2010 Conference

[Rob Clack]

I've stayed at the Travelodge, Liverpool Street once before and didn't have any problems. The only noise I heard in the morning was the underground trains going in and out of Aldgate which wasn't too loud. And a couple having nookie a couple of rooms from me which was loud.
I usually stay at the Ibis but they have doubled their prices since the last time I stayed there so I've booked into the Liverpool Street Travelodge.

Rob

[mariab]

Thank you so much for the info, Mr Clack! There are definitely nutcases on the internet, massively, hysterically producing bad reviews on London hotels! I might book at “Liverpool Street“ then, if it's not more expensive than the “Tower Hill“ on Prescott Street.
Oh my God, I can't believe I'm going to London again!!(After about 8 months already!) And it's the first time of my visiting Whitechapel “extensively“, and I can't believe I'm attending my very first Ripperology conference 2 steps off Miller's Court, and even spending a night in Whitechapel! (Oooh, spooky, morbid much?) I'd hope that some Ripperologists might be interested in a little walk through the sites at night, and perhaps for an even more specific tour on Sunday morning/afternoon?
Plus I had a look in the Bell Pub menu and, yum! Yorkshire puddings with horseradish, wild Scottish roasted salmon, homemade Scottish eggs (what are those?)...Yum, yum yum! And I can't wait to have porridge for breakfast again, which is NOT the same as Yankee oats, and not possible to be had anywhere else than in England!!
Hoping not to have offended or completely repulsed anyone with my enthusiastic expectations,

[tnb]

Thank you so much for the info, Mr Clack! There are definitely nutcases on the internet, massively, hysterically producing bad reviews on London hotels! I might book at “Liverpool Street“ then, if it's not more expensive than the “Tower Hill“ on Prescott Street.
Oh my God, I can't believe I'm going to London again!!(After about 8 months already!) And it's the first time of my visiting Whitechapel “extensively“, and I can't believe I'm attending my very first Ripperology conference 2 steps off Miller's Court, and even spending a night in Whitechapel! (Oooh, spooky, morbid much?) I'd hope that some Ripperologists might be interested in a little walk through the sites at night, and perhaps for an even more specific tour on Sunday morning/afternoon?
Plus I had a look in the Bell Pub menu and, yum! Yorkshire puddings with horseradish, wild Scottish roasted salmon, homemade Scottish eggs (what are those?)...Yum, yum yum! And I can't wait to have porridge for breakfast again, which is NOT the same as Yankee oats, and not possible to be had anywhere else than in England!!
Hoping not to have offended or completely repulsed anyone with my enthusiastic expectations,

English born and bred here Maria (despite current location!) and have never been able to understand the attraction of porridge! The Bell menu certainly is excellent though, it is a shame you won't be around on the friday when myself and a few others are putting on a quiz evening in that very pub (no chance I suppose???) but I am sure you will find some willing volunteers to pop across there at some point.

From what I have heard Rob's experiences seem to be pretty common with Liv St (the biggest problem of which is probably being nowhere near Liverpool St) - as you say there seem to be a lot of professional complainers on the internet who like to make out anywhere that's not the Ritz is awful. I wouldn't pay too much attention. But Rob will know much more about hotels in the area than me - this will actually be my first experience of staying in a hotel in London as before I have never had the need, being as I have always been able to impose myself on my parents' flat, albeit I have had to worry about the last trains (they live right across London). However I fully intend to enjoy the night until it's full conclusion and so am staying in a b&b in Bethnal Green, which does actually sound awful.

Look forward to meeting a new face - it is my first conference too, and I'm speaking. Aaagh!

[Rob Clack]

Hi Maria,

Whenever I've looked at the Premier Inn on Prescott Street they were always booked up. Travelodge charged me £70 a night which is very good.
I'm doing Friday and Saturday night (can't get up at the crack of dawn on Saturday) so if you want a little tour around the sites let me know. I know all the nice spots

Rob

[Andrew Firth]

If the reviews that you've been reading are on tripadvisor.com, then yes, it's the place where born complainers congregate! I've stayed at the Liv Street Travelodge, and it was fine.

One thing worth remembering if you're staying in a Travelodge though, is that the breakfasts are pretty bad. If you're expecting the best in English breakfasts, then you'll be disappointed. The best bet is to pay for a room only, and then each morning head out to somewhere like Cafe Le Jardin on Bell Lane, where an excellent full English breakfast can be had. I'm staying at the Travelodge "Tower Bridge" (which is nowhere near Tower Bridge) and I've not paid extra for the hotel's rather processed fare.

Oh, and if you take Rob up on his offer of a walk, make sure you wear comfortable shoes. I've still not fully recovered from April's London Job walk that had Rob planned out!

