Visiting London for the WTF

TennisLovaLova

Hall of Fame
I'll be visiting london from the 3rd to the 7th of november to watch monday and tuesday's matches.

Can anyone advise me some hotels downtown london?
I mean which is the best district to really enjoy the stay without having to spend half the day in the tube or on the bus?

I've been looking on the web for <150 euros/night hotel in london but I cant really manage to choose the right location, as I of course also intend to visit the city and go to some nice restaurants and clubs too.

tx
 

Torres

Banned
All depends on how much you want to pay, what you want to do during the 4 days, and how much tennis you're planning to watch.

WTF is out towards the east of the city so there's always going to be some travelling involved. Unless your trip is 90%tennis, I'd be inclined to avoid any hotels around the O2 and find somewhere closer to town.
 

TennisLovaLova

Hall of Fame
^^^^
tx for your answer.

My budget is maximum 150 euros/night for the hotel.
We'll be watching monday and/or tuesday's matches, depending on the day federer plays actually.

I dont not intend to stay near the Q2 as we plan to visit the city, so we're looking into Bloomsbury, Victoria or County Hall for our stay but I cant pick anyone of those districts cause I dont really know what's there.

Mostly it's gonna be walking around, some free museums maybe, some markets also, dinners, etc.
 

Ash_Smith

Legend
^^^Marriot County hall is nice (not sure if it fits your budget though?) There is also a Premier Inn at county hall which will fit your budget (they are cheap and cheerful like Holiday Inn, but perfectly good for the amount of time you'll spend in it!). County hall is right next to the London Eye and over looks The Palace of Westminster (Big Ben). You'll be within easy walking distance of Westminster Abbey and if you walk up Whitehall (just over the bridge) you'll go past Downing Street and be in Trafalgar Square. Plenty to keep you busy, plus you can get a boat from County Hall down to the O2 (and the Marriot is the players hotel for the event!). If you want to be nearer the 02, but still not on top of it the Guoman Tower at Tower Bridge is nice and there are plenty of restaurants around St Katherines Dock and Victoria Wharf over the bridge, plus really nice walks along the bank of the thames (again plenty to keep you busy!).

Hope that helps!

Cheers
 

TennisLovaLova

Hall of Fame
Tx for the tips!

I didnt know the players were staying there
now that I checked, the hotel is full :-(

Damn, hotels in london are quite expensive...
 

Torres

Banned
The South Bank location suggested by Ash is an excellent location for somewhere half-way house between O2 and the West End.

Not sure if you've seen the guide below? Might give you some ideas. Also has ideas for things to do, attractions etc.

http://www.londontown.com/hotels/
 
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Ash_Smith

Legend
LovaLova - welcome to London!

You might get better value going nearer the 02 and travelling back into town when you need to then. The Aloft at London Excel is really nice and just over the river from the 02 and the Ramada Docklands (which is next door is good too - I've stayed at both), however, I would expect that given the location these might be full too!

Closest you'll get to your budget is probably http://www.premierinn.com/en/hotel/LONCOU/london-county-hall?DCMP=KNC_D_BND not as glam as the Marriot County Hall, but in the same building so the location is great! You're probably looking at £150 per night though (that's about as good as it gets for a hotel in central london you'll actually want to sleep in!

Cheers
 
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TennisLovaLova

Hall of Fame
The South Bank location suggested by Ash is an excellent location for somewhere half-way house between O2 and the West End.

Not sure if you've seen the guide below? Might give you some ideas. Also has ideas for things to do, attractions etc.

http://www.londontown.com/hotels/

tx for the link! Very helpful indeed

LovaLova - welcome to London!

You might get better value going nearer the 02 and travelling back into town when you need to then. The Aloft at London Excel is really nice and just over the river from the 02 and the Ramada Docklands (which is next door is good too - I've stayed at both), however, I would expect that given the location these might be full too!

Closest you'll get to your budget is probably http://www.premierinn.com/en/hotel/LONCOU/london-county-hall?DCMP=KNC_D_BND not as glam as the Marriot County Hall, but in the same building so the location is great! You're probably looking at £150 per night though (that's about as good as it gets for a hotel in central london you'll actually want to sleep in!

Cheers

Actually it's all about my wife now. She agreed to travel to London and to watch 1 or 2 games but she has to profit of the vacation in London, which means staying in the city. Btw I told her that we had to take the boat to got to the O2 she was quite happy about it cause they say it's very pretty for seightseeing!
Again Ash tx a lot for your tips
This hotel you're proposing is definetly a good value!
 

Torres

Banned
Right...this is a bit left field so I'll leave it to you to ponder whether its your sort of thing.

