Montrose1100 Posted February 26, 2014 Share Posted February 26, 2014 Pictures will follow soon.I feel extremely let down from my recent trip. First of all, our hotel was one block from the Tower of London/Tower Bridge/Tower Hill Underground station (The day passes were extremely useful in getting around), but they stoped running at 11:50pm. The area around our hotel was a few blocks from the cluster of high rises around the Swiss Re "gherkin". It was difficult to find a variety of resteraunts. Even harder was finding a bar or pub that didn't close at 10pm. We found one night club called Mary Janes that stayed open until 2am on Friday. The whole area was shut down at 8pm on Saturday! What's up with that? So we ventured into SOHO and the area in between piccadelly circus. The bars/pubs were packed. Very tiny, and a common theme was the bartenders being drunk themselves, told us they didn't feel like making certain drinks or shots (including cocktails on their menus). Beer or wine it was. Also, their drinks are made with about 1/2oz of alcohol, and still cost about 13-15 £. We also checked out a couple night clubs that were highly recommended by friends, google, and locals. Horrible. The night life in Abilene was more energetic. Not to mention the clubs are tiny. Like the size of my apartment.I know it's one of the most expensive cities in the world but I seriously expected more out of a 24hour global city. The taxis' were fairly priced but the going out scene was horrible. I think we ended up spending most of the rest of our nights at our hotel bar which remained open until 4.I hope I don't discourage anyone from going, and I know this is just my personal experience, but now that I've truly been once as an adult I don't think I'd ever I again. The sights and architecture are amazing. That's about it.Also, one last delicate flower, the bathrooms in even the ritzy clubs were disgusting. They had attendants, so I don't understand why. It was worth it to travel back to the hotel to take a bathroom break, day or night.End of rant.Edit: it would have cost £98 for three of us to go to the top of the Shard. That's about $170.00. No thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lockmat Posted February 27, 2014 Share Posted February 27, 2014 It seems your critique was mainly based on the nightlife. Would you recommend it otherwise or if that wasn't the main purpose of a trip? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Montrose1100 Posted February 27, 2014 Author Share Posted February 27, 2014 It seems your critique was mainly based on the nightlife. Would you recommend it otherwise or if that wasn't the main purpose of a trip?Well that's all I really care about. Other than the night life... It was nice. The sightseeing was great. The tube system is extremely easy to figure out if that's your preferred mode of transportation. As mentioned above, I didn't think the price to go to the Shard's observation deck was worth it. I can't imagine how much the London Eye costs. As for food, we stuck to Thai, Italian, and Indian. We did find a gastro pub by the Tower Bridge that was really good. Although, if you don't like any particular item on a dish (i.e. mushrooms), it's easier to remove it yourself as you can totally cause great confusion with the server, manager, and chef. The bathrooms were tolerable at most of the restaurants during the day. After dark, most of them are underground and smell like main street circa 1990. Most of the restaurants/eateries were fairly priced, and not generally too crowded. Piccadelly Circus & Oxford Street were crowded night and day. Avoid eating or having to go to the bathroom in those areas at all costs. Lots of street performers, souvenir shops (which I would recommend as the ones at Heathrow are more expensive). I would say also that about 60% of the people you encounter for help with directions, general questions, and advice are friendly and more than willing to help. It's a beautiful city with great architecture, but I can't imagine why anyone would stay for more than 2 or 3 nights (lesson learned). As I said before it was kind of a let down. One last thing, I forgot to mention I never felt unsafe at any point in time night or day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OkieEric Posted February 28, 2014 Share Posted February 28, 2014 I go to London every year for work, and really love it. I do agree, though, that it is tough to figure out the nightlife there. I've been to a lot of not so great places paying the equivalent of $20 a drink and then yeah, you get out and realize the tubes are no longer running... The worst was when we were staying out of town and discovered Victoria station was closed, so they had buses running over to another station so we could catch a train back. That was at like 3 a.m., didn't get back til like 5 Anyway, I finally had a good time last year - went to a club at the W hotel, then hit another couple of decent spots. The secret, it seems, is to have a friend that's a local that actually lives in London and goes out frequently (and who is willing to go with you). Otherwise it's just a guessing game... I usually stay in Mayfair which seems pretty decently located for finding nightlife Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Montrose1100 Posted February 28, 2014 Author Share Posted February 28, 2014 I go to London every year for work, and really love it. I do agree, though, that it is tough to figure out the nightlife there. I've been to a lot of not so great places paying the equivalent of $20 a drink and then yeah, you get out and realize the tubes are no longer running... The worst was when we were staying out of town and discovered Victoria station was closed, so they had buses running over to another station so we could catch a train back. That was at like 3 a.m., didn't get back til like 5Anyway, I finally had a good time last year - went to a club at the W hotel, then hit another couple of decent spots. The secret, it seems, is to have a friend that's a local that actually lives in London and goes out frequently (and who is willing to go with you). Otherwise it's just a guessing game... I usually stay in Mayfair which seems pretty decently located for finding nightlifeI was wondering what that giant disco ball was facing the square! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ross Posted February 28, 2014 Share Posted February 28, 2014 London is a great place, but not somewhere I would pick for nightlife. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gmac Posted March 1, 2014 Share Posted March 1, 2014 http://www.timeout.com/london/clubs This should have been your go-to guide. That being said, in my view going to London for the nightlife is like coming to Houston for the skiing. Sorry you didn't enjoy it. I think it's the greatest city in the world. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
infinite_jim Posted March 1, 2014 Share Posted March 1, 2014 London nightlife = Shoreditch Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slick Vik Posted March 1, 2014 Share Posted March 1, 2014 Chicken tikka masala Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Montrose1100 Posted March 1, 2014 Author Share Posted March 1, 2014 http://www.timeout.com/london/clubs This should have been your go-to guide. That being said, in my view going to London for the nightlife is like coming to Houston for the skiing. Sorry you didn't enjoy it. I think it's the greatest city in the world.I did enjoy my time there and it's a great city, but was utterly shell-shocked at the nightlife. I had built my hopes up thinking it would blow Houston clear out of the water. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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