London Show and stay weekend
The show we booked to see was 'Never Forget' and booking it on a theatre break, as opposed to seperately - always works out fabulous for seating - we were 3 rows from the front! - and the show was fantastic!
There are various hotels available to choose from - and we stayed at The Rathbone which is located in Rathbone Street, near to Tottenham Court Road and Oxford Street. Great Location - nothing too far away!
The hotel had good service, the rooms were a good size and comfortable with TV, tea and coffee making facilities, bottled water, 24 hour room service, comfy beds and huge soft bath towels!!
We had continental breakfast included, although we could pay extra for a full English breakfast - but to be honest the continental - with plenty of fruit choice, cold meats and cheese, pastries, cereals, yoghurts, hot toast and preserves (they even had a pot of marmite when I asked!!) and obviously juices and tea and coffee was more than ample to start our day. You have to state a time you will be at breakfast if the hotel is full - and this only added to the good service as our table for six was ready for us each morning.
We had a pre theatre dinner at a restaurant called 'The Bistro' near the Strand, really good meal and a bargain! £10.95 for three courses! They kind of rushed you in and out a bit, but this is actually what we wanted, something to eat, a few glasses of wine and then a stroll to the theatre!
We purchased a two day 'Big Bus' tour ticket the next day - they have two routes - a red and a blue route. There are about 5 stops from where you can get your ticket - or else you can book it for them online.
The two day ticket is £24 and you get a free river cruise as well - really well worth it with great light hearted commentary! You can decide to whiz around both routes consecutively or get off at places you would like to visit. We got off at the tower - and then took the boat along the river - again good commentary. We went up to Westminster and then joined the bus again! The red tour goes to Buckingham Palace, the Tower of London, Westminster, the London Eye (they also sell tickets for this), Trafalgar Square, St Pauls, Oxford St - we got to see the lot!!! It even stops outside Hard Rock Cafe for lunch!!!! The blue route takes you further afield to Knightsbridge, Kensington and Notting Hill. A really good way of getting around and combining a tour.
We managed to get last minute cheap tickets to see the Jersey Boys on the Saturday evening as the weather was very bad - we thought we would opt for an indoor activity - and again the show was great!
Overall the weekend was thoroughly enjoyable, and we didn't see half as much as we could have - so it won't be too long before we go back! Thoroughly recommend The Rathbone - fantastic value for money!! We had great theatre seats and the weekend was a snip at just £187 including show tickets and bed and breakfast! - Definitely worth it!!
Happy Travels!!