If you go to www.lastminute.com they do this thing called Secret Hotel. Basically you punch in your general requirements and they find a hotel for you but they don't tell you what it is or the specific location. Many hotels will discount but don't want to be seen to be lowering the brand or affecting pricing from their own website by publicly offering discounts. Hence 'Secret Hotel'.

I used this once a few years back and it worked out pretty well and we ended up here http://www.london.churchill.hyatt.com which was a really nice 5* hotel yet at a discounted rate. What I did at the time was when the general description of the hotel came up, I copy and pasted the blurb into Google and voila! one of the Google results linked to the name of the hotel thus allowing me to know the specific hotel and the specific location before I booked it. Not sure whether that still works, but its worth a go particularly if you're trying to keep the Mrs and the wallet happy.
 

Meaghan

Hall of Fame
I stayed in a holiday Inn in Southwark, close to Tate modern. Its a stop away from Waterloo and into the city and also a short tube ride to Greenwich and the o2.

I also stayed in a small inn down the road from the o2 (Pilot Inn), it gets booked up well in advance but it does save getting the tube after the games have finished with the other 10,000 commoners :) Lovely place tho.....
 

TennisLovaLova

Hall of Fame
Tx everyone for your help
I shall succeed in accomplishing the trinity no matter what

Edit: Just booked in county hall
4 nights= 870 euros
it hurts the azz
 
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Torres

Banned
£170 per night? Wow, that's pricey. I'm sure the Mrs will be pleased! :mrgreen:

Great location though, and its lovely walking up and down the South Bank provided the weather is good, with museums, restaurants, galleries, street entertainers etc all around you and other sights not far from there.
 

Ash_Smith

Legend
^^^Glad you got something sorted, sure you'll have a great time - there's loads to do along the south bank - you're really close to the National Theatre, Royal Festival Hall, Tate Modern, london aquarium, London Eye, Palace of Wesminster - plenty to keep you busy when you're not at the tennis!

cheers
 

Ash_Smith

Legend
Last few years a lot of sessions have sold out in advance (though not all) to be safe I would buy my tickets in advance.
 

TennisLovaLova

Hall of Fame
airplane tickets: done
hotel: done

Now: the O2 arena tickets

To be sure to see RF play live, I'm gonna buy both Monday and Tuesday's night sessions.

Those who've been there, what do you think of the view at Level 4?
Can we see something or not?
I mean I want to watch some tennis, not figuring which dot is who!

The other level tickets are soooo expensive...
 
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West Coast Ace

G.O.A.T.
If anyone else is looking for a decent hotel, I used the Kensington Close Hotel. A minute walk from the High St Kens tube stop; about 7 minute walk to Hyde Park.

London in November. I hope the OP sees the sun at least once.
 
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Dags

Hall of Fame
He's not guaranteed to play the night session. Whilst in 2011 and 2010 the top two seeds started in the evening, in 2009 the number 2 seed (Rafa) played in the afternoon.

Whilst the night match has better television viewing, they don't necessarily put the biggest drawing match on then. In 2010, Federer played Murray during the afternoon. As you only know which match is scheduled a couple of days before, the cynic in my thinks this was because they had unsold tickets for that session.
 
airplane tickets: done
hotel: done

Now: the O2 arena tickets

To be sure to see RF play live, I'm gonna buy both Monday and Tuesday's night sessions.

Those who've been there, what do you think of the view at Level 4?
Can we see something or not?
I mean I want to watch some tennis, not figuring which dot is who!

The other level tickets are soooo expensive...

Level 4 is high up; not US Open nosebleed style, but you definitely feel removed from the action...they even warn you not to choose these tickets if you are afraid of heights! The other weird thing is it's really dark up in the heights; I almost fell asleep watching Djokovic - Nadal, which I wouldn't have thought possible. When I've gone for the more expensive seats, the experience has been incomparably better, in my opinion.

BTW, I would not recommend the aquarium; it's expensive, disappointing, and packed IMO.
 
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TennisLovaLova

Hall of Fame
If anyone else is looking for a decent hotel, I used the Kensington Close Hotel. A minute walk from the S Ken tube stop; about 7 minute walk to Hyde Park.

London in November. I hope the OP sees the sun at least once.

It's gonna be part of the trip. A little rain!
Maybe the wife will find it a little romantic...

I almost fell asleep watching Djokovic - Nadal, which I wouldn't have thought possible. When I've gone for the more expensive seats, the experience has been incomparably better, in my opinion.

Incredible! tx for your feedback
 

chrischris

G.O.A.T.
A good friend of mine and his GF are going .. He is from Dunfermline Scotland so guess he will have a blast..
The crowd will surely be patriotic or even nationalistic.
 

