Boy did I get lucky. A few days ago, I wrote about my experience using Expedia’s Unnamed Hotel feature. Well, here is the result. I got a three-night stay at the gorgeous Town Hall Hotel in Bethnal Green in London. Now, for someone like me, who loves East London and the 55 bus, the location is perfect. BUT! If you are here for the shops and restaurants in West London and you want to walk out the door and have London right there in front of you, The Town Hall is probably not for you. But check out my room! It is awesome. Seriously beautiful. What’s not pictured? A WASHING MACHINE. Yes, I was able to do laundry, TWICE. (I had arrived from Chicago on Saturday morning, but I was in the Bahamas up til late Wednesday night, so I was still a little behind on things. Plus, I know my other hotels won’t have washing machines so lest I get swindled at $6.50 a pair of drawers, best to arrive with all clean laundry. I made good use of this washing machine.)

What I liked…

• I loved my room. It was super-spacious — unbelievable so — and I appreciated the kitchenette and the washing machine. Honestly, I might not even call the kitchenette a kitchenette. It was very functional. The bathroom was gorgeous. I took a ton of pictures so that when I make the millions I deserve, I can reproduce this box of white and glass.
• Free bottled water (still AND sparkling) and lots of it. I vaugely remember that Town Hall has a natural spring on site, but don’t quote me on that.
• Free wifi.
• The design-ness of it all. This is a really beautiful property.
• My dinner at The Corner Room. Delicious, delicious lamb.
• The cool bar area and Filipo from Florence who I spoke to at length in the bar.

What I didn’t like…

• The wifi was super-slow. Trying to upload the video above took about 90 minutes.
• Dearth of nearby amenities, restaurants, cafes. Everything was a short bus ride away.
• My server at dinner at The Corner Room. Kind of a jerk. Seemed surprise that I wanted to sit down and actually EAT.

So in short…would I stay here again?? My heart says yes, my wallet says yes, but the logical person inside me wants to be closer to a Boots (the UK drugstore chain that has everything you can ever imagine). Does that make sense? I am on the fence!

The Money Situation…

• What I paid all in, using Expedia’s Unnamed Hotel Service: $215 a night, USD.
• Price of the hotel the day I booked it all in, for the same room and same nights: $321.22 USD.
• Price of the hotel for the actual room I received (upgraded to a suite) as of the day I checked in: $393.84 USD.
• Overall savings: 45.41%

The post Town Hall Hotel, London first appeared on Passport Delicious | Solo Travel Blog | Solo Female Travel.

Save Money with Hotwire London Hotels

How to Use Hotwire for London UK Hotels: A Case Study

I just arrived in London this morning! Yes! I’m ridiculously excited. And the best part? I am not here for work! I am here for FUN. So I can just hang out  all the time while I am here and wear big sunglasses all the time. Awesome.

For this trip to London, I experimented with something that I’ve always wanted to play around with: Hotwire. More specifically, I wanted to play with the “Secret Hot Rate Hotels” functionality. This is where you commit to an unnamed hotel during the booking process. You get a great rate in comparison to the hotel’s advertised rates, but you could honestly end up staying in Timbuktu and you need to be fine with that.

Because I know London pretty well, I figured I had a better chance of this “unnamed hotel” thing working for me. I knew I wanted to stay somewhere in between Marble Arch and Shoreditch, and I knew my budget and was being pretty strict about it. So I loaded up my Hotwire London search and started clicking around.

My Strategy for Booking London Hotels with Hotwire

• I focus on five-star hotels, just to be “safe.” There are too many definitions of what constitutes a four-star, whereas a 5-star is clearer.
• Then, I look at areas and select my favorite areas to stay in London: Mayfair/Piccadilly/Soho and then Hackney/Islington/Shoreditch/Whitechapel. I know these areas well and while I may not be familiar with every hotel, at least I’ll have a general sense of where things are. (But please see my tips below for which areas I think a newbie tourist to London should choose.)
• Be cautious with length of stay. I prefer to book short stays in case something doesn’t work out. I would never book a 10 night stay via Hotwire. I limit myself to a 3- and 4-night stays so I am not stuck somewhere terrible for days and days and days.

