Review of London hotels and hotels around UK

I have done quite a bit of hotel hopping in London and the rest of United Kingdom recently. It is one of those once in a life time road trips to explore a country in depth and wonder about the history and how people lived through the years. The cities I covered in this road trip included hotels in London, Cardiff, Liverpool, Edinburgh, and York. Here is a review of each of them.

Hilton London Angel Islington, London
My first hotel when I arrived in London. It was a new area for me, and though I was initially hesitant about this suburb, turned out to be quite a lovely gem. Hilton London Angel Islington though relatively quiet with a basic lobby area, has spacious modern and clean rooms, perfect after a long trip flying in from Singapore. The best thing about staying in Angel is that it is a food hub with unlimited choices of restaurants serving different cuisines along the street. You would never go hungry here! It is also a cozy neighborhood that does not have huge loads of people going about, which is rather peaceful suburb to me.

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Things to see and do in London

In between my day trips out of London, was exploring the city itself. One of the first stops was to South Kensington that came highly recommended as a pretty area of London. It was indeed a lovely area to walk around and explore the streets.

Here is my travel itinerary for a 8 day trip to London, England
Day 1 - Arrive in London, South Kensington, Musical Les Miserables
Day 2 - Day trip to Salisbury, Bath, Stonehenge
Day 3 - Oxford Street
Day 4 - Check out Hilton London Metropole Hotel and check into London House Hotel, Lunch at Gold Mine where we had Roast Duck.
Day 5 - Day trip to Oxford, Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwick Castle
Day 6 - Portobello Market, Borough Market, Thames Riverwalk, British Museum, Musical Wicked
Day 7 - Hillsong Church, Oxford Street
Day 8 - Off to Airport

London and Day Trips out of London

London is one of my favorite destinations in Europe, perhaps because of the ease of language, and also the convenience of travelling around in the tube, the history, the varied entertainments to keep you entertained like museums and musicals, and the countryside just a couple of hours away. You can never be bored in London. Each time I visit London, I will go back to the same places like Oxford Street, Borough Market, and add on a different museum each time.

This trip to London was primarily for a conference, hence I ended up staying at Hilton London Metropole located at Edgware Road. The hotel is not convenient for the tourist, as there is nothing much to shop apart from a nearby Mark and Spencer, so I changed to another hotel later in the week. I was quite surprised that with such a brand name, I would expect fancier hotel rooms, but it is just a standard room, where only toiletries that stood out differently. One has to take extra care when in London as they have both smoking and non-smoking rooms, so if you are allergic to smoke, be sure to make a request for a non-smoking floor.

After the conference was over, I extended my holiday and did a couple of day trips out of London, using Viator. I know Viator trips are generally more expensive, however, the confidence of a good land tour assures you that you will be in safe hands. 

My first day trip on Viator was to Salisbury, Bath, and Stonehenge. Just an hour out of London and you are already in the countryside with miles and miles of rolling greens. Salisbury was our first stop, and I was so thrilled to see one of Britain's finest medieval cathedrals, Salisbury Cathedral. It is more than 750 years old and is mostly in one architectural style, English Gothic and has Britain’s tallest spire. The surrounding grounds is so refreshing as well, crisp air, people just lying around basking in the sun. Such a pretty little city, time stand still. All I can say, I wished I had more time to explore the city of Salisbury.