In March of 2003 my best friend and I travelled to London for approximately 9 days. We intended to stay in London for only six days and then travel outside of London but a bout with food poisoning forced my friend and I to stay in London an extra three days. He got to see a lot more of London and I got to see a lot more of the hotel room.
We stayed at Le Meridien Waldorf in the Covent Gardens district. I do not know how much my friend paid for the room, but according to the guidebooks and websites it is an expensive higher end hotel. The staff at the hotel was very friendly and the doorman knew our names by the end of the week. I never had to open a door or hail a cab. By the middle of our stay, the bartender knew our order and just how we liked our drinks. The room was smaller than we expected and the mattress was downright horrible and if I were rating the mattress alone on a scale of 1 to 5 stars, I would give it 1 star. The bathroom was huge. It took me about 5 days to figure out how to use the shower faucets but it provided comedy for a few days. I recommend asking the bellhop who carries your luggage up the first day to show you how to use they faucets in England if you are from America.
Covent Garden is a fun, trendy, and active part of London and I could not have been happier with our decision to stay in this district. This is known as the theatre district and the Royal Opera House, the Theatre Royal, and the Adelphi Theatre are all located here, among many more theatres. We went to a production of Chicago which was less than impressive. There are many shows to choose from though, we just happened to choose the wrong show. Covent Garden is also home to the Lamb and Flag pub which is one of the oldest pubs in London. We had a beer...er, I mean ale there and got the feel of a pub, or at least the tourist feel. I loved walking around and just looking at the buildings and architecture, the streets, the doors....just taking everything in. There is a public square in Covent Garden where people gather and perform circus acts, sing, public speak, etc. One afternoon an opera singer gathered a crowd with an aria. It was beautiful and perhaps one of my most treasured memories of London. One evening my friend and I dined at a restaurant called Rules which claims to be the oldest restaurant in London. It is worth visiting because it has a lot of history to it, and it really isn’t that overpriced compared to many of the other restaurants in the area. One restaurant to avoid is Indigo. The interior design is great; very modern with a lot of clean lines. However, the food is ridiculously overpriced and the portion size is something more suited for the supermodels of the world. The worst part of Indigo is the service. Our waiter was the quintessential snotty waiter that you often see in movies. Considering that I paid 165 pounds (about $200) for 6 crab cakes, one dessert, 2 vodka cranberries, one liter of mineral water, and 2 gin and tonics; you would think he would have been a little bit friendlier. So, don’t go to Indigo.
Another district of London that I really liked was Notting Hill. I enjoyed walking around and taking in the scenery. I also found Holland Park to be very pretty and relaxing, although it was cold outside so we didn’t stay long. On a side note, I’ve never seen so many pigeons in my life. They are everywhere in London. I didn’t particularly like Soho or Chinatown. It was dirtier than other areas with more pickpockets. I saw so many of the sites in London. There are just too many to list so I will just mention a few of my favorite. The British Tate Modern is definitely a must see for art lovers. We spent about an hour and a half max there and opted not to view to exhibits that you pay to see. The Tate Britain is a must see for lovers of more classic art and we spent about an hour there. You must catch a changing of the guards at Buckingham Palace just to say you did it. It only takes a few minutes. Check out Westminster Abbey, the Tower of London, and the Design Museum if you are interested in design at all.
I didn’t do any shopping in London because I spent all of my money just getting there so I can’t comment on shopping.
If you like jazz, London actually has a lot to offer in that category. My friend and I caught some great bands by word of mouth so ask around when you get there. There is a restaurant chain called Pizza Express that is actually really good. They have gourmet pizzas and the atmosphere is clean and actually charming. Every night in London one of the various Pizza Express restaurants has live Jazz. This was one of the cheapest meals, not to mention the best meal, along with the best and cheapest entertainment we had in London. Check it out.