Boom. In this instance, Hotwire suggests a five-star London property in Hackney/Islington/Shoreditch/Whitechapel. Hotwire only wants $214.92 USD a night, including taxes and fees.  I went ahead and jumped on it and immediately received an e-mail confirmation with the hotel’s name: The Town Hall Hotel in Bethnal Green. I then went to the hotel site and checked the price there. If I had booked through the hotel directly, I would have paid $321.22 a night, including taxes and fees. So I saved one-third by using Expedia’s Hotwire service! Score. (Note that this hotel in Bethnal Green was perfect for me because I know the neighborhood well, but for someone new to London, I recommend a more central hotel.)

Fast-forward to this morning when I checked into the Town Hall Bethnal Green in London around 12:30 pm. The front desk tells me that my room is not available yet. I am a little bummed because I am tired and I really would like a shower. I make a comment about how beautiful the hotel is and how much I’ve always wanted to stay here. I take a few photos while she sorts out my room. Before I know it, I’ve been upgraded to a massive suite! I just checked the hotel’s site and these rooms are going for $393.84, making what I paid a 45.4% discount! I am very happy!! Thanks to Hotwire!!

On subsequent visits to London, I’ve used Hotwire to book the Waldorf Hilton  and the Langham and really liked both.

Best Hotwire London Locations

I spent some time reviewing the Hotwire London locations and these are the neighborhoods I’d suggest if you are a tourist and want to be nice and central. This is important because you want to be able to use public transportation so you can save more money.

1. City of London/St. Paul’s Cathedral
2. Knightsbridge Harrods
3. London Bridge Waterloo
4. Mayfair Buckingham Palace
5. Oxford Street Piccadilly Circus
6. Soho Leicester Square
7. Tower Bridge Tower of London
8. Westminster Victoria Big Ben (Note that if you see a separate option Westminister London Eye Vauxhall, I don’t recommend selecting that because Vauxhall is a bit too far out for me.)

Other Tips for Using Hotwire in London

1. Don’t book too far in advance. Plans can change and these rates are truly non-refundable. Also, I find that rates change a lot too! If I book too far in advance via Hotwire, I find myself constantly checking the hotel website to make sure I am still getting a good deal. Better to just wait til the week or so before to book when the actual hotel price is less likely to fluctuate.
2. Always do a general search on Expedia or Booking.com to see what hotels are going for! Pick an anchor property and then use Hotwire to beat that rate. The point in using Hotwire is to save money!! So if you can’t save money, why use it??? If there’s an equally good hotel on Booking.com and you know how much you’re going to pay for it, go that route.
3. Make sure you know whether taxes and fees are included are included in your rates.
4. If you are a points collector, remember that with a lot of Hotwire rates, you won’t get any points and will instead only get points on incidentals.
5. Remember than when you click “4 star” it does not mean “4 star and up.” You need to also check “5 star” to get both “4 star and 5 star.”
6. Pay attention to the % Recommended. If something has less than 80% Recommended, that’s a red flag for me. Stick with hotels that have % Recommended of 80 or above.
7. “Indoor pool” is somewhat rare in London and thus it’s a GREAT way of trying to guess what your actual hotel is. Use the Amenities filter and play around with the options there. Spa Services is another great filter to apply.
8. Some people complain that when they book through Hotwire, they get the worst room in the hotel. This has never happened to me but just remember that there’s no such thing as a free lunch!
9. Check both the website and the app because you will find different information on both! This is essential!!! It’s my top tip for you! Specifically, the app will show you ratings from people who have booked with Hotwire and stayed in the property. If the hotel has a lot of ratings, you can sometimes read through the comments and figure out what hotel they are talking about. For example, in Chicago, I saw a lot of comments about a hotel’s all white rooms. I googled “hotel with all white rooms in Chicago” and found my hotel. So while I find it more convenient to make the reservation on my laptop, I will always check the app for the ratings and see if I can find clues about the hotel.
10. Remember that these rates are non-refundable!! Like completely. Any complaints I read about Hotwire tend to be from people who get mad when they don’t get their money back.
11. Read my other post with even more Hotwire tips!