PureAlph4

Semi-Pro
I personally wouldn't be worried about sitting in the upper tier. I've been going to multiple sessions every year since the WTFs came to London, and perversely, in some ways I prefer sitting high up. At Wimbledon there's nothing better than being up close to the action (especially on the outside courts), but at the o2 I'm fairly indifferent.

Here are a couple of crappy photos from my phone from last year:

Upper tier (up in a corner) for Fedal (Tuesday night?)
pzpAol.jpg


Lower tier (pretty much courtside) for Djok v Ferrer (Wednesday night?)
XGEZil.jpg


I think the view from the top tier is fine as long as your eyesight in reasonably good. For the night sessions I also think the atmosphere is better up there; in my experience lower tier courtside is largely populated by City workers on hospitality who arrive late and drunk, leave early, talk throughout the matches, and have at best only a passing interest in tennis (i.e spend the evening shouting supposedly ironic rubbish while guffawing).

It's a great event though. As you're on holiday (and with your wife), then it's advisable to buy tickets in advance, but for the past two years I have always been able to pick up much cheaper tickets a day or so before from online agents (Viagogo / Ticketmaster - but only for upper tier 'unspecified' seats) if I decide I want to go to an extra session.

Have a great time!
 

SempreSami

Hall of Fame
Do people actually lower their asking prices on viagogo? The legitimate touting on that site disgusts me.
 

PureAlph4

Semi-Pro
Do people actually lower their asking prices on viagogo? The legitimate touting on that site disgusts me.

I think the organisers flog remaining non-premium tickets for cheap starting from a couple of days before the start of the event, using Viagogo (official secondary seller) as a primary seller (keeping full price ticket sales at Ticketmaster, the official primary seller, unobstructed).

Agree re the touting.
 
Last time I’ve been there, I stayed at Britannia International hotel at Canary Wharf. It was alright for its price (about £60 a night). It’s only one tube station away from O2 arena.
 

TennisLovaLova

Hall of Fame
I personally wouldn't be worried about sitting in the upper tier. I've been going to multiple sessions every year since the WTFs came to London, and perversely, in some ways I prefer sitting high up. At Wimbledon there's nothing better than being up close to the action (especially on the outside courts), but at the o2 I'm fairly indifferent.

Here are a couple of crappy photos from my phone from last year:

Upper tier (up in a corner) for Fedal (Tuesday night?)
pzpAol.jpg


Lower tier (pretty much courtside) for Djok v Ferrer (Wednesday night?)
XGEZil.jpg


I think the view from the top tier is fine as long as your eyesight in reasonably good. For the night sessions I also think the atmosphere is better up there; in my experience lower tier courtside is largely populated by City workers on hospitality who arrive late and drunk, leave early, talk throughout the matches, and have at best only a passing interest in tennis (i.e spend the evening shouting supposedly ironic rubbish while guffawing).

It's a great event though. As you're on holiday (and with your wife), then it's advisable to buy tickets in advance, but for the past two years I have always been able to pick up much cheaper tickets a day or so before from online agents (Viagogo / Ticketmaster - but only for upper tier 'unspecified' seats) if I decide I want to go to an extra session.

Have a great time!

Tx for the info!
But judging by the first pic I cant really tell if i'd see anything.
I mean could you see the ball or even face expressions?
Sorry for asking this again but I really need to know if the tickets in the upper are still ok to watch clearly!

I have a friend at Barclay's she's trying to get me a pass for the whole week
Fingers crossed!!!!

Otherwise I'll get regular tickets anyway but lower seats are sooo expensive and I'd have to buy 2 full day passes to be sure to see federer play monday or tuesday
 
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PureAlph4

Semi-Pro
I suppose it depends what your expectations are.

My experience is that you can see the ball, and seamlessly follow the game, from 'bad' seats in the corners of the upper tier (though I have never sat right at the very top). You're right, though, that you probably won't be able to read players' facial reactions, though you can read their general body language and gesticulations.

I hadn't watched any games in what I would have considered to be 'bad' seats until last year, when I picked up some cheap tickets at the last minute for sessions I wanted to watch, as I had the same prejudices about the view. I was perfectly happy following matches from those positions, though, so I'm now fairly indifferent as to where I sit.

If you want the up-close tennis match experience of seeing every ball zip right by you and every wince or groan, then buy lower tier tickets. If you are satisfied in just following the game itself, and sucking in a bit of the atmosphere, then the upper tier is fine (though again, the lower rows of the upper tier will feel closer than up at the very top).

Also note that the schedule of the tournament has changed this year, so it runs from Monday to Monday, rather than Sunday to Sunday. This means that within the group stages, the best bet for watching the top four play each other would be the Wednesday and Thursday (as winners of the first matches play each other).
 

