London Accommodation
London Accommodation – everything from 5 Star hotels to short term rentals
In 2012, millions of tourists are expected to pour into England’s capital from across the world for both the Olympic Games and also the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations.
But with ‘only’ 110,000 London hotel rooms up for grabs*, you’re going to have to be…
a) very quick off the mark and book incredibly early to grab a hotel in a price range and location you’re comfortable with,
b) a little more adventurous with your choice of accommodation,
or…
c) extremely lucky or know someone in London who’s willing to put you up
* according to a report on London’s hotel industry prepared by PricewaterhouseCoopers for the Mayor of London in 2001 – although this figure was arrived at prior to 2005, when London was chosen to host the Olympics.
However, if you miss out on a hotel, and you really can’t get in anywhere that you had on your ‘preferred’ list, it certainly doesn’t mean you’re going to have to compromise on the quality of accommodation you go for.
These are just two things you may have to think about in order to increase your options:
i) Location – if London’s full up, why not try somewhere near London? London’s surrounding counties, known as the Home Counties, offer perfectly suitable accommodation, if you’re prepared to travel just a little further (including 5 star hotels). So it doesn’t have to be a hotel near the Olympic Stadium.
· Hertfordshire, to the north of London (including towns such as Watford)
· Essex (to the east, where you’ll find Loughton)
· Kent to the south east (known as ‘the Garden of England’)
· Surrey to the south (lots of nice places in Surrey)
· Berkshire to the west (where Windsor is, and a big castle)
· Buckinghamshire (home to Ozzy Osbourne, Noel Gallagher and Angus Young of AC/DC)
Have a look at this map…
Don’t worry, you can get from any of these places to central London very easily. (Read all about Transport to London from the Home Counties here).
ii) Type of accommodation – Why not push the boat out on this trip? Must you stay in a hotel? You might be able to stay in London itself if you go for a B&B (bed and breakfast), or how about one of London’s university’s halls of residence or even a floating hotel?
London short term rentals also offer a interesting and viable alternative.
Just to give you some idea of numbers here, if you look back to the Olympics hosted by Sydney in 2000, 5.5 million people visited that city’s Olympic Park during the Games. (And of the available tickets at those Games, 87% were sold, which represented a record at the time).
So London, too, will see a huge influx of visitors in 2012, meaning demand for accommodation will be massive and you’ll have to be quick, smart, adventurous – or all three – to grab the accommodation you want.
We suggest you do your research – here and elsewhere (links to external sites offering trusted and helpful information are placed throughout London2012UsefulInformationGuide.com) and have a real think about where you would like/not like to stay. London Accommodations are plentiful and varied, if you stray off the beaten track.
Be prepared for prices to go up compared to other, ‘normal’ years (after all, 2012 in London is not going to be like any other, normal year). But be prepared, also, for the one of the most memorable trips of your life.
