Celebrity Cruises uses The Kensington Forum and City Inn Westminster hotels in London for their pre-night hotels for the Scandinavia and Russia cruise. Has anyone stayed at one of these or have knowledge of which one would be the better location for two nights to enjoy London before the cruise?

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Originally posted by ParadiseGal:
Celebrity Cruises uses The Kensington Forum and City Inn Westminster hotels in London for their pre-night hotels for the Scandinavia and Russia cruise. Has anyone stayed at one of these or have knowledge of which one would be the better location for two nights to enjoy London before the cruise?

I have never stayed in either hotel but I know the Kensington Forum is considered good so I imagine they are both OK as hotels. Your choice should be based on what you wish to do with your time. Kensington is an upmarket residential area of London with plenty of shops and restaraunts to satisfy the well heeled people who live there. From a visitors point of view all the major museums are in the area (Victoria and Albert, Science, Natural History - but not The British Museum!). You would also be close to Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens. Westminster is better suited to visitors that want to see the historical side of London. You would be walking distance from Houses of Parliament, Big Ben, Whitehall and Downing Street, Trafalgar Square etc. The river runs through here too and there are plenty of river trips you can take both day and night to see the city from that viewpoint. The underground is the way to get around if you want to go a little further. Both hotels will be very close to stations. Go to Picadilly Circuis or Leicester Square if you want the West End, (theatres, eating etc), Tower Hill for the'Tower of London', Oxford Circus for shopping (mostly overpriced tat these days) or Knightsbridge for Harrods (never mind the shopping, this is a sight in itself - check out the food hall!) The London Eye is also worth a vist - fantastic views when it gets to the top - you can book your tickets on the internet before you even leave home. Lastly, if you want to look in on the Queen she can be found at Buckingham Palace. I would suggest starting out at Trafalgar Square and walking down the Mall. Nice walk and you will find the palace at the far end. They have a website where you can book tickets in advance to visit the palace or parts of it at certain times of the year. If the palce is not open the Royal Mews is quite good. It is where they keep all the carriages and cars used by the Royal family. If you are worried about terrorism on the underground don't be. In all the time we were bombed by the IRA they never once manged to blow themselves up. These guys do it every time. How stupid must they be!