London - Trip Review

As I mentioned in my previous post, I just got back from a trip to England. Five days were spent doing a work thing - but four precious days were spent in London. And I fall in love - with the city!

First things - I had a GREAT hotel. I know that maybe some people don't put a lot a weight on where you sleep, but I have stayed in far too many horrible and characterless rooms that I actually think a great hotel room is KEY to a good vacation. It sets the mood for the trip, it is your haven to come home to after a great day or better when you've had a terrible day.

My hotel was perfect. It was called the Apex City Hotel and it is just on the edge of "The City" part of London about a block from the Thames. Because I was there on the weekend, I got a super rate (around $150 Can per night - which is a steal in London) and the area was nice and quiet. The rooms have DVD players so that you can catch a movie instead of watching bad TV at night, the bathtubs are heavenly and have these cute little rubber ducks you can take home with you, and there are free papers to read in the morning. I didn't get a chance to check out the steam room (it was unusually warm in London) but on a rainy fall day, it would be awesome I think.

Location, location, location. A short walk to the Tube, the Tower of London (where you can hook into the tourist infrastructure of London), the Tower Bridge (one of the most recognizable and beautiful bridges in the world), and a nice walk along the Thames to restaurants, museums, bars, and shops.

The thing I loved so much about London was how visually exciting the city is. In one glance you can see so many forms of interesting architecture from centuries old to cutting edge modern. I loved the different neighbourhoods and once you get a feel for the city, it is surprisingly intimate.

I was a bit intimidated by the idea of visiting the city when I first planned to go there. There is simply so much to see and do. The first thing I would recommend, even though it is cheesy, is to take one of those double decker tourist bus tours. We grabbed tickets at the Tower of London and spent a couple of hours driving through the city. You see all the major sights but maybe more importantly you get a feel for where things are and how close you are to them.

I didn't have much time for the museums, but managed to hit the Tate Modern. It was great. Definitely plan to go up to the seventh floor and grab a glass of wine and enjoy the view of the Thames and Notre Dame Cathedral. Its breathtaking. Also, if you are more adventurous, then head out to the Brick Lane for some Indian food. I also recommend a walk through Notting Hill and maybe stopping at an outdoor cafe for coffee.

In general, I found London an amazing bustling and vibrant city. I am already planning my next getaway there. London is a competitive market so there are really reasonable flights including some great charter options. As I mentioned, if you plan on being there over a weekend you can pick up some great hotel bargains as well.

Review of BA and Heathrow Airport

Hi everyone,

Sorry I haven't posted in a bit but I've been away in England for ten days and have been frantically trying to catch up now that I'm back. Later this week I'll post a review of my time in London, but for now here's the scoop on British Air and the Heathrow Airport.

If you are going to England or London in particular, avoid Heathrow if you can, or to be more specific avoid Heathrow Terminal 4 which unfortunately at this time means avoid flying BA. Despite the lovely service of the airline, flying out of Terminal 4 was a nightmare.

Shame. BA was a delightful airline to fly with. They were friendly, they have those fantastic little personal TVs at every seat and they actually serve complementary meals and drinks. The food was tasty, the drinks plentiful, the movie selection great and they even provided handy little toothbrushes and eye masks for sleeping. All in all - a really nice flying experience.

As a little tip, if you are flying over from Canada try and fly out on the latest flight (usually around 11:00pm) which means you are much more tired and will most likely get at least some sleep on the plane. You arrive a bit later, but at least you'll be functioning and you can most likely get right into your hotel room when you arrive.

Okay on to Heathrow...First you have to check in. So why are airlines suggesting that you check in online when you just have to line up all over again in the terminal just like before? Where was the time savings in this? Now you have to line up to check in your luggage instead of yourself and your luggage!

BA has taken up most of the check in space at the departures level of the terminal, but it didn't seem to help. There were enormous lines at all check in areas. We jokingly asked the employee who tagged our bags if it was always this busy and she looked up at us non-plussed and said that this wasn't busy at all. I don't even want to imagine what it would be like when it was actually "busy."

Once you check in you get into a very long lineup to get through security. When I say long - I mean the entire length of the departure floor and out the door to outside. It took a good hour an a half just to check in and go through security. Head my warning - GET TO THE AIRPORT EARLY!!!

Once we were inside, it didn't get much better. There are no "pre-boarding" or "boarding by rows" at Heathrow. They call your flight and you line up in an enormous line up yet again. Except this one winds down a walk way to the floor below where you have to get on a bus and then get trucked to your plane. Again, this took a very long time - a good thirty minutes to wind down to the bus, then sitting on the tarmac in the bus while the one ahead of you gets on the plane and then lining up to get on the plane and find your seat. That was a lot of standing around in overheated hallways just to get on the plane. We were all desperate for a gin by the time the plane got in the air.

The next time I fly into London I will be looking at first class charter (which really is almost the price of regular air and you get some nice perks) which would fly me into Stanstead or Gatwick or I will give Air Canada another go and at least be flying into Terminal 3 which I have been told is less chaotic. There are rumours of a new terminal opening in the future at Heathrow and I would assume that BA would take up residence as they are the flagship airline. If so, I would definitely consider flying with them again. But until then...the hassle just wasn't worth it.