Ready to Reserve Your London Hotel Room with Hotwire?

• Are you ready to start using Hotwire for your London hotel? Give it a whirl!
• Are you afraid to take the risk in London? Then just use Booking.com. It’s my favorite site for hotel bookings.

Hotwire London Hotel Lists

If you’re looking for data on which hotels are which on Hotwire in London, here are some good resources:

• Better Bidding International Hotel List. You’ll have to follow their instructions for launching Hotwire (they want the affiliate income) and then find London on the list. Then you basically have to eyeball the amenities listed for hotels in this list with the results you get on Hotwire.
• Hotels Revealed Hotwire London List: This list is a bit more straightforward and easier to navigate but it may not be as comprehensive as Better Bidding.
• Room Revealer Hotwire London UK List: I like this because it’s a nice simple search tool you can use. But also perhaps not as comprehensive as Better Bidding.

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Date of Last Visit: Monday, July 5, 2010

The Victims: Too many to mention.

The Damage: Unknown. Denis paid.

The Background: You know, I really don't like going out on Monday nights. Or Sunday night. This is my time. My time! But then again…I can be persuaded with fine wine and the prospect of a relatively decent meal. As long as it's close to home. So it was that I came to Boundary on a Monday evening in early July.

The Entrance: I'm a little worried as we enter Boundary. Because it's in a basement. Who wants to eat in a basement? But that being said, the bar is cozy and stylish and my immediate impression is positive so I hold off on further judgment. (The stairs, however, need work. Not sure how I feel about the artwork.)

This positive impression continues as we enter the dining room. Even though we are technically in a basement, the architects have been clever with lighting and along one side of the room, there are skylights out onto the street. So you're not totally in the dark. Along the other side of the room, there's the full kitchen on display, brightly lit up and thus, again, distracting you from the fact that you are, after all, dining in the cellar.

Boundary is mostly French. With a bit of English thrown in for good measure. (I really should have photographed the Yorkshire pudding.) The manager appears to be very French indeed and he and Denis consult on the menu and the wine list at length. Thank God for Denis because although my French meat vocabulary is quite good, I fail at vegetables. I am considering the Squid with Espelette peppers, but first I ask Denis to translate espelette.

 
The Starters: Torben orders the seafood platter to start. This, I must note, is the "petit plateau" for £25.00 for one. Does this look petit to you? He makes a good dent in it, but gives up and passes the rest to the rest of the table. Some of the mussels were closed, but then, July doesn't have an R in it, does it? It would have been good if someone had warned us about how big this was going to be.

 
I really liked my squid. It's a very generous portion–a good value for £9.50. And the dressing–a balsamic reduction of sorts–adds a nice bit of tartness to everything.

 
My main of rabbit, sprinkled with broad beans, is another generous portion. It's dense and rich and pretty meaty for rabbit. I am–pun intended–a happy bunny. I have ordered well, but I give partial credit to the very excellent manager who took my order and guided me through the menu choices. (Then again, that same manager let Torben order the seafood platter AND a main. That's a lot of food. Poor Torben's eyes were rollling back in his head by the time we got out of there.)

 
Then came an order of six madeleines and creme fraiche. Too many for one person! We split this amongst three people, which was a good idea at the time, but once I had polished off my first one, I had to wonder why I had given away the four. These were amazingly good. Unexpectedly good. Soft. Moist. Was there a hint of lemon in there? Yum.

