If I were booking for my own tourist needs I’d think “that’s a pretty good location”.
Close to the park, very good tube connections, a walk or couple of stops to some major stations and there’s plenty of food options south of the A501.
Plus you would be close to Mornington Crescent tube station which will give you key inside knowledge when the time comes to play.
I’m booked and confirmed for a trip to London mid October. Down to deciding between staying in the heart of Soho or Mayfair near Hyde Park.
It’ll be an immersive experience so I’m avoiding American chain hotels and looking strictly at boutique hotels on the Picadilly, North or Central lines. Like the OP, in the central city core (I believe). I want to be able to walk to most points of interest or be one or two metro stops away.
Besides cost (yeah, hotels are spendy) is there anything to warn me away from staying in these particular London districts?
Surely you’re not suggesting that a novice could grasp enough of the subtleties of Mornington Crescent from one short visit? I grew up in London, and some of the advanced loop strategies still elude me. All I can say is - just don’t play for money.
no, not really, they are perfectly decent but unless you absolutely have your heart set on being in those areas you might want to check out your hotel options first and worry about the location later. Being willing to put up with a 10 minute tube ride will buy a much broader choice.
That is true, a visit is a minimum requirement for competency but no guarantee of excellence.
I’ve lived here for 30 years and … I don’t have much advice. I commend you on staying away from regular hotels, so dull.
It’s safe so you could stick a pin in the map. Fwiw, I’d be as much interested in the accommodation - cities can be noisy and polluted and I’d want to make sure I was located in a quiet street.
There are very upmarket areas and working class areas … if you want an area to work with … try Greenwich. Why not 
A trueism first stated by Armitage and Shanks in the November 1963 edition of Topologies: Mornington Crescent for Marxists, I believe.
I had to look that up - but you’re absolutely right. Excellent memory! I played at a high amateur club level when I was a teenager back in the '80s, but I was never much of a student of the history of the game.
That’s not a bad idea. I want to take my kids to visit the Cutty Sark - Hercules Linton was their Great Great Great Great Grand Father.
They’ve done a great job with the Cutty Sark in its new setting. Walking under the gleaming hull is just plain awesome.
http://anglotopia.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/golden-hull2.jpg
The kids think it looks cool. My wife has no interest even though it’s her ancestor:cool:
Hammersmith or that neighborhood between Maida Vale and Notting Hill–I think the estate agents call it Maida Hill? A friend of mine lived both places, not central but easy travel to to it. I also had a friend in Dulwich and while it is very nice, the commute isn’t great unless you’re right next to a train station.
Even so it is nice to have a walk around it even from the outside plus it is also a lovely stroll up through the Maritime Museum (free) and through Greenwich Park to the Royal Observatory and prime meridian (some of it is free).
Plus there is theThames clipper which will take you from Westminster right down the river to Greenwich. You can pay with and Oyster card and it is about £6 for adults and £3 for kids I think, not bad for what is effectively a sightseeing cruise.
You can use it as such but it is a timetabled bus service, rather than the cruise-with-commentary boats - and they expect people to get on and off fairly sharpish so they can stick to the timetable. The Clippers have their own phone app with tourist guide information, apparently - I’ve not tried it.
If you have a travelcard, you get one-third off the fares.
Have you decided which airport you’re flying to and from yet? Bear in mind that Heathrow is on the tube and in zone 6, so you can use your oystercard there (and you can get them sent to you - the link given above shows how). Gatwick is not in the Oystercard zone and you have to get a train, which costs more (children pay too, though there are some deals if you book in advance). Don’t take this as meaning I’m recommending against Gatwick - it’s just an extra cost/hassle to bear in mind.
Once you’ve decided which airport, then I’d go for somewhere on a direct line to that airport AND check that line is working when you’re travelling. For Heathrow that means anywhere on the Piccadilly Line - Ealing, Acton, Kensington if you’re rolling in dough - and for Gatwick you’d need to stay in South London or somewhere with easy access to Victoria, where the train to Gatwick goes from.
FWIW, “further out” doesn’t necessarily mean “takes longer to get to the attractions.” Don’t forget the overland trains, which are less frequent than tubes but much, much nicer, and can mean staying in leafy Dulwich (handy for Gatwick) and getting to Victoria or London Bridge in about twenty minutes, which is less time than you might take from somewhere that seems a lot closer in.
I’d actually slightly recommend against Camden just because it means more tube changes. If you’re travelling to or from the property at the weekend then there might be engineering works that mean the tube isn’t working from that location or on that line (tends not to happen with the Piccadilly Line for obvious reasons). That could mean an exhausting journey that finishes or ends the visit on a sour note.
You can look up disruptions to service via the TFL journeyplanner by putting your date of travel. That’s useful for your trip wherever you stay - don’t plan to go to Greenwich by DLR without checking the DLR is actually running, for example. Weekday disruptions are extremely uncommon but weekend disruptions happen fairly frequently due to ongoing maintenance and building of the Elizabeth Line. There are usually alternative routes, or you can rejig your schedule to travel to those places on a weekday.
For Gatwick you can also use London Bridge and City Thameslink for Gatwick. And there’s also a river bus service, a very scenic way to enjoy London.
Thanks for the advice about the engineering works issue. We’re planning on staying Monday-Monday and the flights on Icelandair can be either LGW or LHR, the only difference is that LHR departures are $30/person more. I had been thinking of trading off the price difference for the ease of getting to Heathrow vs. Gatwick.
Although I don’t know London well enough to recommend any particular area, I do visit regularly and the one thing I’ve found is that getting around on public transport is very easy. Yes, the tube is a nightmare during rush hour but outside of those times it always seems to work pretty well. Or maybe I’ve just been lucky.
One thing that hasn’t been mentioned above is that you cannot use cash on the buses any more so an oyster card is or travel card is absolutely essential.
If you fly into Heathrow, although you can use the tube, it’s slow because it stops so many times, and luggage may be awkward on the long escalators depending on your destination. It’s not the best choice unless you’re staying at one of the tube stops on the Piccadilly Line on the way in. The Heathrow Express overground train (they have a website) is more efficient and has more room for luggage, it zooms you in to Paddington non-stop from where you can either continue on the tube or hop a taxi if luggage is tricky. Taxis are expensive but spacious - they can accommodate a family of 4 and luggage.
If you have to get a tube from Paddington then you still have the issue with escalators, but at both Paddington and the destination. Though TBH I’ve never found escalators a problem with luggage. Stand on the right, put the luggage on the step in front of you, no big deal.
It depends on priorities, moneywise - the Heathrow Express is quicker, but expensive, especially when the kids will be free on the tube but not on there, and there’s quite a long walk to the tube at the Paddington end if you’re not getting a taxi.