Melissa5

We need an overnight upon arrival at London Heathrow airport. I like the suggestion of staying in Windsor area. Any suggestions of hotels or b&bs, and what to do, considering we will have jet lag?

We will also have 4 more nights in London at the end of our trip before flying home...staying at the Morgan Hotel in Bloomsbury area for that segment.

I enjoy planning our trips, but am having trouble getting enough computer time presently due to shoulder injury. So the excellent advice of fodorites is especially appreciated now.

London is the first stop in our September visit to Europe. We arrive at London Heathrow airport at 11:00 am. Long 11-hour flight from LAX airport. Normally I might have considered flying onto Prague, but not with the problems I am having with shoulder injury.

So can you help me plan a brief, enjoyable, and restful visit to Windsor area? We will fly out of Heathrow airport the next day. I will need to rest, but my husband and 2 college-age daughters will probably be excited to have a glimpse of London.

I cannot carry my own luggage, therefore my helpful husband will have to carry mine and his as well. So convenience of transportation is extra important. It's hard to predict how well I will be by September. I am fit for walking around, but just can't handle the luggage, and also the shoulder will get stiff after sitting still for long flight.

But we're all looking forward to this trip! Here is our itinerary:
London: 1 overnight
Prague: 5 nights
Olomouc, Czech Republic: 1 night
Krakow: 4 nights
London: 4 nights

I have booked our airline tickets, except for the London to Prague segment. I need to book that soon.

Many thanks! <b>Cambe</b>, are you reading this? I would love your suggestions!

debstajm

Hi Melissa5 we are staying in Windsor in June for 2 days and will be trying out Langton House. 85 pounds a night and we are tight Aussies but after checking other b&amp;b's this has good reviews (see Tripadvisor)so maybe you may like it to!
Good Luck Deb

Melissa5

debstajm, enjoy your stay at Langston House in June. Is this your first visit to Windsor? our trip will be in September. We will be going to London, Prague, and Krak&oacute;w. The more I learn, the more excited I am about the trip.

Our two college-age daughters are looking forward to be seeing in person famous places in London that they have heard about all their lives.

I hope you will give us a report about Langston house and Windsor after you return from your trip in June. Will you be visiting London as well?

I love planning trips. There is always one bit of the trip that I get stuck on, and need to spend extra time on. For our September trip to Europe, it is that first overnight near the London Heathrow airport that is tricky.

That first overnight will become our first glimpse of England. I would like it to be a pleasant experience, and I am trying to minimize the complications caused by transportation etc.

NorCalif

Hi Melissa -

DH and I and our two teenagers stayed at the Oakley Court in Windsor for the last two days of our European trip in summer 2006. We enjoyed it very much - lovely quiet place right on the Thames. We stayed in a family room that held all four of us. Good meals. Only 25 minutes to Heathrow.

Not sure what your price range is - it was above ours ;-&gt; but we stayed there anyway.

http://www.oakleycourt.com/

Here's a link to my trip report where I describe our stay there in more detail. (If you don't feel like wading through the whole report, go down to one of my last posts, as it was at the end of the trip.)

http://tinyurl.com/32fvzm

Have a great time!

BTilke

There is a new Travelodge in central Windsor, a 5 minute walk from the castle and right across from the cluster of restaurants and shopping around the Windsor &amp; Eton Central train station. There is also a new Waitrose around the corner from the hotel where you can pick up snacks, foodie souvenirs, etc. (it's on an upper level, above TopShop and other stores).
http://www.travelodge.co.uk/find_a_h...WindsorCentral

If you want to splurge a little, then the best place to stay would probably be the Mercure Castle Hotel, elegant and located across the street from the castle.
http://www.mercure.com/mercure/fiche...he_hotel.shtml

I am usually in Windsor once a week or so and those two seem like the best lodging bets in the inexpensive/moderate and more expensive categories. Esp. for a short stay when you want to be close to the main sights, shops and restaurants.

janisj

oh - that is good to know about the Travelodge. I sometimes rent a car from a place in The Arches and the hotel would be a short walk.

BTilke

By the way, anyone visiting Windsor who reads the local news will see that we are in the grips of an annual affliction worse than the flu--the yearly campaign to get Windsor &amp; Maidenhead their own postcodes. To the eternal chagrin of estate agents, snobs and social climbers, no matter how posh (and pricey) your W&amp;M home, you can't escape the great cruelty of being stuck with a Slough postcode. Oh, the horror!! The crusade to change the loathed SL postcodes for more genteel WM codes sets forth every year about this time, with the usual fruitless results.

cambe

Hi Melissa,

Sorry I can't help you. My Mum lives in Hove and sadly my visits to London and the surrounding areas are day trips from there these days but it is a lovely town which I am sure you will enjoy.

One thing I can tell you is that a friend of mine stayed in the Morgan recently (in fact she is there again this weekend) and loved it, just round the corner from the British Museum.

BTW what airline are you flying Heathrow to Prague?

Hope you get sorted and you shoulder injury gets better quickly.

Helen

alanRow

BTilke I would have thought the fact the locals write WINDSOR in 30pt lettering every time they write a letter would give a clue that they live in WINDSOR

BTilke

Doesn't matter if they write it 10x larger, they are still stuck with Slough postcodes and boy, do they hate that.

Melissa5

Btilke, best of luck with the crusade to slough off the unwanted post code! If I lived in Windsor I'd like my own post code as well... Many thanks for suggestions for your choice of the best hotels for Windsor at either price range. Do you have suggestions of tasty places to eat in Windsor which aren't dressy? We love all types of foods, especially enjoy locally owned/family run places when we can find them.

