LONDON abounds with tourists all year long because of its obvious status as the English language capital of Europe as well as capital of the continent’s undeniably most powerful economy and military.

Today is on the second week of September and it is not an exception that there are lots of tourists in London at this point in time. Some of them are in conferences here while others are on road trips across England and even outside the archipelago towards Wales, Scotland, Ireland and even Northern Ireland. Whether one is in London for business or pleasure, one will surely stay in a hotel. Hotels here are from five star to one star. Even the suite in a one star hotel has its own amenities so lay back and take a look at the latest updates on the London hotel scene.

There’s an ongoing promo in an online television show in London for a free night stay at Blakes London. Blakes London is a nonchalant unassuming small in size hotel yet it exudes with suave, elegance and fashion. It is also known for being the strictest hotel in all of the United Kingdom in terms of guarding the privacy of its guests. Thus, one can stay there with your booking not registered in public. The hotel also boasts of a digital vault where you can store your belongings safely. And I’m not talking here about the safe in your room. It is a vault that is completely located out of the room but in the most secure site just within the hotel’s premises. Whatever you put in there, you can retrieve either anytime during your stay or during the time you’ll check out. If you are checked in here, you will definitely mingle with London celebrities like actors, actresses, recording artists, soccer stars, models and even politicians. They like it here because of their immense style of privacy. Blakes London is situated in South Kensington and it is just a stone’s throw to the Victoria and Albert Museum, Science Museum, Natural History Museum and Harrods.

The hotel itself is not as majestic as Dubai’s Burj Al Arab but what it lacks in grandeur, it makes up for in elegance. Its interior designs are patterned after the cultures of India, China, Indonesia, Thailand, Cambodia, the Pyramids of Egypt, Italy and England. Naturally, the hotel’s main restaurant features dishes coming from these countries. Consider the following yummy list – caviar, tofu with miso soup, smoked salmon, risotto, peppered crabs, charred tuna, roasted scallops, salmon sashimi dipped in orange juice with pickled ginger, buffalo mozzarella, black cod dipped in ginger sauce, sea bass fillet with dipped in sweet sake, lobster with lemongrass and Thai asparagus on the side, crispy chicken, lamb, honey-spiced duck, baked veal fillet, among others. The list goes on and on. Hmmm….yummy! Once you’re full, you can also have your choice of champagnes, Chablis and other house wines. This promo is a one-time offer. Take advantage of it now.

IF you’re from the United States, a road trip around England is ideal if you start it from London. A ride at the London Eye is really worth the adventure but knowing where to stay can sometimes be confusing. You can check into any of the motels for two overnights and they’ll contain the basic accommodation one needs – a babysitting service, 24 hour room service, another 24 hour massage service at the spa or in your own room and at the room itself, your own group’s digital vault, a drawer, high speed Internet connection (both wireless and wired), cable TV connection with an LCD screen and an HD DVD player and subwoofer sound systems which are hooked to music stations as well.

The dilemma lies on which part of London you want to stay because the amenities look the same. So one must look beyond what you can see in the hotel’s amenities – the neighborhood. There are some neighborhoods which are located right beside some of London’s most famous attractions and so you don’t need to spend on those black taxicabs to commute here and there. You just have to walk. But motels here tend to be costly so there lays the dilemma. Another thing that you have to consider is the environment in the neighborhood. Consider if the neighborhood is prone to crime and here, you need to ask the tourism department at City Hall for some information. The next thing that you have to consider especially during these unsure times if whether the area is prone to floods. Remember last July at the height of summer when England was hit by floods? Next, you have to consider too if there’s a trauma hospital near that neighborhood. Just in case of any contingency, any other hospital can’t handle trauma cases so you need to know the direction of the nearest trauma hospital in the motel that you and your friends en route to a road trip are staying.

The most famous London neighborhoods are Bloomsbury, Kensington, Paddington/Hyde Park and Westminster. Bloomsbury is where the British Museum, the Petrie Museum of Archaeology, Charles Dickens Museum and Pollock’s Toy Museum. The Petrie Museum of Archaeology houses the collection of renowned British archaeologist Sir Flinders Petrie. Aside from toys, Pollock’s Toy Museum also hosts occasional toy plays. When you are billeted in the Bloomsbury area, there are lots of hangout bars at night. There’s The Museum Tavern right across the British Museum, Fitzroy Tavern, The Jeremy Bentham and the following which are frequented by British students – The College Arms, The Pint Pot and The Lord John Russell.

If you are billeted in Kensington, then you can go to the Victoria and Albert Museum, Natural History Museum, Science Museum, Geological Museum and Royal Albert Hall.

When you are billeted at the Westminster area, then you’re in for a big surprise since this is the most historical part of London. The Westminster Abbey, St. Margaret’s Church, the Palace of Westminster, Big Ben, Houses of Parliament, Downing Street, Churchill Museum, Horse Guards, the Banqueting House and the Royal Mews are all located there.