All the best
Andrew

[mariab]

To Trevor Bond, Rob Clack, and Andrew Firth:
Thank you all so very much! I wish I could manage Friday as well, and I find Trevor Bond's fundraising project for Frances Coles' tombstone very-very touching, but I'm actually supposed to be working both Friday and Saturday, and I'll simply “cut school“ on Saturday. I'll be coming from Paris, and if take the Eurostar I might make it to the Pub (I mean, to the conference!) just around 10.00 a.m., whereas with an easyjet flight it's 40-€ cheaper, but by bus from Luton I'd make it to the Pub (conference! another Freudian slip!!) around 11.00 a.m. at the earliest, and would miss John Bennett's presentation on the doss houses, which I'd rather like to hear. Actually Eurostar is better anyway, because one doesn't need to check luggage and crap. And I'd leave on sunday early evening, so as to have a chance for a little Whitechapel tour by daylight too. (And no worries about shoes, I almost always have old Nikes on, unless sometimes when going out in Paris, to places where high heels are “expected“.)
As for accommodation, the Premier Inn on Prescott Street has vacancies and at just £25 more than the Travelodge, but probably it's best if I stayed at the same place as the others, esp. if people arrange something for Sunday morning, when I bet that all would be a bit groggy. If I got it right, both Rob Clack and Suzie (and Diddles) will be lodging at “Liverpool Street“ (at 1, Harrow Place, which is nowhere near Liverpool Street!), which is right the corner from the Pub? I think I'll simply book there too. (And whatever nonsense the internet posters claim, that the doors don't lock?!? I'll just shove a chair against the door and go to sleep, what, is it the Ripper that's supposed to come and get me?!)
As for breakfast, I might perhaps have 2 of them! One at the Travellodge (esp. if they have porridge!) and one outside... Or I'll follow the others, if specific plans for a brunch or whatnot have been made.
Thank you all SOOO very much for being so helpful.
Oh, and by the way, I've payed to Adam Wood, I don't suppose that he'd need to send me any documents or anything? Because I put on my Berlin address, and I won't be in Berlin but for another 10 days. Otherwise I might need to give him my Paris address. (Real mix-up situation here!)
With endless apologies for bothering you all so much,
thank you so very much and until soon, then

[claire]

Bugger, you just reminded me that I have to book accommodation; I'm dragging the husband with me (not, thankfully, to the conference, in which case he'd be the one coaxing poor innocents outside for a fag), so have to stay somewhere that a New Zealander won't get horribly lost. This means *expensive* so I think we'll be at the Hyatt.

Mariab--don't worry about missing documentation; it's email comms only!

[mariab]

Thanks so much, Claire,
I was expecting such. email-comm is the perfect comm!
Great that you're coming all the way from NZ!!
By the way, I've booked at the “Liverpool Street“, but I'm waiting a day or 2 before buying the Eurostar tickets, so as for them to go in next month's credit card bill. I hope that the price doesn't go higher in the meantime...!

[mariab]

Can I post a VERY naive, newbie question in Ripperology? It looks like Diddles is NOT a real cat?!! Oh, what a disappointment! I almost feel like not coming... (buckets of tears...)

[Andrew Firth]

Can I post a VERY naive, newbie question in Ripperology? It looks like Diddles is NOT a real cat?!! Oh, what a disappointment! I almost feel like not coming... (buckets of tears...)

Shhh! Don't let Suzi hear you say that.....

Andrew

[Rob Clack]

I don't know what all the fuss is about with Dids. I'll be there, what more could anyone want

Rob

[mariab]

I just got SO very disappointed, I was imagining a Hitchkockian setting, with a black cat running between people's feet during the conference.
I saw a closeup of Dids opposite Martin Fido in the Knoxville conference. That cat surely comes around.

[bigjon]

About the Liverpool Street Travelodge.

There was noise from the building site next door at the time of the last conference. Probably been completed now though. Besides, it only happened on the monday morning and wasn't all that loud!

[mariab]

Hi Bigjon,
I think I've seen you on the JTR Forums. From Swansea, right? And I just happen to know that there is surf in close proximity to where you live. Anyway, welcome to casebook!
The internet reports complained about construction noise as recently as in July. But I totally forgot it'll be a Sunday, I wasn't even thinking!
They also complain about the elevator of the hotel never working, but that's not a problem for me, even for a room on the 6th floor. (I'm used to dealing with no elevator from Paris.) But for older people it might constitute a problem...

[claire]

Hi Maria,
Just to clarify, we're not coming from NZ! My poor husband happens to be a kiwi, bless him. This is the first time in years that we've been in striking distance of the UK, so happily will be coming--we're sort of split between Wales, London and Pakistan these days.
Are you coming to the quiz??
I'm kind of getting a bit excited even though I will be crap at the quiz and vegetoid-rapt during the lectures; the simple act of feeding my credit card details into the hotel booking page has brought home the imminent reality of it all