NorCalif, thanks for the link to your trip report! It looks very entertaining. I plan to print it out and enjoy it. I'll consider your hotel suggestions as well... Now I have several places to consider.

BTilke

There's a new nonchain little bistro that I plan to try this week for lunch, 2 courses for about &pound;12. Some good choices on their list, so I hope it turns out to be a nice place.
Last week we tried another new restaurant, Yedang, a Korean-Japanese restaurant about a 15 minute walk from the castle area. Mixed results. Nice service, but a little scattered. Their Japanese selections were ok, not great, and rather pricey for what you got. My Japanese salad appetizer was the best part of the meal. I think their Korean options might be better, but we didn't try those. If we go back, we'll order from the Korean side of the menu...there were some interesting dishes listed.

And of course, Windsor is full of the usual decent, moderately priced, chains: Carluccio, Gourmet Burger Kitchen, Wagamama, etc. Carluccio runs jazz nights, we're going to try one of those.

Melissa5

Helen, it sounds like you have a lot of lovely places to visit while visiting your mother. You have given me excellent advice on previous trips, such as our visit to the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. I think we will enjoy our overnight in the Windsor area near London Heathrow airport at the beginning of our trip.

what do you enjoy doing when you visit Windsor?

Thanks for reporting that your friend really enjoys the Morgan Hotel in London. That's where we're staying at the end of our trip, when we have to fly back from Krak&oacute;w to London. we will have four nights at the Morgan Hotel in London at the end of our trip.

you asked what time our flight goes from London Heathrow Airport to Prague. That is the one leg of our flight that I haven't booked yet. I have booked all the rest of our flights, except for that one. I wanted to be sure of our accommodation and transportation options for an overnight near the London Heathrow airport before I booked that flight.

When I book an overnight stay, especially at the beginning of the trip, I like to make sure it will be enjoyable and not overly complicated and stressful.

So what I will probably do is get a Windsor taxi from the London Heathrow airport into Windsor, check into a hotel or B&amp;B in Windsor, see a bit of the Windsor area, and then fly on to Prague from the London Heathrow airport the following afternoon. I'm pretty sure that is the best option for our situation, considering everything.

I wonder if the typical Windsor taxi can hold four passengers plus luggage? That is something I will need to look into.

It's always nice talking to you, Cambe. I almost feel like I have gotten to know your travel style. Thanks again.

Melissa5

BTilke, we really enjoy non-chain bistro restaurants. I hope you enjoy the one you have discovered in Windsor. Let us know if you enjoy jazz night at Carluccio's. Thanks for the help.

BTilke

Melissa, most of the car services for Windsor use pax cars and are licensed to carry only 3 passengers. However, some of them also have larger vehicles. I'll go through my cards today and post their names and phone numbers.
I went to dinner last night and tried a different restaurant from the one I posted about (that one is called Cornucopia, I tried Green Olives, a Greek place a few doors up). Overall, I was disappointed. So far, in the inexpensive/moderate price category, we've found that the reliable chain restaurants (the ones I mentioned above) in Windsor have consistently offered better food and service than the independents.

Reisender

BTilke - there is a nice pub right at the gate to the Great Park, just down the alleyway south of the castle. I can not recall the name but we have had several excellent pub meals there. Do you know if it is still up to snuff? It was a rather small pub but had a nice selection of pub grub.

BTilke

Reisender, I am not really a pub person. The only pubs I like are two in Marlow (the Marlow Donkey and the Two Brewers), and two different Hand &amp; Flowers (one in Marlow, which has changed from a pub to a Michelin-starred restaurant) and the one in Maidenhead, which doesn't serve food, but has a nice, friendly staff including Hooper, a quirky, amusing male Eclectus.

In this corner of Berkshire, if you want good, moderately priced, nonchain dining, better to skip Windsor and try either Forenza in Maidenhead or any of several excellent restaurants in Marlow (which is actually just over the border in Buckinghamshire). Marlow offers far better eating than Windsor or Henley.

Re car services, one to try is
Imperial Taxis and Private Hire. They have a VW van that can easily carry 4 pax and luggage. They said a pickup from Heathrow for central Windsor should run about &pound;20 or so, depending on when Melissa needs a pickup. Their phone number is:
01628 77 17 77 (from the U.S., dial 011 44 1628 77 17 77).
their website is www.imperialexecutive.com

We tend to use Thames Executive Cars and they have always been prompt and helpful (and reasonably priced). They have a Ford Galaxy to handle 4 pax + luggage with no problems. Their web site is: http://www.thamesexecutivecars.co.uk/
Phone number (dialing from U.S.)
011 44 1628 630 101. From UK, 01628 630 101.

Melissa5

BTilke, it's a sad day when a chain has better food than an independent! What is the world coming to? Good luck with your next meal! Thanks for helping me plan our visit.

Melissa5

BTilke, you are full of great advice. Thanks for the transport info. It can be tricky to get a taxi for 4 (or we may even have 5) people... Appreciate the suggestions and links, and the benefit of your experience.

From your food reports for Windsor, it is sounding like our best meal may be to purchase a loaf of bread from the grocery store, and share it with the ducks along the river!

BTilke

Hi Melissa,
Of course, I haven't tried ALL the restaurants in Windsor...

By the way, if your group goes up to 5, you MUST let your car service know in advance. Some of the vans won't have enough passenger seating (1 person front, 3 in the back, plus the driver of course) and by law, they can't carry more than that. You can't just cram another person in, they could lose their license if they allowed it. If you end up with 5 in your group (with luggage), you may need a 7 passenger van, which will cost a little more.