TennisLovaLova

Hall of Fame
Ok perfect precisions
Tx for your help once again.
I dont know where those barclay execs are seated i hope i'll get the best view possible then
 

Ash_Smith

Legend
^^^I've watched from up in the gods before and although the angle takes some getting used too, its a pretty good view and very useful for analysing tactical patterns etc (if that's your thing!)
 

TennisLovaLova

Hall of Fame
^^^I've watched from up in the gods before and although the angle takes some getting used too, its a pretty good view and very useful for analysing tactical patterns etc (if that's your thing!)

I see what you mean!
But the wife seems to have a crush on the goat so...
Just kidding! Aint gonna spend so much cash
Waiting for the barclays' sponsoring actually!!!
In france they have internal commitees to provide workers with great deals on this kind of events
 

Dags

Hall of Fame
Monday

1.45 Murray vs Berdych
7.45 Djokovic vs Tsonga

Tuesday

1.45 Federer vs Tipsarevic
7.45 Ferrer vs Del Potro

Doubles to be drawn later.

(source is the Twitter feed: http://twitter.com/ATPWorldTour)


I have tickets for Tuesday afternoon, and am delighted as it means I can tick Federer off my 'must see' list before he retires. :D
 

TennisLovaLova

Hall of Fame
It was awesome!!!!

Great moment, no ********, which was a relief. Insane defense on the bh by rf in the second. Some nice shots, 1 dtl bh and 1 weird fh

Maybe not the greatest view ever (I prefer behind the players) but it was nice to see rf in person for the first time

But 200 pounds each, cause my wife was there too, is way too much for a tennis match imo! Cost me 400 pounds...
Never again I guess
Great atmosphere also

Now back to london tourism!
Btw we picked a great hotel in shoreditch wich is an insane neighbourhood.
 

Feña14

G.O.A.T.
I'm there tomorrow afternoon for Djokovic and Murray.

Glad you had a great time! I'm looking forward to it.
 

Feña14

G.O.A.T.
Was there yesterday doing a wheelchair tennis demo - atmosphere was great as always! Enjoy tomorrow Feña!

Sounds good! Hopefully there are a few exhibitions and things to see and do like that tomorrow aswell.

I was fully expecting to see Tsonga and Berdych, which would of been good. To get Murray and Djokovic though is very lucky.
 

Ash_Smith

Legend
Yeah, it's a shame in a way though that it isn't the last match of the group as I would expect it to be the decider. Still, you'll have an awesome match to watch!
 

Dags

Hall of Fame
But 200 pounds each, cause my wife was there too, is way too much for a tennis match imo! Cost me 400 pounds...

Is that just for the tickets, or the cost of the day? I paid 67 quid for a seat 10 rows behind the players, but if you include train tickets it comes closer to your cost!

I really enjoyed it. The doubles was close, and whilst the singles was over quickly it was just nice to see Fed. Next year I'll hope for a closer match!
 

Feña14

G.O.A.T.
Yeah, it's a shame in a way though that it isn't the last match of the group as I would expect it to be the decider. Still, you'll have an awesome match to watch!

That's true, but at the same time it makes sense. If Djokovic and Murray, who won their first matches went on to beat Berdych and Tsonga tomorrow then the group would be over. Two players with 2 wins and two with 2 losses would leave nothing to play for in the final group matches. At least this way 3 players will still have something to play for on Friday.

Is that just for the tickets, or the cost of the day? I paid 67 quid for a seat 10 rows behind the players, but if you include train tickets it comes closer to your cost!

I really enjoyed it. The doubles was close, and whilst the singles was over quickly it was just nice to see Fed. Next year I'll hope for a closer match!

That's the price I got my tickets for too, behind the baseline.
 

Dags

Hall of Fame
That's the price I got my tickets for too, behind the baseline.

It is an awesome view. With the match you have, you'll get your money's worth and then some.

(and regarding temperature as noted in the other thread, it was warm, but I didn't find it too bad down there. Perhaps it's worse in the cheap seats. ;-) Or maybe my singles match just didn't last long enough - it didn't really fill up until about 1:30.)
 

TennisLovaLova

Hall of Fame
Is that just for the tickets, or the cost of the day? I paid 67 quid for a seat 10 rows behind the players, but if you include train tickets it comes closer to your cost!

I really enjoyed it. The doubles was close, and whilst the singles was over quickly it was just nice to see Fed. Next year I'll hope for a closer match!

To be sure I could see roger play I bought 2 day session tickets actually
At least the wifi is free where we're staying
 

Dags

Hall of Fame
Sweet, so you've got more tennis. :)

I think it was well worth it to see Fed in God mode. I'll worry about the credit card bill next month...
 
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