Oyster Card. One thing you DEFINITELY need in London is an A-Z (pronounced, if you're English, "A Zed). These are books of maps with all the different streets. They have elaborate indexes so you can find any tiny little street. London is NOT like New York; you can stand on the street looking at a map and not get mugged!

We took the bus from Victoria Station, that was dumb, took forever. We took the train back, much better. The walk from Victoria Station to Sloane Gardens took about 15 minutes...or more...but we had a lot of luggage and children and I'm like a snail.

[GrayFal Silver Contributor and supermoderator Find all posts View Profile Close GrayFal]

Yes, get the Oyster Card. One thing you DEFINITELY need in London is an A-Z (pronounced, if you're English, "A Zed). These are books of maps with all the different streets. They have elaborate indexes so you can find any tiny little street. London is NOT like New York; you can stand on the street looking at a map and not get mugged!

We took the bus from Victoria Station, that was dumb, took forever. We took the train back, much better. The walk from Victoria Station to Sloane Gardens took about 15 minutes...or more...but we had a lot of luggage and children and I'm like a snail.

About the transpo back and forth to the airport....DD and I were at Allen House (Thanks Beags!) in June - we did the whole schlepping of luggage on the fast train and underground from Heathrow.
When we were getting ready to go back to the airport at the end of the week, we spoke to the wonderful manager to arrange a taxi at 5:30 am to get to Victoria to get the fast train.
She told us the cost of the taxi to the train and then the fast train for 2 was actually more then a taxi from Allen House directly to the airport...plus, it was a 35 minute taxi ride versus 1 hour plus for the taxi and fast train.
So, get in touch with the manager/concierge and see what they suggest.
We has summer clothes with us - you will have winter stuff and heavy bags...if the cost is almost the same - I would take the taxi.

[x3skier Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close x3skier]

One more vote for the Oyster card. We used them extensively on our trip last year (2006) and just kept them for our trip this year.

If this is your first (or even more) trip to London, I would recommend the bus over the tube. The tube, while fast is sometimes extremely crowded and prone to breakdowns, albeit infrequently. With the Bus, you get great views and a sense of where one is in this fantastic city. There are still a few of the old style double decker's still running but most buses are either "Modern" double decker's or long "Bendy buses".

Enjoy your stay but remember, it will not be cheap.

Cheers

[wackymother Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close wackymother]

Not cheap is so painfully true. When we were there, it was $2 to the pound and now it's even worse. A warning for you--when you go to Harrod's and pay with a credit card, they ring up your purchase and cheerfully say, "Would you like to pay in dollars or pounds?" Your credit card has just told them your local currency, and the cash registers display your total in pounds AND IN DOLLARS. Oh my god, I nearly had a heart attack. I was buying tea for a friend and it was 24 pounds but more than 48 DOLLARS!!!!

[x3skier Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close x3skier]

Not cheap is so painfully true. When we were there, it was $2 to the pound and now it's even worse. A warning for you--when you go to Harrod's and pay with a credit card, they ring up your purchase and cheerfully say, "Would you like to pay in dollars or pounds?" Your credit card has just told them your local currency, and the cash registers display your total in pounds AND IN DOLLARS. Oh my god, I nearly had a heart attack. I was buying tea for a friend and it was 24 pounds but more than 48 DOLLARS!!!!

Do not forget if you let Harrod's bill you in Dollars, they will tack on an exchange fee which will probably be much higher than your credit card will charge. I always charge in Pounds and pay the lower bulk exchange rate or use my Credit Union card for ATM withdrawals. My CU does not charge fees for any cash withdrawals anywhere. YMMV.

BTW, its all the down to $1.97 to the pound now.

Cheers