The Service: Really some of the best I've had. One of my colleagues had lost his voice earlier in the day, and the staff happily whipped him up his own little pot of chamomile tea with honey and lemon and then refilled it throughout the meal.

The Verdict: A pleasant surprise. I'm sure it was pricey so I don't know if it will be at the top of my list of places to return to, but if invited again, I would go again. Huge portions. Tasty food. Great service. The American in me approves.

The post Boundary, Shoreditch first appeared on Passport Delicious | Solo Travel Blog | Solo Female Travel.

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Pilpel
38 Brushfield Street
London E1 6EU

Date of Last Visit: Sunday, August 16, 2009

The Victim: Me

The Damage: A fiver

The Background: It was a Sunday and I was hungry and fancied a walk.

The Entrance: Pilpel is small. It's a take-away really. On the edge of Spitalfields. On a Sunday at 1 p.m.-ish, it's empty. I am happy about this at first. At first. Because you see THE LOUD-ASS MUSIC HAD ME WISHING THERE WERE MORE PEOPLE IN PILPEL TO DROWN OUT THE NOISE.

It was really bad. 

Yeah, not so sensitive to the needs of their listening audience. Restaurant staff should never be allowed to control the radio.

But I placed my order anyhow. Because I was hungry.

I got some falafel in a pitta (as they spell it). Along with some aubergine and some hummus. Oh, and a fresh lemonade.

It's very hard to take a picture of a falafel pitta. But there's mine. It doesn't do it justice. You can't even see the falafel.

But I liked that they offered me a choice of whole wheat or white pitta. And I liked that I could choose my salads. (It's sorta like Subway, that way.) And I liked how the falafel was crunchy. A satisfying crunch.

But I didn't like how I couldn't really taste the hummus. Or the aubergine.

And when I was done, I was still very hungry. But then again, I couldn't really concentrate on my food because of THE MUSIC. So maybe my stomach just needed 20 minutes or so to catch up to my brain.

The Verdict: These here were cheap eats. I'd go again. But with EARPLUGS.

The post Pilpel first appeared on Passport Delicious | Solo Travel Blog | Solo Female Travel.

Pho Sweet Basil
7 Kingsland Road
E2 8AH

Date of Last Visit: Thursday, July 30th, 2009

The Victims: Gerry, Ben, Matt, Carolyn

The Damage: Cheap! Like maybe £15 each. Maybe.

The Background: It was one of those random days, and a rare one too with the sun shining. We dropped by The Wenlock and tried out some ales, sitting in their "garden" (read: field across the street). I admired the "new" floor. (i.e., They've finally  pulled up the grody carpet.) And then we wanted to check out the fire which was still smoldering over Hackney–and somehow we found ourselves wandering around the back streets behind Old Street, on our way to Kingsland Road.

Gerry and Ben go out to eat on Kingsland Road all the time so it was a good game we were playing:

Them: "No, not there. We've been there before."
Me: "Not there either. I've been there too and the loos are gross."

Until eventually, we found ourself at Pho Sweet Basil, which none of us had been too.

The Entrance: They're empty. Whereas later, when we walk down the road, Tay Do Cafe is PACKED. And they serve alchohol, where we just wanted to BYOB. No problem, they tell us. We can BYOB. (Which has part of me wondering…is that legal?) The decor is new and modern and vaguely flat-pack-like.

The Starters: Beef in betel leaves. These are old. Like someone made them last night and just didn't get around to serve them. Either that, or they are way overcooked. The beef is tough. But the vegetables are fresh. And then there are some summer rolls, which are as nice as summer rolls can be. (I always find summer rolls rather bland. You really need the sauce. And I didn't get enough sauce.)

The Mains: Lots of different things. The best, in my opinion, was Ben's dish which was a fried rice stuffed with all sorts of delicious things, wrapped in banana leaf. This was comforting and savory and filling.

Worst was Carolyn's chicken dish, which came with some sort of curry sauce. The chicken, again, felt and tasted old and like it had been cooked once or twice before being warmed up a third time to be served to us.

Somewhere in the middle was my mixed seafood and vegetable dish. The prawns were generous. In general, it was very generous. Lots of fresh vegetables cooked just right. This was good. I would have it again.

The Loos: Could use a good power-washing. 

The Service: Easily confused.

The Verdict: Not my favorite.

The post Pho Sweet Basil first appeared on Passport Delicious | Solo Travel Blog | Solo Female Travel.

The Background: The other day, it was Snog. This time, it was Suck and Chew. Hmmm…interesting.

I think I may have been a little hungover. Nothing like a little honesty, huh? Particularly when one's work colleagues are reading one's blog. (How I hate it, to write in this "one" person.) But somehow, I made it over to Columbia Road. I skipped the cupcakes. But I found myself in Suck and Chew. Wee Birdy wrote about Suck and Chew on her London fashion blog. All very timely.

The Entrance: McCauley (must check spelling) was behind the counter when I arrived. He left a good job in the city, working for the man every night and day. And he never lost one minute of sleep, worrying about the way things might have been.

Instead, he opened Suck and Chew.

The Sweets: They're everywhere. And they're super-retro. I fall in love. Really. This is all just so very well done. But part of me has to wonder…is he making any money?

The Verdict: I loved this place. Such a nice retro vibe. Simple stuff. Happy stuff. A good place. You should visit McCauley. And then ask him why he never responded to the interview questions one particular London food blogger sent over. 🙁

P.S. Sorry, meant to tell you I'm on a bit of a blog-cation because I'm traveling at lot at the moment. Will try to post every so often. Service will resume in full at some point next week!

The post Suck and Chew first appeared on Passport Delicious | Solo Travel Blog | Solo Female Travel.

The Grocery Kitchen 
54 – 56 Kingsland Road
E2 8DP

Date of Last Visit: Sunday, February 15, 2009

The Victim: Me

The Damage: £12

The Background: I felt like a little wander around Columbia Road, and I was up way too early on a Sunday. So I thought I would pop into The Grocery Kitchen for a croissant.

The Entrance: They don't really have croissants on the menu at The Grocery Kitchen. So smoked salmon and scrambled eggs it was. The pricetag was a bit hefty–£8.50–but after the £14.50 smoked salmon and scrambled eggs at The Wolseley the other day, this was a bargain.

The dining area is all sanded tables and mis-matched chairs and brickwork. I kinda like it. Plus, they have a lot of newspapers lying around, and someone has written an entire article about blogging!

The Food: I thought my food was super great. The scrambled eggs were perfect. And look at that toast! Real grill marks! Nice and buttery too. The smoked salmon was excellent as well, although I was initially concerned by its pale appearance.

The Verdict: I thought this was a GREAT breakfast–a million times better than breakfast at The Wolseley–I am sad I didn't discover The Grocery Kitchen sooner.

The post The Grocery Kitchen first appeared on Passport Delicious | Solo Travel Blog | Solo Female Travel.

Mien Tay
122 Kingsland Rd
E2 8DP

The Victims: One Kraut, two Poles, two Yanks, an Irishman, a BBI, and a Belgian. Plus a Belgian-American baby.

The Background: Chris and Evelien text me bright and early Sunday morning. Brunch? Vietnamese style? I'm in. They want to go to Cay Tre, but I know Cay Tre can be a bit of a mess on weekends. We call ahead to get a table for six. (Note we end up being 8.5…how do these things happen?) Cay Tre can take us…at 4 p.m.

No thanks.

So Kingsland Road it is. I've just read this review of Mien Tay on An American in London and I'm intrigued. Between Chris & Evelien and myself, we've been to nearly every other place on the Kingsland Road, so Mien Tay it is. Will it be as good as Alice has experience or as bad as Alice has experienced?

The Entrance: There's no one in there. No one. It's almost like it's closed. I'ts 1 p.m. We settle in and order some beer (only Tiger or Budweiser) and eat some prawn crackers. Eventually, we order some beef in betel leaf. It's good, but I feel like the servings of beef are skinny in comparison to those at Cay Tre.

The Starters: When I go out to eat with Chris, I let him order. He's good at it. Although he normally orders enough food to feed a small army. You have to be careful about that. He gets us some squid (pictured at the beginning of this post, nice) and some spicy soft shell crab. (The second photo in this post. It is patty-like, like An American in London has described, and just not so very good). Followed by some lotus leaf salad with prawns (OK).

The Service: Sweet. Fast.

The Mains: This is where things get a bit blurry, partly because of the Tiger beers but mostly because of the sheer quantity of food that Chris ordered. There was some tofu, which was yellow and very ver good. And goat! Yes goat! On a cow platter. And it was pretty excellent. Meaty. Flavorful. Some tofu noodles, which were boring. Two steamed fish which I wasn't that big a fan of. Lots of garlicky Morning Glory (nice). A chicken dish. (Eh. This was for one of the Poles.) A lamb dish (good). And a pork dish (I don't think I tried this one).

The Dessert: Our server brings us some orange and melon slices. Perfect.

The Loos: I've seen worse.

The Verdict: Eh. Nothing really wowed me. Except for the goat, weirdly. Who would have thunk it? I like goat.

The post Mien Tay first appeared on Passport Delicious | Solo Travel Blog | Solo Female Travel.

Tay Do Cafe
65 Kingsland Road
E2 8AG
Tel: 020 7729 7223

Date of Last Visit: 18 October 2008

The Victims: All, Darsh

The Damage: £15 each for a sh*tload of food. Really.

The Background: Al, Darsh, Feathers, Julie and I were hanging out at The East Room, drinking white wine. Feathers ditched us for dinner at the Greenwich branch of The Rivington.  Julie just ditched us. So we contemplated dinner. Kingsland Road it was.

Our criteria was simple: BYOB. So after picking up a bottle of Spanish white at a dodgy off-license, we headed into the very packed, joyfully so, Tay Do Cafe.

 

The Food: I get some tips from a couple sitting at a table behind us. We order summer rolls, beef wrapped in betel leaf, soft shell crab, Vietnamese pancake, a chicken dish, and a beef dish. (I know, I know, I'm sorry. You'd think I could be more specific after all these years.) Love the betel leaf. Love the chicken dish. Love the Vietnamese pancake (after reminding them to bring it to us a few times). Not so crazy about the beef or the soft shell crab.

The Bill: CRAZY about the bill. We ate and ate and ate and only paid this much…(sorry, slightly blury)…

The Verdict: The price is right. I'd go back here with a big group. Or with visiting Americans with  exchange rate shock. (But hey, at $1.73 to the pound, things aren't looking as bad as they have been.)

P.S. Don't forget…blog about Your Perfect Day in London by October 24th. I'll summarize all the blog posts for all to publish on their blogs as a traffic-building exercise…

The post Tay Do Cafe first appeared on Passport Delicious | Solo Travel Blog | Solo Female Travel.

Cakehole
Inside Vintage Heaven
82 Columbia Road
E2 7QB

Date of Last Visit: Sunday, 9 March 2008

The Victim: Me

The Damage: 2 quid for a tea.

I was wandering around Columbia Road on Sunday and while I was in one of the shops–Vintage Heaven–I noticed that they had the cutest little cafe in the back. I dropped in for a cuppa and mentioned how I had never noticed the cafe before.

Well, that’s because they apparently just opened about a month ago! So I am not out-of-the-loop.

I’ll be back for Cream Tea for One soon…doesn’t it look like just the place to take your mom or grandma? Or yourself?

The post Cakehole on Columbia Road first appeared on Passport Delicious | Solo Travel Blog | Solo Female Travel.